Spring 2024
Overview
The goal of this project was to design a 3/0, flat-bottom, tin-tie bag for a garden bulb product.
Research + Brainstorming
Before I began looking at packaging, I started researching garden bulbs because I didn't know as much as I thought I knew. I checked out a lot of online garden shops, seed and bulb suppliers, and online gardening blogs, and paid a lot of attention to the information these resources listed about the bulbs they were selling or recommending. I compiled a list of flower bulbs and veggie bulbs. From there, I began categorizing the bulbs into themes that could work as a cohesive bulb series. I was kind of bummed that there weren't as many veggie bulbs out there. Sure, there are a lot of bulbous vegetables, but almost all of them are grown from seeds. So, I decided to just focus on flower bulbs. Once I had a grasp on the range of bulbs I could use for my bag, I started by looking at both seed package designs as well as a lot of coffee bag designs since that bag type would be similar to the one used in this project. I looked at typography, label placement, and illustration style.
Sketches + Doodles
Before I began my sketches, I took one of my bulb ideas and wrote out on a single page every bit of copy that I would need to include on my bag. This gave me a good idea of how much room I'd need for things, and why I should keep simplicity at the forefront of my mind. Then I began sketching as many concepts for the front of the bag as I could. I figured the rest of the design would come easily as long as I got those initial ideas and layouts down on paper. After that, I took one of my series concepts and sketched an entire page with some more detailed layout concepts. I also did a few little doodles on my Ipad to help get me in the earthy, flower mood. After this point, I felt I had some good ideas of directions to take each of my concepts in my thumbnails.
Thumbnails
I was pretty excited about my three concepts and felt that each idea had a clear enough difference between them. I wanted the Ebon Bloom series to be more gothic and elegant, the Always Greener series to be more upscale earthy, folksy, and organic, and the Urban Bulb series to be illustrative, a little surreal, funky, bright, and focused on a younger audience.
Intermediates
As much as I wanted to go with the bright and surreal Urban Bulb concept, I decided to push myself and explore two styles I don't usually design. I did take the typography direction from the "Urban Bulb" title and tried it out on the Always Greener concept. Before, I had envisioned the Always Greener concept to be a more upscale organic vibe. For this intermediate, I tried to develop a more approachable and friendly organic, earthy, and folksy vibe which is why I switched out the typography styles. I didn't draw all the intricacies within my paisley pattern for this concept just to save on time, but I plan on creating a cool paisley and plant pattern to complement my other folksy illustrations. As much as I love the gothic Ebon Bloom idea, I was having trouble with the placement of the lilies and having them be viewed on the front of the bag. I think I'm going to save that style and typography direction for a future project!
Final Hand
Did not complete :( Bad Shelby
Black + White Computer Progressions
My initial computer outputs started out SO rough. I initially was going to use a public domain vintage botanical illustration of the saffron crocus, but I'm so happy that I ended up drawing all my bag graphics myself. This also became the bane of my existence. Trying to transfer and vectorize my ornamental designs from Procreate into Illustrator led to many issues. All the hand-drawn charm was lost when I image-traced everything, and all my lines and shapes looked weird. Once I went with a Mondrian layout for the back of the bag, I was happy, it was just all the ornamental elements on the front that I couldn't quite nail down. It kept being too heavy or empty, so finding a balance was challenging.
Color Studies
My plan for the color strips was to print a selection of colors on both a thicker, darker brown environmental paper as well as a lighter cream-colored environmental paper. I loved both papers, and both had cool little flecks that lent to a beautiful organic, earthy look that was perfect for my design. There was quite a difference in how the same color was printed on each paper. I did want to try some bright color combinations, but none ended up looking very good. The muted greens, browns, blues, and purples ended up looking really, really nice and I thought they matched the design style well, but a lot of the more muted three-color combinations I tried ended up looking more like a two-color job. I finally ended up choosing a really beautiful dark sage green, warm orange, and rich plum color for my final choices. I settled on those because they were earthy but also food-y, which is good considering my product series is all about edible harvests.
In a very unfortunate turn of events, I accidentally set the last of my fancy environmental papers down on top of a candle that I forgot was burning on my desk and all of them burned. I stopped my house from burning down but I did have to rethink my paper choices after that :(
Final Assembled
I ended up finding a few extra earthy papers to print on, and I'm so happy with the texture of the final assembled bag. I transferred a twist tie from a coffee bag onto my bag, and the kraft paper color ended up matching really nicely. Right before my final print, I tweaked my crocus illustrations on the front and back of the bag slightly so the saffron threads were more visible. I decided to take the bag outside for some photos, and I was surprised at the color difference.
Final Clean Digital
That earthy charm from the paper is lost with the digital, but I'm really happy with how this turned out.