Observation Jounal of Snack Packaging
As designers, many of you can relate to this. Don’t you often find yourself scrutinizing designs related to your field wherever you go? Font designers might be seen examining street signs, UX designers dissecting app structures while browsing a mall, and interior designers inspecting ceiling finishes in a café. Personally, I have a keen interest in printed materials, so I pay close attention to package designs. Today, I want to share some interesting points I discovered in snack packaging.
Observation Point 1: Looks Delicious Just by Seeing It
Snacks that have been on the market for a long time are already familiar to us, so we can easily recognize them by their color or specific shapes. However, for new products, customers first read the text to gather information about the product. This highlights the crucial role of text on snack packaging. Keeping this in mind, I observed the shelves at a convenience store and noticed several products whose lettering effectively captured their characteristics. Here are a few examples:
Taste
First, let’s look at a case of visualizing taste. The packaging uses the shape of lightning and a spiky design to convey the tangy sourness of 'Aisher'(Sour Candy). Design A is the original 'Aisher' package, while design B applies a similar concept using the 'MyGummy'(Jelly) trademark. What do you think? Which design, A or B, makes your mouth water more?
Form
Take a close look at the trademark of 'Turtle Chips'. Among A, B, and C, which one is the real 'Turtle Chips'?
The correct answer was B! This was deduced from the shape of the 'Turtle Chips' itself. The trademark incorporates the product’s form, characterized by a thick middle, reflecting the actual snack’s design. The 'Turtle Chips' snack is designed to resemble a turtle’s shell. The combination of the turtle shell-shaped snack, the turtle character, and the corresponding lettering effectively showcases the product’s unique characteristics.
Ingredients
Lastly, let’s look at cases where the main ingredients of a snack are expressed through the lettering of the trademark. In the case of 'Kkul Kkwabaegi'(Honey Twist Snack), the dripping nature of honey is captured in the final consonant ‘ㄹ’ of the word ‘꿀’(honey). Apart from the trademark, the honey motif is placed at all corners of the package except the top left. The cute bee icon above the trademark further emphasizes the honey, the main feature of the product.
Let’s examine another example. 'Kkotgerang'(Crab Chips) incorporates elements of crabs, the main ingredient, into its trademark. The initial stroke of the ‘ㄲ’ in ‘꽃’(flower) resembles a crab claw, and the initial and final strokes of the ‘ㅊ’ in ‘게’(crab) seem to depict crab eyes. The glossy effect applied to the entire trademark likely represents the smoothness of a crab’s shell.
Observation Point 2: Changing with the Times
Previously, we examined snack packaging from the perspectives of taste, form, and ingredients. We observed how many brands use lettering to better showcase the characteristics of their products. Now, let’s discuss the second interesting point: how products reposition themselves over time in the confectionery market. This change is reflected in the trademarks and fonts used.
If you look at the packaging of 'Custard' from its launch in 1989, you’ll notice the decorative trademark along with an ornate plate and floral decorations. The elaborate serifs in the lettering and the small script-style English font below reflect its premium positioning.
In contrast, the redesigned 'Custard' package in 2020 exudes a sense of friendliness. The most noticeable change is the rounded trademark, and the sub-copy font has also adopted a casual style to match. While the original 'Custard' gave the impression of a premium dessert to be enjoyed with tea or coffee, the current 'Custard' feels like a familiar snack to be enjoyed with milk. Can you sense this shift in positioning?
This time, let’s observe the design changes that occurred when Orion 'Diget(Digestive Biscuits)' were rebranded to Dr. You 'Diget' in 2012. The most striking change is the way the product name is presented. The shift from a familiar Korean-centric labeling to an English-centric design imparts an exotic sophistication. The lettering style transitioned from straight, blocky letters to a flowing script style, aiming to shed the previous rustic image. The depiction of wheat also changed from a realistic photo to an illustration, giving a more casual feel.
Looking at the current 'Diget' packaging, there are no major changes from the Dr. You 'Diget' version, but an added label on the upper left corner emphasizes whole wheat. The texture and angular form added to the trademark likely aim to reflect the crispy and rough nature of whole wheat. From the lettering applied to the packaging, we can discern how the message each product wants to convey evolves with the times.
Observation Point 3: Until Becoming a Classic
While some snacks actively utilize lettering to reflect changing times, as seen in the cases above, there are also snacks that firmly adhere to their original style. This is often the case for snacks that have achieved classic status and aim to maintain their authenticity.
For example, classic snacks might keep their traditional typography and packaging design to evoke nostalgia and preserve their long-standing brand identity. This consistent branding helps reinforce their status as timeless favorites among consumers, demonstrating a strong commitment to their heritage and original image.
Looking at the evolution of 'Saewookkang'(Shrimp Crackers), certain elements are consistently maintained even though the packaging has changed multiple times. These elements are the color, the image of the shrimp and the crackers, and the trademark lettering. The color has varied widely, from red to orange, and the images of the crackers and shrimp have been updated frequently. However, the lettering of the trademark has retained the same impression since 1989 and continues to be used today. This shows how lettering is used as a key element to convey the product’s heritage.
Expressing Uniqueness
Today, we discussed how fonts and lettering impact our everyday lives, particularly in the confectionery market. We observed that lettering is a crucial element in capturing the unique characteristics of products and plays a significant role in product identification. While it may not be the most important element of packaging, it certainly acts as a differentiating factor that piques curiosity in a crowded market.
Unlike font design, which involves creating thousands of characters considering both functionality and aesthetics, product lettering distills the message into just a few characters. I hope this observation journal helps you understand the letters you encounter daily from a new perspective. This concludes today’s observation journal. We’re diligently preparing the next one, so stay tuned! See you next time~
Author: Kim Yeoreum, Sandoll Brand Design Team