Brief
For this project, I decided to create my own brief to design the packaging for a set of reusable period pads I named ‘BLOB.’, inspired by the euphemism ‘on the blob’. With a mission to end the stigma around periods, the brand prides itself on creating sustainable and affordable period products made from recycled materials. The challenge was to rethink the way period products are packaged by branching out the target audience to those who don’t identify with the typical ‘feminine’ designs we tend to see on the shelves.
Research
I started off by creating a mood board of gender-neutral packaging design to get a feel of colour and typography used. I also referred to my dissertation about gender stereotypes and gender-neutral design. I noticed a lot of designs used multiple colours and minimal patterns to avoid looking overly masculine or feminine.
I then put together another mood board for some inspiration. I was mostly drawn to packaging with bold shapes and colour as well as the logo being the main focus of the design.
Initial Sketches
When doing my sketches my favourite idea was to make the logo the main focus and incorporated the shape of a pad into the centre of the ‘O’.
I also liked the idea of using flowy shapes to represent splotches of blood and also felt it worked well with the brand name. I originally thought to use the colour red but found it to be too much of an obvious choice so I experimented briefly with other colours.
Development
I began on-screen by working on the logo as that was the main asset on the packaging.
I experimented with a few different bubble fonts and manipulated the shapes to make them a bit more unique.
I also tried to incorporate various other period products into the letters to see how further packaging could be produced in the future if the brand was to branch out and sell other period products. I also thought about the brand's use of language using puns that could be used as taglines.
After finalising the logo, I moved on to choosing the colours; each flow type has its own colours to represent it but still complement each other on a store shelf. However, I felt they need at least one colour to be the same on each to make them look more cohesive with each other. I felt earthy colours were the best as they are considered to be quite neutral in masculine and feminine connotations.
Final Designs
Here are my final designs for my packaging for BLOB. I’m really happy with how it turned out and feel the pastel colour scheme works as it isn't overly masculine or feminine. I chose to use a brown cardboard material to represent the brand being sustainable.
I also like how the overall design is more muted to balance out the bolder logo.