Page 1
This is an electronic reprint of the original article.This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
This material is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication or sale of all or part of any of the repository collections is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for your research use or educational purposes in electronic or print form. You must obtain permission for any other use. Electronic or print copies may not be offered, whether for sale or otherwise to anyone who is not an authorised user.
Joutsela, Markus; Roto, VirpiIntroducing Experience Goals into Packaging Design
Published in:Proceedings of DRS 2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference
DOI:10.21606/drs.2016.305
Published: 01/06/2016
Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of record
Published under the following license:CC BY-NC
Please cite the original version:Joutsela, M., & Roto, V. (2016). Introducing Experience Goals into Packaging Design. In P. Lloyd, & E. Bohemia(Eds.), Proceedings of DRS 2016, Design Research Society 50th Anniversary Conference (Proceedings of DRS;Vol. 1). Design Research Society. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2016.305
Page 2
ThisworkislicensedunderaCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial4.0InternationalLicense.
1
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
MarkusJoutsela*,VirpiRoto
AaltoUniversitySchoolofArts,DesignandArchitecture,Finland*Correspondingauthore-mail:[email protected]
Abstract: Consumer experiences are an increasingly important driving force forcommerce, affecting also packaging design. Yet, experience design for packages israrely studied. Specifically, there is a gap in research regarding the integration ofexperientialgoals,Xgoals,intothepackagingdesignprocess.OpenquestionsincludehowtodescribeXgoals indesignbriefswhenpackagedesign isoutsourced,howtodeal with changes during the design process, and how to evaluate whether thedelivered design evokes the intended experience in the target audience. In thisexplorative paper we present three package design cases in which Xgoals wereintegratedintothedesignbriefs.Thecasescovertheprocessfrombriefformationtodesignandexperienceevaluationoftheresultingpackages.Weanalysetheprocessof integratingexperiencegoals into thepackagedesignprocess,andprovide topicsforfutureresearch.
Keywords:Xgoals;packagingdesign;brief;designforexperience
1.IntroductionTraditionally,therelationshipbetweenapackageanditsconsumerfocusesonthepointofpurchase,sincepackagingisseenas“thesilentsalesman”(Pilditch1961).Today,theroleofpackagingdesignhasexpandedfromthebasicfunctionsofcontaining,preserving,protecting,identifying,marketingandbrandbuildingtowardsprovidingmeaningfulexperiences(Underwood2003).Althoughbasicusabilityimprovementshavebecomeanorminpackagingdesign,gooduserexperienceconsistsnotonlyofthepragmaticusabilitybutalsooftheemotional,non-instrumentalaspectsofthedesign.Whiletherearemanygoodexamplesofexperientialpackagesonthemarket,theexperientialaspectsofpackagingdesignarestillrarelystudiedbyscholars.
Productmanufacturingcompaniescommissionpackagedesignsusuallyfromateamofdesigners(externalorin-house).Thetasksandobjectivesforthepackagingdesignare
Page 3
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
2
definedinadesignbriefwhichisthenregardedasaguidingdocumentforthedesignprocess.Itdeterminesthedesigndirection,boundaryconditionsaswellasspecificationsfortheexpectedoutcome.Thereislackofresearchonhowtoaddressconsumer-packaginginteractionorexperiencegoals(Xgoals)inapackagingdesignbriefandthesubsequentdesignprocess.
Ourpresentresearchstudiedthepackagingdesignprocess,specificallyincaseswherepackagingdesignisoutsourced.Itfocusedonboththefirstimpressionatthepointofsaleandthepackageinteraction.Themainresearchquestionwas“Howtointegrateexperiencegoalsintothepackagedesignprocess?”,andthespecificquestionswerethefollowing:howtodescribeXgoalsindesignbriefs,howdopackagingdesignteamsinterpretbriefsduringthedesignprocess,andhowtoevaluatewhetherthedelivereddesignevokestheintendedexperienceinthetargetaudience.Sincetheproblemsrelatedtoexpressingexperientialgoalsinapackagingdesignbriefarenotyetwelldefined,wetookanexploratoryapproachtostudyrealisticmeansofintegratingXgoalsintothebriefindifferentcompanycases.Real-lifedesigncasesarenecessarywhenstudyingbriefing,asmanyexternalrealitiesaffectboththebriefandthedesignprocess.
