Visual Language: SoyJoy Process Post

So the final critique for the modes of appeal project starts tomorrow. This post will show some of my process throughout the project and explain some of my concepts and reasonings.

To start out the project, we learned about the 3 modes of appeal, and how to use those effectively to persuade an audience. The project was to redesign a products packaging using the 2 modes of appeal that it isn't currently using, and to make it look better of course.

For my packages, I chose Mrs. Meyers basil liquid hand soap, SoyJoy fruit and nutrient bars, and Nescafe instant coffee. The 3 backages were different materials and had considerably different forms. Mrs. Meyers was using Ethos, SoyJoy was using Logos, and Nescafe was using Pathos.

After passing our package choices by Jamie, we started doing thumbnail sketches for each product, attempting to create concepts for the 2 modes of appeal that each product was not utilizing.

My best sketches seemed to be SoyJoy's. I think I might have been biased toward SoyJoy from the beginning, but the relation between fruit and the human body was an interesting concept. After deciding on which package we wanted (SoyJoy), then we began a round of digital iterations. I also couldn't find an online eps of SoyJoy's logo, so I had to vectorize it myself.

The Berry direction worked best for Pathos. The bright colorful and fresh fruit helps to pull at the consumers hunger and healthy habits, while the words represent the benefit of each berry eaten. For Ethos, I liked the direction using a SoyJoy bar in place of a fitness aid. This created an interesting dialogue between the importance of SoyJoy's nutrients, and the activities of reliable and consistent athletes. They create a sense of trust in the consumer that SoyJoy is a necessity to their diet/ work out routine.

The Berry direction however was too crowded, and very illegible. The full bleed imagery also didn't work well with SoyJoy's persona. The bike direction also didn't hit it off to well with my peers, and while working, the idea of being 100% U.S. grown popped into my head.

With our concepts firmly in hand, we began to fully design them, and mock them up in real size. The photographic images in both directions switched into vector artwork, using flat plains of color and representing the simplicity of ingredients that SoyJoy uses in their ad campaigns. I created my first box, designing around the sides for my Ethos direction, and I created many iterations for the placement of text and image for my Pathos direction.

The colors needed to be worked out for the Ethos direction. The soil was too dark, and the sky wasn't quite blue enough.

The side was also begging for a mission statement. I digitalized the nutrients table so that it would be clear, and because I thought it was a necessary experience. Overall, the design for the box went well, and I moved on to the final box. As for the Pathos direction, I chose a pale yellow, with luscious reds and magentas for the berries. Things popped, and I moved on to designing the final box for it as well, using the same template as the Ethos box. The berries were arranged in a sort of balancing act, reflecting the life of the consumer.

Visual Language Project 3: Packaging and Modes of Appeal

So here we are at project 3. Unfortunately I didn't get selected for the Jazz poster's that went to the folly, but maybe I'll have better luck next time a contest comes around. Anyway, we've moved on from Rhetorical tropes to a new thing known as "Modes of Appeal".

We've learned there are 3 of these:
1. Emotional (Pathos)
2. Logic (Logos)
3. Ethics (Ethos)

These are essentially channels employed in just about everything to appeal to us/ grab our attention. These are essential in package design, and that brings us to project 3 of the Visual Language course.

For this project we had to choose 3 different packaging solutions, 1 representing an example of each of the Modes of Appeal. We are later going to redesign the packaging for these products, using a different mode. This won't be redesigning the container necessarily, just the graphics on the packaging to better sell the product, and to appeal to the consumer in a different way.

So for my emotional piece, I chose this Nescafe Classic ground coffee product. The jar is glass, and it relies on a simple label to carry it's information. The imagery itself is what's doing the appealing. The coffee and warm tones rely on our wakened emotional state brought by coffee and the alert warm sensation it brings for our morning. It serves as a perk up and emotional lifter throughout the day, and the packaging uses these emotions to pull in it's customers.

Intended Audience: A bilingual group of average citizens who need a warm wake up routine in the morning to fall back on. This could be anyone from employed to students to the teenager trying their first cup. Nescafe, owned by Nestle, uses an image of a warm cup of coffee to appeal to the cold groggy morning individuals who need a little help to get started each day. The fact that it's an instant product also appeals to our impatience or short time for preparation before work and events. The warm tones give a sensation of happiness and readiness.

For logic, I chose a box of Soyjoy brand health bars. These contain many nutrients and fruits, and are formulated for a healthy body. The practical and simple packaging combined with the wholesome ingredients and message target an audience with a logical solution to a healthier body.

Intended Audience: A consumer seeking a healthier body using simple and noncomplex ingredients. Due to the nature of the packaging, they will likely be a gym member or fitness person of some sort. The packaging is simple and heavily geared toward the logos (logic) mode of appeal, with a lot of listed health information and they use the rounded square to bring in a similar formal element, almost making the package into an info-graphic sort of mode. The red color choices also relates to the berries used in the product, as well as promoting a genderless feel. Sure it's not a protein power mix, but it's not working in a female only way.

Finally, for my ethical mode packaging example, I chose a bottle of Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day liquid hand soap. The label and it's type around the bottle are very simple, carrying a simple message. The soap is aromatherapeutic, cruelty free, never tested on animals, and are biodegradable. The bottle itself is made with 25% post consumer plastic. These little things mount in the consumers ethical center, and convince the buyer that they are doing mother nature a service by using Mrs. Meyer's products.

Intended Audience: The house mom who wants a simple clean product for daily use within the household and with her children. The green generation are also included, because of Mrs. Meyer's highly ethical production process, cutting out wastes, cruelty, and harmful cleaning agents. The packaging is simple and modern with it's use of text and how information is worded and ordered. Younger generations will be drawn in with message and package design, rather than the product only targeting an older adult audience. The packaging is partly recycled as well, furthering their mission for environmentally friendly and simple products.