Interview with Red Dot juror Špela Čadež about creative writing
Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design
Sylvia Vitale Rotta is the CEO of Team Creatif . She has been a member of the jury for the Red Dot Award: Brands & Communication Design and Product Design for many years.
» Learn more about Sylvia Vitale Rotta
The Paris-based Red Dot juror spoke in an interview about pleasure signals, the trend towards sustainability and the joy of opening a package.
What aspects of packaging design are most important these days?
I think one of the most important goals is to make the packaging stand out on terribly crowded shelves or in Web shops. More than ever before, consumers want to be assured that they’re buying the exact product they need, and that the price they’re being asked to pay is fair. Certain products need an emotive, seductive, romantic, almost poetic approach to packaging. To meet the needs of today’s more discerning consumers, such a mix is quite vital. Emphasising sustainability criteria has also become more important.
You regularly do design work for the food industry, and it’s a highly competitive market. How can packaging design help brands succeed?
When you’re working in the food industry, it’s important for the packaging to have “food appeal”. Naturalness is another important factor, and then there’s customer and brand loyalty to think about. I use the product range for guidance, as well as the overall look of the product family. Sustainability is obviously another important focus in this day and age. Consumers want to be certain that the brands they love are contributing to making the planet a better and cleaner place by wasting fewer resources. Another important point is the transparent communication of product ingredients.
What would you say is the best way to meet sustainability requirements? Is it the material, processing or design that plays the biggest role in the process?
All three issues are key. Sometimes a lot more sustainability can be achieved with just one of the changes – the material, processing or design. For example, you can reduce the quantity of printing ink used. Sometimes all three aspects must be changed in order to create more sustainable solutions.
To what extent has packaging design changed as a result of consumer perception? What trends are you seeing?
Here, too, there’s a focus on sustainability that has led to larger product units, less print, more minimalism, higher transparency and less outer packaging. Premium quality is often expressed in the form of details that enhance the product or sometimes simply make it appear less accessible.
It’s important that aesthetic considerations never impair function. Are there any solutions that that hold strong appeal for you because of their concept or construction?
Yes, everything that’s easy to open and close! It really is essential for packaging to be easy to open because people these days don’t have the time or patience to fiddle around. I also love resealable packaging because it helps to prevent food waste.
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