Thispaperpresentsthreecasesinwhichanexperience-drivenbriefwasdevelopedcollaborativelywithbrandowners,packagingdesignprofessionalsandresearchers,basedonexperienceinsightsfromconsumersintheintendedtargetgroup.Thebriefsweregiventomultidisciplinarydesignteams,unfamiliarwiththecasepriortoreceivingtheassignment.DuringthedesignprocesstheteamswereinterviewedabouttheiruseofthebriefandimplementationoftheXgoals.Theexperientialqualitiesoftheresultingpackagingprototypeswerethenevaluatedbytheconsumersofthecase-specifictargetgroup.
2.Relatedresearch
2.1PackagingasasourceofexperienceBloch(1995)discussedtheimpactofgooddesignonuserexperiencesalreadyin1995:
“Thephysicalformordesignofaproductisanunquestioneddeterminantofitsmarketplacesuccess.Agooddesignattractsconsumerstoaproduct,communicatestothem,andaddsvaluetotheproductbyincreasingthequalityoftheusageexperiencesassociatedwithit.”-Bloch(1995)
Appearanceandvisualcommunicationofthepackagingdifferentiatesaproductfromcompetitionandinfluencesconsumerchoice(Creusen&Schoormans2005).Seeingapackagecreatesimpressionsandresultsinassociationsinconsumers’mindsevenbeforetheconsumershaveactualexperiencesabouttheproduct,i.e.,thepackagingdesignbuildsexpectationsfortheproduct.Packagingcommunicationdoesnotonlyhappenatthepointofsale,butcontinuesattheconsumer’shomeafterthepurchaseismade(Ampuero&Vila2006).Packagingisamarketingmediumvoluntarilyselectedbyconsumerstobebroughtintotheirhomes.
Page 4
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
3
Insummary,packagingisaneffectivetoolforcommunicationbetweenthebrandandtheconsumer.Aproperfocusonthepackageexperiencecanresultinimprovedproductandbrandexperiencesinthetargetaudience.Thepackagingdesigner’sroleistofacilitatethiscommunicationprocessfromthebrandtoitsconsumer.Thedesignercomposesaestheticentitiesusingdesignelementsandstylesthatheorshebelieveswill(best)communicatetheappropriatemessageaboutthebrandandproduct.
2.2PackagingdesignprocessAccordingtoOrth&Malkewitz(2008),packagedesigncanbeseenasaresultofanintentionalprocesswherethedesignerhaschosenandblendedvariouselementsintoaholisticdesigninordertoachieveaparticularsensoryeffect.Theappearanceofapackagecanbeconstructedinnumerousways,butinordertocreateasuccessfulandengagingdesign,thedesignerneedstohaveanawarenessofwhatisimportantfortheproduct’sintendedaudience,aswellaswhichaestheticandstylisticchoicesmightworkforthetargetgroup(Rundh2009).Thedesignobjectivesareusuallyoutlinedinabriefprovidedbytheclient(Phillips2004),butthemeanstoactuallyaccomplishtheobjectives,toconveyandcommunicateintendedideas,meaningsandmessagesareusuallyleftforthedesignertochoose(Björklund2013).
Briefingisalsosaidtobeaprocessofframingasharedviewbetweentheclientanddesigner(s).Itisimportantinordertodevelopamutualunderstandingofwhattheprojectisaboutandtocreateanactionableview.(Paton&Dorst2011)AccordingtoHeyetal.(2007),suchasharedviewideallyincludesadescriptionofthedesiredgoal(s),aselectionofrelevantandprioritizedfeatures,theproblemscope,solutionscopeandprojectedvalue(s).Thebriefalsoaddressesresourceconstraints(Hey,Joyce,&Beckman,2007).Thebriefcanbe(expressed/presented)invariousformats,andaccordingtoPhillips(2004),thereisnosingleformatforagooddesignbrief,asthepreferredformatdependsonthecompany,caseandthesituation.
