So, it’s already half term and I’m back on the Advanced Textiles course at Morley College. In term two we have been working towards a brief looking at how images and words can be used in textiles to signal ideas. I was keen to continue with the theme of food as mentioned in my previous post. Although the majority of my work so far has been just the food itself, the Cheese Puffs included the packaging as well. I thought this would be a good route to take and started to look at packaging ideas.

I remembered that back when I did A Levels I had done a module looking at consumerism and I found the original pen and ink drawing I made for that to use as some inspiration for this project. Drawing with pen and ink meant that the packaging I had drawn was pared back to its basic shapes as I was restricted to only two colours – black and white.

When I was making the Cheese Puffs I wanted the packaging to be recognisable without using an actual brand name, so I looked at all the existing products and put together a colour palette and a design that would resonate with the viewer and clearly indicate what the product was inside, including designing a font. The product I have chosen for this project is orange juice. I went through the same process of researching existing products and thinking about what I wanted to convey with my design to show the viewer what to expect; a fresh, healthy, refreshing drink.

At the recommendation of my tutor I also visited the Museum of Brands in London (right next to Ladbroke Grove station) to have a look at packaging from the past right up to the present day. It’s a very interesting collection to view and well laid out. You begin by walking through the time tunnel where you can see packaging dating back to Victorian times and travel through seeing the packaging evolve as time moves on to the present day. It was a bit weird to see things I remember from my own childhood in a museum though!

So I’ve got my design and I’ve started sewing it, I just hope I can have a completed 3D juice carton in time for the exhibition!