Question: To what extent do hand-made techniques and finishes of packaging design create appeal
to the upper-class consumer at point
of purchase?
Introduction
Establishing thesis
Point One
Explicit identification of the difference between standard packaging and luxury packaging.
Quotations:
Calver
'Prestige brands offer the best quality in their class, the notion of quality being rooted in a cultural myth about quality.' (Calver, 2003: 22)
'Every market sector behaves in it own way and, over time, this behaviour can result in strong visual language. Some people call this language "sector cues."' (Calver, 2003: 54)
'Necessity is embedded within the cultural rhetorics of lower incomes and even poverty. Luxury, at the opposite end of the scale, signifies massive wealth, but also taste.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)
'Consumer individuality has resulted in the development of niche markets...each niche market has its own idiosyncrasies and understanding these in fundamental to the design process.' (Calver, 2003: 60)
'There are times when you look at a piece of packaging, or feel it in your hands, and you absorb feelings of quality, exclusivity, refinement, and luxury.' (Calver, 2003: 154)
Robinson
'While L'Oreal Paris would introduce a product with glamorous packaging, a space-age name with ingredient X, and an ad campaign featuring a celebrity spokesperson, Lance might introduce virtually the same product with ingredient X "respun" with a chic French name, different luxury packaging, and a slightly different claim for essentially the same ingredient.' (Robinson, 2004: 37)
Reece et al
'Companies percieved to have the highest level of product or service quality, service excellence, and/or luxury create a very loyal base of customers.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)
'Consumers value quality, convenience and service on some items and they don't mind paying a premium when they perceive equitable value in return.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)
Twedt
'Differences in package excellence are directly translated into corresponding differences in sales appeal.' (Twedt, 1968: 58)
Nayar
'High-end consumption - or conspicuous consumption, which is not about necessities, but about lifestyle - is increasingly possible to the consumer through a democratisation of comfort.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)
'Comfort is the cultural logic of mass manufacture, marketing and consumption, while luxury is the cultural logic of niche manufacture, marketing and consumption.' (Nayar, 2009: 47)
'Douglas Holt (1997) has argued that consumption almost always occurs within 'cultural frameworks' - of taste, ideology, aesthetics and efficiency.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)
Point Two
The role of packaging finishing and consumer experience.
Quotations:
Calver
'For many years certain types of packaging had a role beyond the purely functional. Packaging has become something to value in its own right, something to be displayed because it has a certain cachet.' (Calver, 2003: 8)
'Packaging acquires an importance disproportionate to the product itself.' (Calver, 2003: 8)
'The bottle of Coke and the memory are inextricably linked, so much so that the bottle - the packaging - has become symbolic of the brand and the experience. (Calver, 2003: 44)
'The packaging becomes a manifestation of the brand itself and, because a brand is more than just the product itself, the packaging becomes a compound of consumers' perceptions, memories and feelings. In effect, a brand becomes a compound of "tangible" and "intangible" values. (Calver, 2003: 44)
'You must understand what emotional and rational triggers the target market will respond to if you are to create packaging that communicates a powerful proposition.' (Calver, 2003: 60)
'Material selection is important in controlling consumers' perceptions of a product - both initial perceptions and more considered appraisal.' (Calver, 2003: 112)
'Perceptions can be manipulated through the look of a piece of packaging through the way it feels in the hand. Most people instinctively associate certain attributes - such as quality, elegance, youthfulness, exclusivity, and trendiness - with certain looks and sensations. (Calver, 2003: 112
Different types of materials all coalesce into an impression of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)
'The finishing of a piece of packaging can communicate the exclusivity and value of a product.' (Calver, 2003: 112)
'The process of unwrapping the product heightens consumers' expectations and suspends the pleasure of buying or receiving it.' (Calver, 2003: 112)
Reece et al
'Companies that successfully differentiate their brand from others in their category can maximise prices to what the market will bear.' (Reece et al., 2013: 34)
Twedt
'The potential contribution of a superior package to profitability is simply too great to be ignored.'
(Twedt, 1968: 58)
Nayar
'Goods posses meanings that are dependant upon their appropriation by the users. Material culture, therefore, is not simply about things and objects. Rather, it is about the intimate connection between the object and its users. Issues of style, fashion, aesthetic appeal are not properties inherent in particular objects, but the result of a social and cultural evaluation of these objects.' (Nayar, 2009: 49)
Point Three
Sustainability vs. Luxury.
Quotations
Calver
'Environmental concerns affect manufactures and retailers alike. For many they now form part of their corporate responsibilities.' (Calver, 2003: 62)
'Recycling affects packaging design because it influences the choice of materials.' (Calver, 2003: 62)
'Choosing recyclable substrates is approaching the issue from the other end and is often favourable: using recycled substrate is an easier way to demonstrate one's environmental credentials than using a substrate consumers can't recognise as good or bad for the environment.' (Calver, 2003: 64)
'The role of packaging designers in the great environmental debate will aways be influenced by the client, by cost, by individual responsibility, and ultimately the brief, because the brief encapsulates the commercial imperative behind any design project.' (Calver, 2003: 64)
Press
'The move to sustainability became a more conscious initiative.' (Press, 2009: 110)
'In luxury packaging, people use foils, and thats not recyclable, so we came out with a new product called Curt Chrome, which is an environmentally friendly alternative to foil.' (Press, 2009: 110)
'Most packages have an overabundance of packing materials and by simply by limiting such excess you can be more eco-friendly.' (Press, 2009: 110)
Yang
'The rise of incomes has produced a consumerist ideology and way of life. Excessive and extravagant consumption is prevalent.' (Yang, 2013: 201)
'Out of the yearly production of nearly 3 million tons of domestic waste, different kinds of commodity packaging materials amount to 830,000 tones. Out of this, 600,000 tones are caused by over-packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)
'One-third of domestic waste comes from packaging, out of which one-half is from luxury packaging.' (Yang, 2013: 201)
Nayar
'The marketing and consumption of eco-products and nature is within a cultural framework of environmentalism.' (Nayar, 2009: 50)
Analysis
'Tiffany Blue Box.'
Quotations
‘Tiffany has one thing in stock that you cannot buy of him for as much money as you may offer, he will only give it to you. And that is one of his boxes.’ (New York Sun: 1906)
'Crowned with a white ribbon, the Tiffany Blue Box is an international symbol of style and sophistication.' (Tiffany: 2017)
'Tiffany Blue Boxes make hearts beat faster, and epitomize Tiffany’s great heritage of elegance, exclusivity and flawless craftsmanship.' (Tiffany: 2017)
Conclusion - Answering of the question.
