Regulars / Branding and design | 47process. Prototyping is a brand’s secret weapon, especially with tens “We wanted to ensure that the of thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of dollars invested.While brands are typically very confdent when reviewing fnal design would look and feel packaging mock-ups online or in PDFs, nothing compares to seeing-is-believing. the way we imagined” ‘Let’s say you’re going to use a foil that’s represented on the PDF by a colorized gradient,’ says Lindsey. ‘The simulating software will project for a leading personal care brand. The original parameters do a great job, but you still won’t know if the type will be readable were to prototype different ways to highlight the brand logo and in all different light sources. Or what if the foil fashes too dark? A new imagery, using the same elements across the entire product lot of variables can’t be replicated onscreen. If it’s worth the extra line. But the brand gave Lindsey and her team the freedom to budget for a premium fnish, it’s worth the more modest cost of explore. With that freedom, Cog was able to show the brand prototyping to make sure you get the shelf impact and success that a unique tactile varnish effect for each of the seven SKUs – you’re looking for.’ something the brand’s design team might never have had a chance to consider. The magic of ‘what-if’ Lindsey adds that she also worked with the printer to ensure that When it comes to prototyping, it’s not just about ‘what is’; it’s also the fnishing being proposed accurately represented the printer’s about ‘what if’. Without prototyping, so many things can go wrong. capabilities. ‘Once you know what the printer can do, that’s when The print quality may not come out as the designer and brand the ‘what-ifs’ start to form beautiful packaging and you get a envisioned; the dieline might fail; the unboxing experience may consistently elevated shelf presence and consumer response.’be fawed. But the actual risk, says Lindsey, is that ‘brands risk not In other words, that’s when the magic of prototyping happens, having the opportunity to truly engage the consumer’s senses and bringing together the elements of design, imagination, exploration, ultimately win on the shelf’. touch, sight, experience, and ultimately the ability to confdently Recalling another prototyping win, Lindsey talks about a recent select the winning packaging. A prototype project in pictures In the accompanying article, I mentioned one of my recent brand goals. For phase two, we are again partnering with Cog, projects: the new labels and packaging design for the a development and prototyping studio that specializes in rebranding of Wildfare, a line of specialty food items. secondary packaging. The rebranding was a two-phase project. During the frst Our frst step is to eliminate metallized substrates and phase, we had to move quickly and account for a lot of logistics. instead explore coated and uncoated substrates. This broad Between olive, apricot, tomato and other harvesting schedules, change will ensure the packaging meets its goal of greater container space and daily price increases overseas, we designed recyclability. To maintain the luxe of the brand, we are and prototyped phase one in record time. Since the new identity experimenting with various foil stamping and embossing and packaging designs demanded a luxury look beftting the techniques. It’s important to note that we’re prototyping our brand’s quality ingredients and new identity, we quickly decided top design choices, not all of our concepts. To that end, check on metalized substrates for their incontrovertible ability to out the new concepts and options in the following images create a premium look. and captions. Notice the variations in design and materials, We also chose these substrates because metallized labels and along with our thoughts on how each version meets Wildfare’s flm were available to all Wildfare’s print suppliers, in the US recyclable and luxury-look goals. I wish you could lift them off and abroad. Due to the tight timeline, phase one prototyping the page and touch them like the Wildfare team can! That’s the became a confrmation process rather than an exploration of key beneft to prototyping. You get to hold each one; feel each possibilities. Now, about a year after the rebranding launch, label’s distinctive qualities, and compare them to each other. we are evolving the labels and packaging to explore options And fnally, you can determine which concept has the exact look that will align more closely with Wildfare’s sustainability and feel that the brand warrants. and recyclability goals. Any exploration of substrates, Successful prototyping is an exercise in understanding embellishments and tactile effects demands prototyping what’s possible, as well as weeding out what doesn’t meet the to truly assess whether or not the packaging meets specifc brand objectives.Option 1Of all the new concepts, this label is the most similar to Wildfare’s existing label. It is printed CMYK on a coated adhesive label stock, with foil stamping on Wildfare’s iconic brand logo – the mosaic fower. While far more recyclable than the existing label, which uses a metallized substrate, this option still has the most metallic coverage of any of the new concepts and will therefore produce more industrial waste than any of the other options. So, while it meets the objective of being more environmentally considerate, it’s not the most considerate of all the design options.Prototyping: Cog, LLC; Photography: Guy WelchJan - Mar 2022