ESSAY: Moving into the third dimension

My role is a problem solver: the job is, in my view, the perfect mix of strategy, creativity and technical know-how.

I enjoy the challenge of creatively pushing the envelope within such strict manufacturing and logistical constraints.

How do we capture the mood and language of this brand in a pack that must also be stable enough to be conveyed down a filling line at 400 units per minute?

We look to make it simpler for shoppers to choose our client’s brand and know that the use of colour and shape is key.
Clearly, printed graphics are critical here – helping shoppers to identify their brands and make their purchase decisions.

Equally, therefore, 3D design can leverage the same insights through structural shape and material colours to help create more effective, shoppable solutions. And then, if you also develop ritual and multi-sensory experiences into that brand, you can build unique and memorable interactions beyond the supermarket.

I feel very proud to be in such a unique position within the Australian design industry. We think of graphics and structure as one with a common creative strategy established up front. From there each plays off the other, developing and growing together to create a singular, unified solution.

A simple example is the work we did on Pure Blonde: recommending a bottle which located on the filling line to allow us to decouple the branding between the printed label and the embossed bottle. This created a distinctive and proprietary bottle in response to the blonde beer copycats and has helped return Pure Blonde to growth.

The other aspect I enjoy in my role is the 3D visualisation where we create high-end digital imagery from scratch. By using 3D design techniques we are able to generate images that may have been impossible otherwise.

My favourite example of this is the copper kettle we designed and built for the Matilda Bay redesign. To cut a long story short, this has been modelled in 3D, textured, lit and rendered with a bit of post-production to finish it off.

I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t have been able to build a real kettle! This is a much faster, more efficient and, importantly, more flexible way of working. It isn’t right for all imagery but has enabled some really exciting concepts to be brought to life for our clients.

In truth I don’t think of the 3D offer as being a nice-to-have on projects but rather a missed opportunity when it’s overlooked. But then, as a 3D addict, I would say that wouldn’t I?

Safe to say though, the market place isn’t getting any less competitive so any advantage we can build for our clients, the better for the brand.

I get that structural packaging changes can require high investment costs but it can also create the most defendable and distinctive equities. This can help forge a deeper loyalty with shoppers and consumers, especially important in the face of copycat and me-too house brands.