Packaging for Local:
Made as a part of a packaging design (departmental elective) project at grad school guided by Dr Tridha Gajjar. The objective was to find a locally available product, rethink the packaging, and give it a global look.
The original packaging: 'Raj' is a local FMCG product brand. The chosen product is 'Chaal bhajan, or puffed rice, a popular snack in West Bengal, India. The project started with observing the original packaging made with flexo printed single-use plastic.
Inspiration: 'Chaal bhaja' is available mainly as a street food that locals grab on the go on their busy schedules or a long train ride home or anywhere. It is served in a paper bag or 'Thonga' made with recycled newspaper. I wanted to retain the same interaction of newspaper packaging and designed the surface design of the packaging following the busy editorial look. Sealed paper packaging can be used with the vertical form-fill-sealing technique to eliminate single-use plastic as an alternative to single plastic.
Approach 1: After deciding on the packaging concept, I explored different keylines (funnel, pillow packing, etc.). The idea was to create packaging which would not only hold the contents but also be sealed and later opened to pour easily.
Problem: This type of packaging doesn't hold the desired amount of content. A much larger packaging of the same keyline is needed to do the same. The pillow packing doesn't allow the contents to be airtight.
Approach 2: After the first approach, I opened up a milk carton to study it's keyline and followed the same to create more explorations. The carton form allowed it to be divided into two halves to share the contents with another person.
After working on the form of the packaging, I designed the surface graphics. As a reimagination of the product, I decided to give a new brand name that gives a personal appeal. Kaku in Bengali means uncle.
I chose and explored with colours similar to the original packaging. These colours can also be found in and around West-Bengal.
The final form of the packaging is similar to a carton and can be divided to share the contents.
