Package Design Workbook by Steven DuPuis and John Silva

Article by Martin Gibson – Twitter: @martingibson @embody3d – 23.06.2011

Package Design Workbook by Steven DuPuis and John Silva and published by Rockport kicks off with an interesting overview on the origin and purpose of packaging and how it is continually evolving to shape how we buy and sell products. The title questions really foundational questions like, why do we even have packaging, and has packaging gone beyond the functional to become an opportunistic billboard of advertising? I really enjoyed this basic introduction and it really opens your eyes to the world of packaging from rather being a means of protective coating to being a primary whole brand experience for companies like McDonald’s Starbucks, Nike and the list goes on. This is followed by a grand 4 page timeline, a common feature of Rockport titles, which guides you through the history of packaging from Egyptian glass jars of 1500BC all the way to 2007 in the political arena of Al Gore to the connection between packaging and global warming.

These initial stages of the book offer great historical context to todays consumer driven packaging. Topics like branding, product differentiation, psychological aspects during the point of sale process and innovation. Package Design Workbook even tackles the age old question about the economic return on investment packaging can deliver through an interview with Rob Wallace, Director of Strategy at Wallace Church Inc. Boardroom squabbles like is there a quantifiable return on investment in packaging design, should businesses be investing in this area, are all addressed in a colloquial manner.

Package Design Workbook expertly strikes the balance between being visually stunning and aesthetically inspiring to being educationally rooted and informative. There is great detail explored in this book all the way down to a diagram of a human brain and the different mental processes that search, value, control, interpret, work, examine, create and overview information without ever being boring or overbearing, it is rather deeply fascinating and engaging. It is almost incomprehensible the great topics that are brought up in Package Design Workbook. There is relevance to not only designers but all occupations that oversee the packaging design process from sales, purchasing, print production, manufacturing and research and development. Through interviews, case studies, diagrams, quotes and design examples each of the 6 core chapters (the first address history, art and science, and the last on tools, tips and techniques) Package Design Workbook rarely slows down and gets a chance to breathe. These chapters include:

1. Packaging Evolution – Which Came First – The Product or the Package?
2. The Art and Science of Packaging Design – Bridging the Gap Between Business Strategy and Design
3. Unlocking the Power of Design – Six Keys to Success
4. The Packaging Process – Navigating a Package Design from Concept to Completion
5. Mastering the Art of Package Design – Translating Goals and Vision into Form, Function, and Style
6. Design’s Real-world Return of Investment – Case Studies in Package Design Excellence

This book is structured very similar to another great title by Rockport: Type, Form & Function – A Handbook on the fundamentals of Typography where it is a great balance between valuable and constructive information and influential designs that will certainly be a great project reference book. There has been a tremendous amount of work and thought that have gone into Package Design Workbook, this is not some mere compendium of designs, in fact it never treads that territory despite its 240 page length. For students, professionals or multidisciplinary teams, from contractors to multi-national corporations, there isn’t just something for everyone, there’s everything for everyone.

[rating:5]