Overview
As I developed the packaging for the Spilt Ink brand, I considered a wide variety of shapes and templates. Ultimately, however, the shape of the packaging needed to respond to and augment the shape of the object within, which made some of the options I was considering stand out as the stronger candidates.
As this process continued, I remembered that the Spilt Ink brand was not about the creation of something new, but taking something old and giving it a new life. Thus was born the idea of re-purposing packages that had already been used for something else. The Spilt Ink brand is about inspiration, and so it was only natural that I practice this principle while searching for appropriate older packages to serve as a basis for the new ones.
Each package needed some inherent story that could be used as inspiration for the creative writers that would eventually purchase these items, and so I did not want to obliterate all signs of what the package used to be. Instead, I wanted to allow its history to peek through, veiling it in just enough branding to make it feel like it was a part of the set.
I chose translucent vellum as the labeling material for its smoky qualities to serve as this "veil," and applied the visual motifs of the Spilt Ink brand: blackletter style font; large, recessive ligatures; and an element unique to the packaging: the dripping bar code.
Because these packages were all developed to be displayed within a branded store, the Spilt Ink logotype did not need to be front and center, but was able to take a less-prominent position on one of the secondary faces. I also included a message on each product written by the fictional store owner, Dave Dennison.
Keep reading to learn more about the packaging design process!
