Packaging: purpose or show?

Does packaging have a purpose or is it all for show? Sue Reay of Benchmark Communications, organisers of Design North East asks two Gateshead based companies, Quasar Systems, designers of the Helix Pack and Stadium Packing Services who design and manufacture industrial packaging.

Is packaging an expensive add-on to give a product ‘designer value’ or does it have real added value?

"Good packaging design should have form and function, it is usually there to protect and enhance a product. Unless designed correctly for the product, packaging can sometimes add a substantial cost to the final product",

answered Mike Purdy of Quasar Systems who designed the Helix Pack that recently won a Design Council Millennium Award.

How does the Helix Pack differ from traditional packaging?

"The sheer simplicity and flexibility of the spiral designed Helix Pack has many advantages over traditional packaging such as blister packs", says Mike.

"It can be manufactured off-site from the production operation and stored flat. The flexibility of the Helix Pack means it can fit all shapes and sizes. It can be cut out of a flat sheet of packaging material such as transparent plastic or carton board using a die cut and, one great advantage to packaging manufacturers is that a single pack can be made just as easily and cheaply as a large batch. This cost saving can then be passed onto the customer with the added advantage of it being recycled.

How does the Helix concept work as packaging?

"When the product to be packed is placed on the sheet, the spiral cuts distort to provide an attractive 3-dimensional ribbed enclosure that holds the product. It can then be attached to a backing card or encircle the whole product as the Helix Grip does", continues Mike.

"The Helix Grip is a variation of the Helix Pack and forms part of the product by acting as a reusable carrier", explains Mike. "It offers a safe and stylish way to carry a ball and pump as a single package and has many advantages. It is easier for a child to carry, it doesn’t roll away, possibly onto a road, if dropped, and one great advantage for mums is that the carrier is easily wiped clean".

Good design of innovative packaging has brought all these features together into a single product, the Helix Grip, which should be available in the shops at the beginning of December, just in time for Christmas!

But packaging design is not just for consumer products, it plays a key role in industrial packaging. Something I discovered when I visited Stadium Packing Services who specialise in commercial and MoD packing.

"Although a ‘traditional industry’ we are at the forefront of the design process", says Brian Smith, Designer at Stadium Packing.

"Three or four years ago our parent company, British Engines, Limited decided to make a major investment to help develop design and training. This, together with 40 years experience in the packaging industry, has helped Stadium achieve substantial rewards with an expanded customer base and increased orders, we even offer design solutions to other packaging companies.

"Each package we encase, whether it is a single tool or a 50 tonne engineering pump brings its own design problems. We have developed our own unique design program to create timber casings for all manner of objects to transport them, often to the other side of the world using road, rail, sea or air. For example, when encasing a 50 tonne circular piece of industrial equipment we have to design a container to protect the item from damage as well as ensuring the product can be lifted and transported safely and economically".

Health, safety and environmental issues are key factors for Stadium Packing Services, who provide a comprehensive service to industry that includes timber case manufacture, packing, cleaning, inspection and preservation.

"We are continually developing our packaging design and now find that we are working more closely with structural engineers and product designers to fully assess the vulnerability of items packaged for export", continues Brian.

"When something needs to be transported across the world it can go through the most severe environmental changes and has to be protected against both physical and climatic damage to arrive in a functional state. We as a company have to follow certain legal requirements especially with environment issues so we have to look carefully at the materials used for weight, waste, and safety".

Although these companies serve totally different markets both forms of packaging rely on good design to meet their different requirements and both companies are enjoying commercial success through good design.

Quasar Systems, based in Design Works, Felling can be contacted on Tel 0191 420 2792 while Stadium Packing Systems, based in Swalwell, can be contacted on Tel 496 1321.

Packing has been around since the first object needed to be protected in storage or transportation. Straw was probably the most available material for this but is not generally acceptable today. Packaging design came in when other criterion were being called for and, is continually being developed through innovation. Today one of the key issues that all packaging designers and companies need to take into consideration is the environment. Legislation is dictating the three Rs: Reduce, Re-use and Recycle. Design of packaging has helped meet many of these challenges.

Footsteps to Design Success

Both Mike and Brian have a design background, Mike in photography and graphics, Brian in interior architectural design. Their common denominator which drew them to packaging is their understanding of spatial and 3-D design.

The region’s colleges who offer courses with a spatial or 3-D element are:

• BA (Hons) 3-Dimensional Design
• BA (Hons) Design for Industry
  University of Northumbria
  0191 227 4913
• BA (Hons) Interior Design and Architecture
  University of Teesside
  01642 342364
• HND in Spatial Design
  Newcastle College
  0191 200 4000
• BTEC National Diploma for Interior Architecture
  Newcastle College
  0191 200 4000

As they see it

"Good Design is about looking at everyday things with new eyes and working out how they can be made better. It’s about challenging existing technology".

James Dyson, inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner.

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This document is reproduced with he kind permission of The Journal and Benchmark Communications.