2.3Experiencegoals Althoughuserandcustomerexperiencesareconsideredimportantforbusiness,thereisalackofresearchintheareaofexperientialdesignofpackaging.Traditionally,pragmaticaspectssuchasproductioncost,standardscompliance,utilityandusabilityoverridetheexperiential(alsoknownasemotionalornon-instrumental)aspectsofproductdesign.AccordingtoHassenzahl(2003),bothpragmaticandhedonicaspectsofproductusecanbefoundintheuserexperience(UX).Experience-drivendesigntypicallyfocusesonthenon-instrumentalaspectsofexperience,meaningthatthedesigngoalisnotsomuchutilitarianasexperiential(Hekkertetal.2003).Whilemuchofthepackagingdesignresearchhasapproachedexperiencesfromtheneedsofthecompany,experiencedesignfocusesmoreonthepersonwhointeractswiththepackage.AsdiscussedinLu&Roto(2014),itisnotnewthatdesignrequirementsincludeexperientialgoals,butmorecanbedonetoensure
Page 5
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
4
thattheemotionalaspectsarenotforgotteninthepressureofthepragmaticormerelyfunctionalrequirements.
Asexperiencingispersonal,itispracticallyimpossibletoforcepeopletohavespecificexperiences,butdesignerscanfacilitatetheemergenceofparticularexperiencesbyusinganapproachcalleddesignforexperiences(Sanders&Dandavate1999).Kaasinenetal.(2015)introducetheconceptofuserexperience(UX)goalsandspecifyfivedifferentsourcesforcollectinginsightandinspirationforgoal-setting:Brand,Theory,Empathy,Technology,andVision.WeadoptedtheideaofUXgoals,butsincepackagingcombinesuser,customer,andbrandexperiences,weprefertouseamoregenerictermexperiencegoal,orXgoalinshort.Inourstudy,Xgoalsaddresstheintendedemotionalexperienceofinteractingwithaproductpackaging.Forinstance,apleasantsurprisewasusedasanXgoalintwoofthedesigncasespresentedinthisstudy,butthedesigners’strategiesfordesigningforsuchanexperiencecanvary.Pragmaticrequirementsofpackagingareoutsidethescopeofthisstudy.AscanbeseeninKaasinenetal.(2015),defininggoodXgoalsisnotastraightforwardtask,butrequiresexpertise.NotallcompanieshavededicatedUXorCXexperts,especiallythecompaniesthatoutsourcepackagedesign.Yet,companiesshouldgiveguidancetodesignersaspartofthedesignbrief.Specifically,weinvestigatehowtointegrateXgoalsintothepackagedesignprocessthroughthedesignbrief.
3.PackagedesigncasesThispaperpresentsthreecasestudieswhereXgoalswereintegratedintothepackagingdesignprocessesofthreedifferentproducts,eachforadifferentcompany.Thecasecompaniesvariedinsize,age,productofferings,markets,aswellastheirexperienceinbriefingdesigners.
Case1:Aconfectionerymanufacturercommissionedanewpackagingconceptforwrappedchocolates.Thepackagingisexpectedbecasual,smallandsimplebutversatileenoughtosuitdifferentchocolatebrandsforyear-roundcasualgiftgiving.Thetargetgroupismenandwomenaged20-35.Asexperientialaims,thepackageisexpectedtodelightandsurprise,demonstratethoughtfulnessandbesomehowspecialordifferent.Stylistically,thepackagingshouldconveyquality,yetbecasualenoughformodestgifting.Thecompanyisatraditionalonewithastrongbrandandlocalmarketdominanceinthecategory.
