I’m kind of a sucker for great packaging. If I don’t consciously mind myself while looking at things, I can end up buying something just because I like the way it was packaged.
Creativity is a cruel mistress delicate tension of form and function, the order depending on who you’re talking to. I’m from the camp that believes that form follows function. To put it another way, how a product/site/service looks like or is presented depends upon the purpose, goals, audience, and hoped-for results.
And the best question I have found to measure if I am on the right track is, “Why?”
Why am I exploring this concept? Why am I designing this element this way? Why is this placed here and not there?
A good way to test this out is to present/pitch/review some work to a [potential] client or colleague. Trust me, this is how I’ve learned if I have been creating successful work or decoration (dec·o·ra·tion: pretty stuff without much use or substance). During a presentation or review, you’ll always be asked questions like:
“What/how about…?”
“How do I…?
“Where do I go to…?
Successful creative campaigns result from being able to spin provide meaningful answers, reasoning, and recommendations. When we’ve just been decorating, we don’t know how to respond or don’t respond well. I have certainly been guilty of that.
I try to ask myself why throughout the process, because inevitably, everyone else will ask too.
I am a sucker for great packaging. But I also know when design hasn’t been smartly explored and doesn’t progress beyond a pretty box.
I return it to the store.
Tags: campaign, concept, creativity, decoration, form, function, packaging, presentation
