Entering the Third Dimension

What's in your brimming design portfolio so far? If you're like many graphic design students, you doubtless have a stack of two-dimensional work: logos, posters, print layouts, and maybe a few Web sites. Projects like these are just great for developing your design skills. Concentrating on one page, one canvas, can help you focus on the fundamentalscolor, typography, composition, and so on.

Now while these projects are all very essential and no doubt excellent, they all have one thing in common: they are two-dimensional.

Packaging design adds the dimension of depth. To design product packaging properly, you must learn to visualize a package in three dimensions. You must be able to see how a package will look from different angles, up close and at a distance, and stacked alongside its competitors. You must discover in yourself a knack for handling materials, and target your audience like a laser.

Figure 10.2. An initial design for Aveda Blue Oil, by Steam Design Group, shows the challenge: designing each panel and visualizing how it will look in three dimensions. A high-end cosmetics package must convey affordable luxury in its design.

Compared with two-dimensional design, packaging design affords more room for creativity (good) and more challenges (also good). Every design technique you've learned designing for pages can be applied to each surface on a product package. But your work must also pass a very powerful test. It must attract the eye in a sea of products, create a perception of value and/or quality, and, ultimately, persuade the customer to purchase the product.

Phew! We're designing the little carton that could.