Package Design - January/February 2015 - 59

real-world
Retail buyers don't want
their cashiers spending
5 minutes hunting
for a barcode that you
cleverly disguised
as part of a pattern.

▸ continued from page 13

Some large retailers such as Walmart or
Amazon will also have their own rules about
what types of fonts can be used, the size and
location of barcodes, what identifying information must be included and maximum
dimensions. Failing to account for all of these
factors can lead to the brand being charged
extra fees by retailers or having the products
rejected outright. There are also the day-today realities of retail, such as stocking that
need to be accounted for. You may think that
adding the product number or SKU to the
front of your package is distracting; but if it
helps the retailer ensure accurate and easy
stocking, it's almost always worth it. Similarly, I know a lot of design students think of
barcodes as ugly or distracting, but retail is
often fast-paced and retail buyers don't want
their cashiers spending 5 minutes hunting for
a barcode that you cleverly disguised as part
of a pattern. When designing packaging for a

product with a retail value over $50, it's
important to remember that it may have a
security device attached by the retailer. If you
can provide the retailer with a clear area that
doesn't contain any critical information for
this purpose, you'll be saving yourself and the
retailer from headaches down the road.
While the fundamentals of design, the
various styles and methodologies I learned
in college have all been valuable tools in my
professional career, I believe that students

ACADEMY

would benefit from training about the concerns of producing for commercial retail and
being introduced to some of the constraints
and challenges they will face as practicing
designers. These added challenges will force
them to be more creative in their problem
solving, more competitive in the market and
better prepared for the realities of the professional world. l
John Grant is a designer with Ignite U.S.A.,
which specializes in innovation in two of the
fastest growing segments of the beverageware industry: ecological, reusable thermal
and hydration containers. Ignite's brands
include Avex (www.avexsport.com) and
Contigo (www.gocontigo.com). Prior to
working with Ignite, he was a freelance
designer based in the greater Chicago area
but worked on projects from around the
world. Grant's work can be viewed at
www.behance.net/jhgrant.

EDITOR'S NOTE: In this issue, we debut, Real-World Academy. This column, which appears every other issue, features first-person essays from
different contributors on varying paths of their professional design, branding and marketing careers. The authors will share lessons hard-won
from real-world experience.

AD INDEX
1
IFC
IBC
41
20-21
9, Insert
24-25
43
31, OBC
7
47
55
12
30
29
17
49
3
34
5
35
27
39

Digital Printing Webinar/HP
Esko
Fibre Box Association
Flexible Technologies
Hewlett-Packard
HLP Klearfold
Inwork
JetComp Films
Kaleidoscope
Kapstone
Luxe Pack NY
Makeover Challenge 2015
Mimaki USA
Package Design Matters Conference
Package Design Matters Webcast
Product Ventures
Prototyping Webinar
R&D Leverage
Roland DGA
Transparent Container
Univenture
Webb deVlam
William Fox Munroe

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Package Design - January/February 2015

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