On the Connotation and Value of "Simple Packaging" (I)

Editor's note: "Simple packaging" and "appropriate packaging" belong to a single concept and are all criticisms of "excessive packaging." This article stands at the height of building a "saving society," and with emotional brushwork, discusses the rich content and important social value of "simple packaging." The method of value analysis provides a scientific basis for “simple packaging”. The concept of green packaging gives “simple packaging” to the soul of life, and the standardized consciousness promotes the legalization of “simple packaging”. The article has been eloquent! "" "Multiple words, long-held, and attractive content. It was published to the reader.

New values ​​such as energy conservation, environmental protection, and return to nature have been increasingly recognized. This to a certain extent constitutes the social foundation for the existence and development of minimalistic design. People are looking at simple, fresh and natural styles, perhaps because of the fast-paced pace of life that has made people feel exhausted, people are eager for a moment in their hearts, and the designers are repositioning themselves and thinking how to be noisy. In the visual world, the design concept is expressed more clearly, clearly and concisely. Simple packaging design will become the mainstream style of today's modern packaging design. It respects the simplest packaging structure, the most provincial packaging materials, the most sculpted shapes, and the most refined text and accurate information. We advocate the use of a clear, clear, pure, and cool abstract form. The pursuit of simplicity is rich, and pureness is the elegance. Emphasizing the design concept of "less is more", the design works are simple and open-minded, without any unnecessary decoration, while ensuring the true expression of design intent, intuitive and real, making the entire package design more refined, concise and natural.

It can be seen that simple packaging is a packaging form that includes both the functional value of packaging and the value of packaging art.

The basic characteristics of "simple packaging"

Truth-seeking: The truth-seeking of simple packaging, on the one hand, opposes over-packaging and deceives consumers; on the other hand, it opposes consumers as simple packaging. The use of “two pounds of bamboo shoots, three pounds of shells” to describe the overpacking of many products is irrelevant. This can be simple and generous packaging of moon cakes, must be made into a multi-tier Club-style basket, dragon boat-shaped gift baskets and other styles can not be, these round flat cakes wrapped in a "three inside and outside", dressed radiantly, make its price People speak. The packaging of various types of health and nutrition products is also the case. Obviously there are only four small ginseng tablets. Partially it is divided into two packages. It is wrapped in plastic bags and small boxes outside, and then is printed on the outside. Exquisite large box. The most typical is a kind of American ginseng packaging. The box is very small. When it is opened, the content is only a thin layer, and the volume is less than 1% of the packaging.

In recent years, over-packaging and luxury packaging have become commonplace in society. Excessive packaging means that the packaging of the commodity exceeds the required level and forms an unnecessary protection of the packaging. The manifestation of the packaging is excessive consumption of materials, excessive weight, excessive volume, over-stocking of materials, excessive decoration, and cost. Too high, etc., greatly exceeds the requirements for the protection and beautification of goods, giving consumers a false sense of misrepresentation.

Many commodities are relatively small, and the packaging is left one layer, right one layer and layers of consumers are peeled off. Only when they see the true colors of the face, this kind of over-packaging not only fails to provide the desired beautification and promotion, but also gives consumers the opposite. With a sense of humiliation, there is a rebellious psychology; over-packaging will increase some unnecessary costs, raise packaging costs, and damage consumer rights; more seriously, excessive packaging increases the use of packaging materials and wastes precious and valuable. Natural resources increase urban living garbage, causing environmental pressure.

With the development of society and the improvement of the level of material civilization, people's spiritual needs are constantly improving. With the deterioration of the living environment and the scarcity of natural resources, people's packaging concepts are changing. Consumers are increasingly in favor of simple packaging for product packaging. Packaging must be able to meet the core needs of consumers, that is, must have real value. Because the purpose of people buying is not packaging, but the product within the package. These various forms of over-packing with "more than forms of content" may be able to attract occasional gift purchases, but it is difficult to win the loyalty of consumers and lack the motivation for long-term development.

We oppose over-packaging and promote simple packaging while preventing the other extreme. Simplicity does not mean empty, simple, simple is a breakthrough of “complexity”. The relationship between simplicity and simplicity is the result of quantitative change and qualitative change.

Simplicity is the crystallization of simple accumulation, which is the essence formed after multi-layer infiltration and screening. Simplicity is the use of limited information to convey the intriguing artistic conception. It can maintain a clear context in the multitude and complexity, and can provide a refined index signal in the viewer's memory, leaving a deep overall impression. Simple packaging is not a simple package, but requires a simple and clear packaging design, accurate and complete design elements, a clear grasp of the attributes of goods, quickly and accurately convey product information, so that consumers get a more comprehensive understanding of the goods in a very short period of time . Realistic and simple packaging must have:

Understandability. In addition to indicating the product name, brand, and trademark, the package also indicates the quantity, weight, quality, size (such as shoes), manufacturer (and address, telephone number), date of manufacture, price, or barcode; food packaging must have nutrients , using raw materials, eating period, and specifically marked "fat free", "low fat", "without sugar" and so on.

Instructive. How to open the package, how to store the product and how to eat, use, and pack should have a very specific account. Need to be refrigerated, the packaging must be stated. The words used for the guidance should be exhaustive and should be accompanied by brief schematics if necessary. For example, there is a toothpaste on the packaging with “How do you brush your teeth?” lists 5 points, and also shows the figure “Zhang, with particular emphasis on the doctor’s care: “Use only your own toothbrush and don’t use someone’s toothbrush. ”

Convenience. Including convenience store display, sales; convenient customer to carry, use, etc.

safety. Including moisture, mold, moth, shock, leak, shatterproof, anti-extrusion and so on.

