Packaging Design - An Introduction
Text and Typography:
In packaging design, typography is the primary medium for the communication of the product’s name, function, and facts to a broad consumer audience. The typographic section, layout and treatment of the words and letterforms effect how the type is read. Ultimately the typography on packaging design becomes one of the most significant elements of the visual expression of the product.
Categories of Type:
A basic understanding of typestyle categories and their design attributes can facilitate the selection process.
- Old styles fonts:
Include times new roman, Bembo, Palatino, Goudy, New Baskerville, Garamond and Janson. They:
- resemble the hand lettering of scribes,
- are graceful in appearance,
- have a low contrast (the thick and thin strokes are not very different from each other),
- have serifs on lowercase letters that are slanted,
- have serifs that are bracketed,
- have a main stroke that is curved, not sharp,
- are a good choice for a lengthy body of text.
- Modern/ Serif fonts:
Include Bodoni, Times, Fenice and Madrone. They have:
- high contrasting thick and thins that are radically different,
- thin parts of the letters as the vertical stresses,
- serifs that are horizontal, no bracketed and meet the stroke with a sharp angle.
- Slab serif/Egyptian/ Square serif fonts:
Include Clarendon, New Century schoolbook, Rockwell, Memphis and Anchen. They have:
- little or no contrast between the thick and thin strokes,
- vertical lines that are stressed,
- serif that consists of thick horizontal slabs.
- Sans Serif fonts:
Include Avant Garde, Gill Sans, Frankin Gothic, Frutiger, Helvetica and Futura. They have:
- no serifs,
- tall X-heights (lowercase letter heights),
- no contrast or vertical stresses,
- no difference in stroke weight either vertical or horizontal.
- Script fonts:
Include Zapf Chancery and Edwardian Decorative. They:
- resemble handwriting or calligraphy,
- have large initial caps.
- Decorative fonts:
- have an aesthetic decorative style,
- are not necessarily designed for readability.
Typography and Kerning:
Kerning is the adjustment of space between letters of a word to make them appear visually unified. The space between each letter should be adjusted to make the overall word have a more cohesive and visually appearing appearance. Typographic Principles for Packaging Design:
Typography for packaging design must be -
• Readable and legible from a few feet away,
• Designed to scale and shape of the three dimensional structure,
• Understandable by diverse audience,
• Credible and informative in the communication of product information.
The Principles:
• Principle 1: Define the typographic personality
• Principle 2: Limit Typefaces
• Principle 3: Create Typographic Hierarchy
• Principle 4: Define the typographic positioning
• Principle 5: Define font alignment
• Principle 6: Vary typographic scale
• Principle 7: Choose to contrast
• Principle 8: Experiment with type
• Principle 9: Stack characters carefully
• Principle 10: Make it ownable
• Principle 11: Be consistent
• Principle 12: Refinement for typographic excellence
For details about principles you can check:
Package Design Principles in Design Considerations for Packaging Design.
Key points about Typography:
• There are no straight forward answers to typographic design problems; it takes extensive experimentation to get the few appropriate and successful solution.
• Time is money: do not waste time looking through hundreds of typefaces. Find a few fonts that meet the design criteria.
• Take a typeface and tweak it to meet the packaging design criteria and create a unique, ownable, and exclusive brand identity.
• X-heights can be sized to create greater contrast.
• Kerning should always be examined: the computer does not have the eye to make the space between letterforms perfect; this is the job of the designer.
• Proper spelling and the grammar is critical to communicate: use spell check, read copy silently and aloud and look at every word for errors.