Depot CreativePackaging Design and Branding Agency

Using Substrates Creatively for Eye Catching Design

May 6, 2010

With the incredible variety of different materials and technologies we have now have at our disposal, we no longer need to rely on the same old substrates. Now, design firms can take a brief from a client and use any number of substrates and technologies to ensure that the resulting product perfectly echoes the essence of the brand.

One substrate that is getting more popular among designers and brands is flock paper. Flock paper is made with rayon fibres and has a wonderful, velvety feel. It's the kind of paper you just can't help touching. It's also that rare kind of substrate that effortlessly combines the classic––both its look and touch evoke the vintage wallpapers of yore––and the modern. As the Paper Studio put it, flocked paper, in its look and feel, is 'retro, Victorian and contemporary all rolled into one.'

Strathmore Paper, an upmarket paper brand that is now part of Mohawk Fine Papers, recently used a beautiful flock design on reams of its paper (see picture below). Done by designer Marian Bantjes for Pentagram, the design is a great example of how flock combines the temporary and the timeless in a way that is as eye catching as it is tactile.

Image: The Dieline

On a larger scale, last Christmas, Kleenex released a flocked series of holiday cartons illustrated by Beth White. In recent times, Kleenex has become renowned for their innovative, tactile holiday packaging. In 2008, they released a range of 'faux-felted', triangular Christmas packs that evoked the homestyle crafts of yesteryear, when packaging was meant to be hidden rather than displayed.

Last year, in an attempt to make their seasonal packaging 'less glitzy' than in previous years, the circular holiday packs featured simple, nostalgic winter scenes on flocked paper in holiday colours: red, blue and green. The result is a toned down, old-fashioned package that emphasises the simple pleasures of the holidays.

Depot recently used flock in our packaging design for Margan Family Winegrowers, an innovative Australian winemaking company based in the Hunter Valley. Margan, who began operations in 1997, has become renowned for the quality and purity of their wines, and their progressive, sensitive approach to winemaking.

To reflect the ethos of the brand, we chose a flock from Qros that we felt strongly suggested, in both its look and touch, the softness and quality of the wines contained within. On the flock, we went with simple, classic colours––gold and burgundy––and fonts to further intimate the high caliber of Margan's wines.

Another creative substrate designers are using is copper. Amala, a luxury organic skincare company, combined copper with cork and uncoated papers for their striking, distinctive packaging, which they said was inspired by artisanal food packaging.

Glenmorangie, meanwhile, a single malt scotch whiskey, recently came out with a limited edition copper tin, which featured an elegant die-cut to reveal the product inside.

When we were asked to design the packaging and branding for a new range of wines from celebrated Australian winemaker Tempus Two, copper was our first choice.

'Our Copper Range reflects our belief that the best things in life often come from following the path less travelled,' the Tempus Two site says.

To draw a strong visual parallel to this philosophy, we used copper both as the brand for the range, and as the material for the range's labels. In addition to being particularly eye catching, the Tempus Two Copper labels give a strong sense of the 'time-honoured, labour-intensive' manner in which Tempus Two go about making wine.

With the range of substrates now on offer, when it comes to branding and packaging, the sky really is the limit.

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