The packaging should also reflect the meticulous care for people. The products full of human nature are irresistible. The packaging of humanity full of humanity gives people a more intimate and warm feeling. For example, toy packages are written for children from the age of several to several years old. Toys with very small particles, in particular, “cannot be played for children under the age of the child.” All plastic film packaging, the film printed text: “This is not a toy, away from young children, to prevent suffocation. "There are precautions on the packaging of detergents, bleach, etc.:" Do not enter the eyes. In case of inadvertent entry, flush with water or consult a doctor. ”

For the understanding of packaging, we must use the perspective of dialectical unity and development. While seeing its own positive role, we should further deepen its influence on society and the environment, expand its service function, and maximize To reduce the unfavorable factors that the packaging itself has, it is even more important to reduce and overcome man-made adverse factors.

For the United States: the packaging design of goods is the crystallization of decorative arts. Exquisite and elegant packaging can stimulate high-level social needs of consumers. The packaging with deep artistic appeal is a kind of enjoyment for the purchaser. It is to promote potential consumers to become apparent consumers and become long-lasting types. The driving force of customary consumers. It is true that consumers buy goods not only based on packaging, packaging is only subordinate to goods, and the quality, price, and popularity of the goods are the main factors for consumer balance, but the “halo effect” of packaging can put consumers on packaging. The good feelings are transferred to the merchandise to achieve the purpose of promotion. The cartons of the "Snow Lotus" cashmere sweater are packaged in a soft, light green color with a white snow lotus pattern protruding from the box. It is exceptionally attractive and attractive. "Western Han Dynasty Ancient Wine" outside the bottle with a red background with an antique black pattern of the brand, the box with the background of the subtilis on the four vigorous, dignified black seal "Western Han ancient wine", like an old man telling The long story, in a row of colorful bottles, its unique style is very eye-catching. The packaging of “Wuliangye” breaks the traditional rectangle in shape design, adopts a square cut-off method, and turns the entire quadrilateral into a pentagon. This kind of innovation is not pure pursuit of alternatives, and its design form is not cumbersome. It is a simple, generous and innovative form that brings people a feeling of “simple, but not monotonous, plain and not rigid”, and at the same time injects new blood into the prestigious brand “Wuliangye”. Not only does it break the tradition in product positioning, but it also differentiates the previous stereotypes in product packaging, making consumers feel completely refreshed. The changes in the packaging materials also caused people's attention. The porcelain gifts exported from Shandong were ingeniously packed in hand-carryed boxes using corn bran. They not only made full use of surplus labor in rural areas, but also transformed local large-scale cheap materials into folk features. The elegantly crafted packaging is more artistic than ordinary carton packaging. Sichuan's famous "Wrapping Silk Rabbit" food was originally packaged in a red rectangular carton. Now it is made of delicate bamboo ray pieces and made into exquisite cylindrical containers. It is uniquely beautiful and forms an unforgettable impression.

This is the simple beauty of commodity packaging. In a huge city, mixed business is flooded into every corner. Any object is covered with colorful packaging. Cement buildings cover the sun. The streets are covered with noisy buildings. These forces the urban people to shun. The simple design creates a psychological sanctuary for urban dwellers: simple and smooth lines, elegant colors, comfortable and stylish styling, the application of natural materials – refreshing and concise, so that annoying souls are instantly purified by art, and cited To ethereal. Not too much, not too expensive, easy to own, and easy to enjoy, making life magnanimous, warm and romantic.

It should be noted that people's demand for beauty is also continuously improved with the progress of life and the development of the times. Different eras have different peculiar aesthetic characteristics. In the design of packaging, we must consider the aesthetic requirements of modern people, emphasizing simple, fresh, emphasizing health, upward, positive and enterprising, with the spirit of the era of beauty, in line with modern new design concepts and design ideas. Returning to nature, paying attention to green environmental protection is precisely the new aesthetic needs of the modern people. They are tired of deliberately sculpting, laying too many complicated and disorderly, emphasizing humanistic designs, pursuing simple design styles, and paying attention to cultural and national performance. Give more international and durable packaging.

Innovation: modern packaging as a new multidisciplinary comprehensive professional, involving natural sciences and social sciences, the development of disciplines and market changes constantly changing the packaging requirements, prompting the packaging discipline and technology must be synchronized, such as materials science The development provides more and more choices of packaging materials; the development of computer technology, the increasing degree of automation of packaging machinery; the development of printing technology, packaging and decoration more and more beautiful and so on. Simple packaging is a process of continuous innovation with high technology.

New packaging materials. Packaging material is the basis of packaging design, its basic performance is protection, security, processing adaptability, convenience, commercial, economical and recyclable. With the development of science and technology, various new materials have been born and used, and packaging is the fastest and fastest industry that uses new materials. From natural to synthetic, from single to composite, the mutual penetration of materials has become a development trend and inevitable. The emergence of a new material will make a packaging form with a distinct era mark, which represents a new era of cultural information. The development of new materials not only has high scientific and technological content and more scientific and reasonable, safe and reliable performance, but also pursues the exquisiteness, smoothness, flexibility, richness of features and texture of materials, and fully considers factors such as environmental protection and reuse. Some materials can imitate the characteristics of natural materials, and can replace the role of traditional materials to achieve the best effect of packaging. If you have recycled paper, it has a simple texture. If you can skillfully use it, it will be environmentally friendly and will bring unexpected results.

New packaging production process. Modern high-tech achievements have continuously promoted the development of packaging technology. The new process flow, high-intelligence production facilities, and automation and computer-integrated applications provide a wider space for packaging. From the package