Barrel Buds
The brief for this project was to create a food product that encourages “play” from the purchaser. I imagined play as being non-pragmatic and interactive. Ideally, this will make the product stick in a person’s mind for longer.
My final design was both a fun snack and an ethically conscious vegan product meant to interest both kids and their parents.
Choosing a Product and Audience
I thought the large barrel shape of a cheese ball package was attractive because it gives me a lot to work with. Larger illustrations can be more impactful, and the extra space gave me more room for smaller secondary interactions.
Vegan products often have interesting packaging, while some use colors that communicate health or eco-friendliness, others use brighter, playful colors and illustrations that communicate fun friendliness. I think this could make the packaging feel more attractive to an audience that’s hesitant to buy a vegan product, but it also makes it more attractive as a product for kids. I thought it would be interesting to target a child audience because there are a lot more obvious templates for play within that age group
Process
I ended up emphasizing a large mascot character, making it an endangered animal continental tiger, which gave me the opportunity to attract both audiences.
