Design democratization

Packaging

More than 10 years ago, a client came to us that we never imagined would become such an important company for our professional life or for the country.

We started doing small projects, in which we received many brands already developed prior to our arrival. We work on many adaptations and line extensions. We had to deal with developments in many product categories that we had never worked on before.

Little by little and with perseverance, we began to interpret this client, the great D1, much better. A wholesale client for whom speed and understanding of the objective was key. We understood that these stores were aimed at a very wide audience and that their promise of low price with high quality was key. We face the challenge of designing for this large public and generating brand trust through packaging. The design had to be massive, but at the same time it had to look close and high-quality.

Time passed, and while others discover the world of D1, we finally got design opportunities to renew some brands and launch new ones. They gave us an “open letter” to explore and propose, taking into account the premises described above.

It was time to propose and believe in design, in the power of a good typographical selection, to turn what was generally seen on the shelves. We will remember 2 projects that turned the way we started making designs for this client:

Masmai

We started designing the line of arepas in 2016, in the market the referents were full of traditional and saturated designs. The challenge we had was to design a low-cost production line, that is, with few inks and finishes, which also had color codes so that they could be easily distinguished at the point of sale. Because it is a product of so much Colombian tradition, we wanted to bring some graphic elements such as geometric patterns and a circular figure that helped support the entire design. Finally, we selected colors for each product so that they would contrast and generate a visual block in the gondola. .

Crachos

In this line of snacks, there was already a previous design very close to the common within the category. In this case, we did a total lift to the two lines of traditional snacks and Mexican products, bringing new elements that would allow us to differentiate ourselves from the competitors. We wanted to bring “good design” to the table, just as we learned it at university but brought to the practical world: information hierarchy, good communication, proper typographical selection to make sense of the concept, respect for photography and good composition. We also put “new” typefaces on the table that were not used by clients because they were “illegible”. We complement with new graphic concepts to enrich the visual panorama and that we all enjoy a good design, one of those that today touches all corners of the country and all strata. We managed to create a forceful design that spoke “you to you” with the traditional brands of the market.

For many years, some customers gave us comments like “it should look more massive”. Over time we realized that when they said they were referring, for us, to a design with poor typographical selection and obvious resources. It is as if an architect was told that the house does not look massive enough, the question is why should he redesign it with more poor finishes? our answer is no, we don’t think it should be. The design must fulfill a function that is to communicate, differentiate the products and sell. That doesn’t mean he has to be poor and equal to the rest. Our mission as designers is precisely to guide the client in this.

With D1 we have had the opportunity to design for everyone, thinking of everyone, not because the design looks poor, but on the contrary, we bring new resources to the table and make the consumer feel confident, special and unique what they consume every day. a day.

A dream called “editorial design”

Packaging

We have always had a fascination for books, good books. Those who manage to immerse us in a different dimension.