Case2:Acorrugatedcardboardmanufacturercommissionedagiftpackagingdesignfore-commercebaseddelivery;acombineddelivery(transport)andgiftboxthatfromtheexperientialsidewouldofferauniquepersonalexperienceandwoulddelightandsurprisethereceiver.Thepackageshouldbeinterestingandmemorableandaccommodate/suitmanyoccasions.Itisexpectedtopromotehighqualityanddelightfulfunctionalitytoitsusers.Asfunctionalrequirements,itshouldbeeasytoopenandcloseaswellasreuseorrecyclelater.Thetargetgroupisfrequentusersofe-commerceservicesintheir20sand30s.
Page 6
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
5
Case3:Afoodcompanycommissionedaredesignofavacuum-packedsinglemealpackagepreviouslyconsistingofatray,plasticfilmandcardboardsleeve.Thepackedfoodistraditionalandhighquality,madewithrealingredientsandithasnoadditives.Themaingoalwastohelptheproducttostandoutfromitscompetitorswhilereducingtheplasticlookofthepackage.Asemotionalgoals,thepackagingshouldcommunicatethehome-cookedfeeloftheproduct,conveytrueness,deliciousnessandreliability.Thedesignshouldequallyappealtoelderlypeople,youngersingleconsumers,andfamilieswithyoungchildren.
4.ProcessoverviewInourpaper,weexamineexperiencedesigninthreepackagingdesigncases(partofaresearchproject).Theexplorativeprocessisseparatedintosuccessivestagesdescribedasfollows:
4.1PackagingDesignNeeds Asastartingpoint,thecompaniesprovidedarough“preliminarypackagingdesignbrief”whichwasbasedonarecognizedneedinthecompany.Twoofthecasecompanieswantedtocreateacompletelynewpackagingconcept,whileonecompanywantedtoredesignanexistingpackagetobettersuittheircurrenttargets.Eachcasehadadifferenttargetgroupandaspecifiedmarket.Thedesignhadtoconsiderfit-for-productmaterials,marketsandcomplywithtechnicalproductionspecifications.Atthispointthecasedescriptionswerenotverydetailed,butincludedbasicinformationabouttheproductandthecompany’sneed-statealongwithsomeobjectivesanddesignrequirements.Thesepreliminarybriefsprovidedoutlinesfordevelopingexperience-enhancedbriefsatalaterstage.
4.2ConsumerinsightandexperiencesFollowingKaasinenetal.’s(2015)approach,wecollectedrelevantunderstandingaboutusersandcontextofusepriortoanyexperiencegoalsetting.Beforethestartoftheactualpackagingdesignprocess,consumersfromeachcase-specifictargetgroupparticipatedinasmallsurveycollectinginformationabouttheconsumers’wishes,needs,expectationsandexperiencesrelatedtotheproductanditspackaging.Experiencedescriptionswerecollectedwithopen-endedquestionswhichcoveredissuessuchasmotivationtouseaproduct/packaging,typicalcontextofuse,productselectioncriteria,aswellasdescriptionsofanidealpackageandopeningexperience.Threedifferentscaleswereusedformeasuringexperiencesrelatedtoappearance,packaginginteraction,andbrandimage.ThescaleswereAttrakDiff2(Hassenzahletal.2004),InteractionVocabulary(Lenzetal.2013),andthebrandpersonalitymeasurebyGeuensetal.(2009).TheAttrakDiff2scalecontainsmeasuresforpragmaticandhedonicuserexperience,includingappearancemeasures.TheInteractionvocabularywasusedtomeasurepackageinteractionexperience,whichinourcaseswasfocusedontheopeningexperience.Thebrandpersonalitymeasurecollecteddataonpackaging-generatedbrandperceptions/beliefs.TheAttrakDiff2andInteractionvocabulary
Page 7
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
6
scalesweremodifiedtoincludeonlythebest-fitting(easilycomprehended)questionsforpackagingresearchafterpre-testingthemwithsomeconsumersandcommonpackagingsamples.
