Every Day Is Special: May 7 - Design Packaging Day

May 7 - Design Packaging Day

Posted on May 7, 2020

There are products we need (like lettuce, loafers, leggings, lemons, lollipops, and LEGO bricks), and then there is packaging of those products.

Packaging is generally something we don't want much of. We usually just throw it away! So...why do we have it?

Some products don't need any packaging. Like other clothing items, leggings might be hanging on reusable hangers - and sure, they need tags to tell us the size, price, and washing instructions...

but they don't necessarily need packaging.

Of course, online sales and some in-store displays have leggings in plastic packaging.

Lemons, lettuce, and other foods often don't need packaging. Lemons are shipped from grower to distributor and market in cardboard boxes, generally, and are displayed on grocery shelves or in baskets. When I buy lemons, I usually select a few and put them straight into my market cart and then my reusable grocery bag - no need for plastic bags. Lettuce, however, is often wet and a bit fragile (despite those twist-ties that keep the heads roughly together, the leaves can rip off fairly easily), so I usually put a head of lettuce into a plastic bag.

Of course, in some stores, or with some brands, there is some packaging for lemons and lettuce...

Lollipops are a kind of food that DEFINITELY needs some packaging. This candy is sticky and prone to dissolving when wet - so they pretty much need to be wrapped in individual plastic! However, lollipop sticks are generally unwrapped.

Loafers and LEGO bricks almost always need packaging. Loafers don't stack nicely for shipping or storage - AND it's important to keep pairs together! - and so we put each pair in a shoe box.

LEGO has too many little parts to ship and display loose (for the most part), and the packages are important tools that motivate kids and parents to buy a particular LEGO set.

Maybe you're lucky enough to live near a LEGO store and you
can buy LEGO bricks by the pound? Very cool, right?

The thing about packaging is that it should always be functional, but it can be ugly or beautiful, boring or fun, clumsy or convenient, an immediate throw-away or useful. Here are some great packaging ideas:

I love my plastic LEGO box. I can store loose bricks
OR completed small LEGO projects inside, and the
lid can be used for sorting! Hooray!

Do these cool beauty products look like
they are inside plastic containers? Well -
the containers are made out of soap!!
When the product inside is used up, the
soap containers can be used as soap or
simply dissolved! Wow!

Not your grandma's milk carton!

I like packaging that can be stored on my not-very-high
shelf, in my fridge, especially if the containers can fit
together in a space-saving way. Very cool!