Preamble:
In the ever-growing consumer-oriented world we live in, it is even more important to be aware of the environmental footprint we leave. Sustainability can be understood as the environmental efficiency and considerations of a product. To make a more sustainable product, removing the need for a bottle entirely would be ideal; naturally, a bar soap alternative to replacing a shampoo bottle would be the logical move to creating a more sustainable everyday product. When exploring soaps in the market, they appeared to be excessively packaged. Often soaps were seen wrapped in plastic, boxed and wrapped again. This distinct observation defined the direction of the project.
Challenge:
To create a low-impact, sustainability-focused package design, and Teaser promotional materials.
Solution:
A paper box would entirely remove the need for plastic bottles brought on by body washes. Soaps would also be sold in bulk, reducing the need for individual packaging. The box was adapted from a previously sourced design and substantially trimmed to use less material. The rough template was further constrained to fit within a tabloid 11x17” to maximize the use of print material. The print material was a paper substrate in place for a low-impact FSC certified, 100% recycled cardboard material, to reuse previous material, and to be easily compostable. The paper would provide the sturdiness desired for medium to long use and convenient storage of multiple bars. The packaging would utilize Algae based ink, to Remove the volatile organic compounds that emit from traditional inks and promote a negative carbon footprint. This would be carried into other print material such as mailers.
Audience:
The final product has a simple gender-neutral appearance to appeal to a wide demographic, with a balance of mature and friendly features to target a more specific psychographic: environmentally conscious adults. This advertising teaser campaign seeks to target a more focused audience, specifically women aged 30-50 years in contrast to the previous gender-neutral design. To appeal to this audience the branding retains its minimal and heightened appearance but adopts more feminine qualities such as embracing florals and pastel colours. A series of flowers were illustrated using the same minimal linear style as seen before, this ensured consistency in branding.
Summary:
The project aimed to create a sustainable packaging design and promotional materials for a bar soap alternative to shampoo bottles. The packaging solution involved using a paper box made from FSC certified, 100% recycled cardboard material and algae-based ink for printing. The advertising teaser campaign targeted environmentally conscious women aged 30-50 years with a minimal and feminine design featuring delicate floral illustrations in soft pastel colors.