4.3AnalysingconsumerinsightThecollecteddatawasanalysedbyusingsummativecontentanalysisforthequalitativeanswers,whiledescriptivestatisticswereappliedtothequantitativescales.Toenableeasyinterpretationofthequantitativeresults,visual“experienceprofiles”werecreateddepictingthemeanvaluesforeachscale.Asummaryoftheresultswasgiventothebrandownerswhowerethenaskedtoselectamongthefindingsthreemostsignificantorrelevantuserexperience-relatedresultstobeusedasadditionalconsumer-inspiredXgoalsinthepackagingdesignbrief.
4.4Co-designinganexperience-enhancedbrief Theauthorsorganizedaco-designworkshopaboutbriefinginordertoexplorethebestwayofintegratingtheconsumer-inspiredXgoalsintothecase-specificdesignbriefs.Participantsoftheworkshopwerethebrandownersandpackagingdesignprofessionalsinvitedfromvariouscompaniesanddesignagencies.Thebrandowners’briefingexperiencevariedfromrelativelyinexperiencedtoveryexperienced.Thepurposewasalsotoexchangeknowledgeaboutvariousbriefingpractices,experiencesandchallengesrelatedtobriefingfrombothbrandownersanddesignpractitioners’pointofview.Thefacilitatorspresentedvariousalternativebriefingformatsasinspirationalmaterialtoencouragediscussionaboutdifferentwaysofbriefing.Asummaryofthesurveyresults,theXgoalschoseninthepreviousphase,andthepreliminarybriefswerepresentedassourcematerialfordevelopinganexperience-enhanceddesignbrief.
4.5Finalizingtheexperience-enhancedbriefs Aftertheworkshop,theexperience-enhanceddesignbriefswerefinalizedandapprovedbythebrandownersinaformatfittingthecompany’sownbriefingculture.Asvariouswellworkingbriefingpracticesandformatsexist,wedecidednottoforcecompaniestouseanysingleoneformat.Briefingpracticesarecompanyandculturespecific,andaccordingtoPhillips(2004):“Thereisnosinglecorrectorpreferredformatforadesignbrief.”AllthreebriefswereformattedforPowerPointpresentations,buttheXgoalsweretreateddifferently.Inoneapproach,theXgoalsweretreatedasapartofalistofobjectives,inanothertheXgoalswerelinkedtothetargetgroupdescriptionandvalues,andinathirdapproachtheXgoalswerescatteredindifferentpartsofthebriefs’overallnarrative.
4.6Creatinganoutsourceddesignteam Aspackagingdesigninvolvesawiderangeofconsiderationsfrommaterials,engineering,ergonomics,andsustainabilitytovisualcommunicationandbranding,itisrarelytheresponsibilityofasingleperson.Forthisproject,multidisciplinaryprojectteamswere
Page 8
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
7
createdforeachcasefromuniversitystudentswhohadappliedforaninterdisciplinarypackagingdesignMaster’scourseattheAaltoUniversity.Studentsfromvariousprogramsappliedbysubmittingmotivationletterssixmonthspriortothecoursestart,andalimitednumberofstudentswithdifferentbackgroundswasselectedinordertoformdiversebutfunctionalprojectteamswithvaryinglevelofexperiencewithbriefingandpotentialtomanagethedesignchallengeathand.Theteamsconsistedofsixstudents,ranginginbackgroundfromindustrialdesign,graphicdesign,productandpackagingdesign,materialtechnology,engineering,sustainabilitytobusinessstudies.Eachprojectteamwascustom-createdbythecoursestaffinordertomatchtheteam’sbackgroundcompetencestotheassumedcase-specificrequirements.
