On Modern Commodity Packaging Design - Green Design

Third, green packaging is the future of packaging design

Saving natural resources and protecting the ecological environment are the basic contents of the sustainable development strategy. As an important part of social and economic activities, commodity packaging will inevitably embark on the road to sustainable development—green packaging. Green packaging, also known as environmentally friendly packaging, means that the packaging design must ensure that the performance of the product is intact, but also consider environmental protection factors, that is, packaging waste has no damage to the ecological environment. For some time, due to the neglect of the harmonious development between man and nature, a large number of packaging materials or packaging processes that cause environmental pollution have been used in the packaging of goods, causing serious damage (potential hazards) to the ecological environment or human health, such as the use of non- Degradation of plastic caused by "white waste" disaster. Today, mankind has become more and more aware of the importance and necessity of green packaging. For example, Japan has banned the use of non-biodegradable plastic packaging of vegetables and fruits; many foods in the United States began to use soy protein packaging film, which can be cooked with food. China also attaches great importance to the development of green packaging. For example, some corn baking and packaging cups used in ice cream products are not only conducive to ecological and environmental protection, but also popular with consumers. It can be predicted that green packaging will become the mainstream direction of future packaging design.

To develop green packaging, the following issues should be noted: 1) In the packaging design of goods, recyclable, renewable, or degradable packaging materials should be used as far as possible. For example, a French dairy company used lactic acid to develop a biodegradable plastic that could be degraded to farmyard manure at 55°C for 60 days. In addition, Japan and other countries are also studying the use of propionic acid as the matrix of biodegradable plastics [1]. 2) The packaging material or packaging process cannot damage the ecological environment. For example, the United States strictly prohibits the use of rice straw as a packing material, because straw may cause the spread of plant diseases and insect pests. Another example is that several countries in the EU have banned the import of rainforest timber in order to prevent the greenhouse effect [2]. 3) Packaging materials or packaging processes cannot harm human health. For example, due to the discovery of strong carcinogen dioxins in some blister packaging materials, Italy, Austria and other countries have completely banned the use of such packaging materials. 4) The urgency and inevitability of green packaging must be fully understood in terms of ideology. Green packaging may increase the cost of product packaging, but must not overlook the development prospects of green packaging. Green packaging is not only a revolution facing packaging materials and packaging technology, but also a great revolution facing the entire packaging industry, and it is also a great revolution related to the survival and development of human beings.

Fourth, packaging design should belong to its time and people

The German classical philosopher Hegel once said that every artwork belongs to its time and its people. As a cultural phenomenon, packaging, like a work of art, should also belong to its time and nation. In the field of packaging design, both domestic and foreign countries should fully demonstrate their national characteristics. The nation is the world. In modern commodity packaging design, in addition to absorbing advanced design concepts and science and technology from abroad, inheriting and developing our traditional art style also has great practical significance. China is an ancient country with a long history of culture and history. There are many things that are nationalized, and national personalities are manifested. If we can fully explore our national cultural heritage, we will greatly promote the development and progress of China's commodity packaging design. After China's accession to the WTO, commodity packaging in China is facing unprecedented opportunities, and it is also facing more severe challenges. In the packaging of goods, if we emphasize one-sidedly with international standards and neglect local culture, then it is certainly not conducive to the sustained, healthy and stable development of China's commodity packaging. The example of a branded milk powder with a white image printed on the international market is an example.

Packaging design should also grasp the pulse of the times. The society is advancing and the times are evolving. If old, immutable, obsolete packaging is used forever, it will certainly be detrimental to the marketing of goods. In the past, our country’s enterprises did not fully understand the importance of commodity packaging, and did not fully consider the sense of the era of packaging design, resulting in products of superior quality that were at a disadvantage in the international market. In fact, commodity packaging has a strong sense of the times, packaging design can only adapt to the ever-changing market. First of all, packaging design should be consistent with consumers' increasingly mature consumer attitudes. With the improvement of China’s economic and cultural level, the people of our country have changed from subsistence to well-to-do. The requirements for the structure, shape and function of commodity packaging are also increasing. Second, environmental protection concepts and health concepts have increasingly become the main theme of today's world. The packaging materials and packaging processes used in the packaging of goods should conform to the main theme. At present, developed countries have begun to promote the use of paper cans and other green packaging materials and processes [3]. Third, the packaging design should fully consider contemporary human factors. For example, today's society has stepped into the Internet era. Therefore, packaging design needs to fully consider the full and fast-paced modern people's desire to return to nature in the Internet era.

Fifth, commodity packaging design should arouse consumers' strong desire to buy

Whether it can stimulate consumers' desire to buy is one of the most important criteria for evaluating the success or failure of commodity packaging design. Consumer recognition and purchase are the biggest rewards for product packaging design. To achieve this goal, designers need to take into full account all aspects of business, industry, art, psychology, etc., and follow the principle of “practice-design-re-practice-redesign”, and proceed from reality to get product packaging design More and more consumer acceptance and recognition. Designers must realize that packaging design is not a purely artistic thing, but a multidisciplinary integration of literature, science, engineering, and business. In order to design a product package that is generally accepted and recognized by consumers, designers must study art design, marketing, marketing, economics, consumer psychology, structural materials, ergonomics, physics, and printing processes. Learn relevant knowledge, expand and optimize your own knowledge structure. In short, excellent packaging design should be a popular, international, market-oriented design, which should have a powerful impact on the consumer's vision and psychology, and can arouse consumers' strong desire to purchase.

Source: China Packaging