Study Task 03 - Defining the Brief

1. Research question: To what extent do hand-made techniques and finishes of packaging design create appeal to the upper-class consumer?

1a. Is it viable...

What is there to study? (Ontology)

• The differences in design for generalised consumers in comparison to design for the upper-class.
• Hand-made techniques.
• Finishes (foiling, embossing etc.)
• Luxury Brand Identity.
• Packaging Design.
• Consumerism.
• Sustainability.

How can we know about it? (Epistemology)

• The experience of packaging at point of purchase in a range of stores targeting differentiating clientele from different levels of social class buying at varying price-points.
• Academic reading materials/journals/essays.
• Books on Packaging design/consumerism/sustainability.
• Research of luxury brand strategy.
• Online content.
• Exploration of finishes and hand made techniques.
• Analysis of existing examples. 

How do we study it? (Methodology)

• Creation of Luxury Packaging using a range of hand-made finishing techniques.
• Feedback regarding outcomes on the effect finishes and hand crafting have on perception of packaging. 
• Comparison of outcome(s) to pre-existing established luxury packaging resolutions. 

2. Defining the design problem:

When it comes to high-end packaging — it is the fine details, accents, personal touches and sheer volume of materials that truly encapsulate the niches of luxury brands and the methodology through which they deliver products. This type of packaging from an environmentalist point of view is unnecessary, boastfully extravagant and grotesquely grandiose, however, to restrict these devices and materials would be to disembody the soul of luxury packaging altogether. With this in mind, there should be greater exploration in to the uses of 100% sustainable materials for luxury retail packaging and the effects this has on the perception of brand and consumer experience - especially uses of materials that have a clearly sustainable aesthetic. 

3. "Client" needs or requirements:

The clients of this explorative project are the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Tiffany etc. who require point-of-purchase retail packaging to have clear potentials for upwards-comparison and a high-end luxury aesthetic that creates appeal to the high-class consumer and rouses their niche desires for brands/products/packaging that is of a higher cachet to all other competitors. The packaging created during the project should have this consideration at the forefront of production as equal to concerns of sustainability. 

4. Audience:

With packaging design, more must done in order to capture the individuality of the high-end consumer and their perpetual endeavour and ambition to own and experience the less ordinary to meet their niche desires. To successfully create appeal to the typical upper-class consumer, luxury packaging must exploit an abundance of available materials and their ability to be used in forming both tangible and emotional relationships with consumers through theatrics and manipulation of luxury sector cues.

5. Mandatory requirements: 

All resolutions produced should be born out of exploration in to whether material objects can be packaged to optimise the high-end consumers’ appropriation of them whilst still being sustainable — and if so, through what methodology/strategic implementation.

Resolution Requirements:

• Must be 100% recyclable.
• Must use sustainable materials.
• Must appear luxury/high-end.