4.7Briefingthedesignteams Thebrandownerspresentedthedesignbriefstotheprojectteams(previouslyunfamiliarwiththecase)atthebeginningofathree-monthpackagingdesigncourse,andthestudentshadanopportunitytoaskquestionsanddiscussdetailswiththeirclient.Eachteamworkedwithadifferentcompanyandthusadifferentpackagingdesignbrief.BesidesthePowerPointpresentation,someclientsofferedadditionalinformationtothestudentsintheformofseparatetechnicalspecifications,ortemplates;oradditionalinformationregardingthetargetgroup.Thestudentsmetwiththeirclientsafewweeksaftertheinitialbriefingtoverifythattheyhadunderstoodthebriefcorrectly,topresenttheirinitialprojectplan,andtocollectfeedback.Theprojectplanoutlinedvariousstepsandmilestonesintheintendedprocess.Onestudentactedastheprojectmanagerandcontactpersonintheteam,presentinganddiscussingprogressreportswiththeclientatdifferentstagesduringtheproject.Theteamswereexpectedtocreateaniterativelydevelopedpackagingdesignbasedonthebrief,resultinginaphysicalprototype(aprinted,functionalpackagingmock-up)andaprojectreport.
4.8StudyingbriefcomprehensionandimplementationofXgoals Immediatelyafterthebriefing,theteamsparticipatedinasmallsurveyonfirstimpressionsandthemostdifficultthingtounderstandinthebrief.Thestudentsalsorateddifferentqualitiesofthebriefonascaleof1–7.Laterduringthedesignprocess,theteamswereinterviewedingroupsaboutusingthebriefs,Xgoalsanddesignchallengesthattheyencountered.TheresultsarepresentedinChapter5.
4.9Deliveringtheresults Thenewpackagingconceptsandprototypeswerepresentedtothecompaniesbymeansofanoralpresentationsupportedbyavisualpresentationdepictingandjustifyingthedesignsolution.Physicalmock-upswerealsoshown.Inaddition,eachdesignteamproducedaprojectreportaddressingthedesignissuesinmoredetail.Thefinalpresentationmaterialsandprojectreportswereanalysed(withcontentanalysis)toseewhetherandhowthe
Page 9
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
8
Xgoalsdescribedinthebriefwereaddressedintheworkdescriptions,andtoseehowtheprojectteamsjustifiedandcommunicatedtheirdesignsolutions.
4.10Consumerevaluations Thenewpackagingdesignswereassessedinalabbyconsumersrepresentingthetargetgroupofeachproduct.Thehighfidelityprototypeswereprofessionallyprintedonthefinalmaterials,butwerenotyetoptimizedforsmoothinteraction.Theconsumersexaminedthephysicalprototypeintheirhandsandansweredasurveymeasuringtheexperience.Experiencedescriptionswerecollectedwithopen-endedqualitativequestionsaddressingfirstimpression,visualcommunicationandopeningexperience,andbyusingthesamethreesemanticscalesasusedinthefirstphase(AttrakDiff2,InteractionVocabulary,andBrandPersonality).Thisprovidedinformationonwhetherthedesignconveyedtoitsaudiencetheintendedexperiencesoutlinedinthebrief.
5.ResultsFromdesignpractitioners’pointofview,weexaminedtheuseofXgoalsinthedesignprocessfromthreeperspectives.Firstly,theprojectteamreportedtheirfirstimpressionsofthebrief.Secondly,weinterviewedtheteamstocollectfeedbackonthebriefanduseofXgoalsinthedesignprocess.Thirdly,thefinalpresentationsandprojectreportswereanalysedfornotionsofXgoals.Afterthis,thenewprototypeswerestudiedwithinthetargetgrouptoobservetheactualexperiencesconsumershadwiththepackaging.TheresultswerethencomparedtotheXgoalsmentionedinthebrief.
5.1Firstimpressionsofthebriefs Basedonthefirstimpressions,thestudentsratedqualitiesofthebriefonascaleof1–7(stronglydisagree–stronglyagree)intermsofhowthebriefwasinterpreted.Table1presentstheresultsbasedontheaverageratingsineachteam.Allbriefswereratedasclearandunderstandableaswellasratheruser-driven,production-driven,anddesigner-friendly;andtheyalsoaddressedtheendusers’intendedexperiences.
