I recently read a book (Ready Player One) in which the lead character became absorbed into a matrix style online gaming world which he felt was better than the “real” world around him. A world of warcraft style adventure ensued as they battled to win a prize to inherit their digital world from its inventor after his death.

Even in this fantasy world of a digital tomorrow, the character had to order his food and hardware to be delivered or collected from an outlet or storage.

I am normally a strong advocate for independent retail and the high street. It pains me to admit, however, that this year I purchased about 90% of christmas presents online. (though 2 gifts haven’t arrived in time which strengthens my argument)

This year (2012) online shopping is expected to reach nearly 10% of all retail spending in the UK and is growing quickly with almost two thirds of adults reported to make online purchases. [www.huffintonpost.co.uk, www.telegraph.co.uk ]

Even in the world of online, we still need Things and things need packaging.

Apart from the career it has developed, to me packaging is important for several reasons:

Product protection.

• Cucumbers last three times as long on the shelf when shrink wrapped, which increases shelf life and therefore reduces food waste.
• Good glassware packaging can reduce transit damage to almost 0%

Storage

• For a retailer, liquids and grain would be much more expensive to distribute without convenient packaging.
• Also as a method of preserving. Tins were developed between 1810 and 1813 to improve shelf life – It’s hard to imagine life without this type of packaging.

Communication.

• For a brand owner, packaging can communicate a product benefits
• For the consumer it can help make purchase decisions.
• Packaging is also a great way to communicate environmental or ethical status e.g. ‘fair trade’ or ‘recyclable’

Product Extension

• A container can be a way for the consumer to identify and interact with the product for example a shampoo bottle.
• Packaging can also become a product in itself for example gift packaging where a collector will keep the packaging both for storage and as a keepsake.

By carefully choosing the correct materials and production methods, not only can we reduce cost and environmental impact of the packaging, we can also reduce waste (e.g. food or perishable goods) improve consumer choice and increase the value of the finished product.

The type of project I enjoy working on the most is gift packaging. The sense of satisfaction when creating a design which will be kept and cherished, rather than disposed of, offers a much greater sense of reward.