Table1Designteams’firstimpressionsofthequalitiesofthebrief
Brief Clear Inspiring User-driven Production-driven
Designer-friendly
ConsidersUX
Confectionary 6,5 7,0 6,5 6,3 5,5 6,5
E-commerce 6,0 5,6 5,6 5,2 5,8 6,2
Readymeal 5,6 3,2 4,0 5,0 4,2 5,5
Thequestionnairealsoaskedthestudentstoreportwhatwasdifficulttounderstandinthebrief.MostoftheresponsesreferredtoinformationthatwasnotrelatedtotheXgoals.Twostudentsindifferentteamsreportedthatitwasdifficulttodistinguishbetweenthe
Page 10
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
9
primaryandsecondaryrequirementsinthebrief,whichmayhaveappliedtotheXgoalsaswell.
5.2Designteamfeedbackoftheproject Thedesignteamswereinterviewedtwoweeksbeforethedeliverydatesofthefinisheddesignconceptsandprototypes.Themembersofeachteamwereaskedtoreflectonthebriefanddescribehowitwasusedinthedesignprocess.TheinterpretationandimplementationofXgoalswasalsodiscussed.
Allbriefswereconsideredclearingeneral,butsomeXgoalswereconsideredmoreactionablethanothers.TheXgoalswereintegratedintothebriefsasexpressionsofthekindofexperience,effectorinterpretationthedesignshouldenable.Insomebriefsthegoalswerepresentedasrequirementorwishlists,andinothersthegoalswerehiddeninamorenarrativeformat.TheconcretenessoftheXgoalsandabstractionlevelswereconsideredtohaveanimpactonhoweasytheyaretounderstandandactuponinthedesignprocess,asstatedinthefollowingquotesfromtheinterviews.
“Ecological,branded,delightfulexperience…arebigwordsthatcanbeunderstoodinamilliondifferentways”(PD-5)
“Tochangeuserbehavior.Tomakepeoplebuymoregiftstoeachother.It’skindofabigtarget!”(PD-1)
“Inourcase,experiencegoalswereeasytounderstandbecausetheywerephysicalonesandnotabstractones.Theyarephysicallyseen.”(ED-3)
Thebalancebetweenthegoalsandrestrictionswasalsodiscussed.Howcangoalsbeadequatelyachievedwithanumberofrestrictionsandlimitedmeans?
”They(descriptionsinthebrief)wereclear.Thetermsarereallyeasy,theywantthisandthisandthis,andyouwouldknowwhattodo.Butthenyouhavetheserestrictionswithproductionandcolorsandbrands,andthenitiskindofalottotakeinandstillmeetthetarget.”(PD-1)
Inadditiontothewrittenbrief,clearandfrequentcommunicationwasconsideredimportantthroughouttheproject,inordertohaveanadequatesharedunderstandingoftheexpectationsandlimitations.Clientsmighthaverelevanttacitknowledge(Polanyi1966),hiddenexpectations,andideasaboutthecasethatarenotexplicitlycommunicated,i.e.,thingstheyhaveseensomewhereandlikebutthatareleftunspoken.Ifthereareexpectationsthatarenotexplicitlycommunicated,designersneedtoworkoutasolutionthatiseitheralignedwiththeclients’(hidden)expectationsorconvincetheclientaboutanother,hopefullybettersolution.
”Themostdifficultthing(inbriefs)isthat…nobody(referringtoclient)hasacompletelyopenmindwhentheygotoadesigner.Liketheyalreadyhaveathingintheirheadandtheyaregivingyouideasonhowyoushoulddosomethingforthemandtheyarehopingthatwewouldsomehowendupwiththatresult.Butthenyouendupwithsomethingelse,completelydifferent,butstillnice,andtheyarejust
Page 11
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
10
surprisedthatitcanbesodifferent…Wecan’treadtheirmindsbutsometimesIwishIcould.”(PD-1)
Thevolatilenatureofdesignprojectswasalsomentioned.Itisnotuncommonindesignprojectsthatthefocusshiftsduringtheprocessasbothdesignersandclientsrealizeandlearnmore,seenewopportunitiestoreframetheoriginalprobleminanewwaywhileiterativelyworkingtowardsthegoal.Inoneofthecasestheclientdecidedtoexpandthetargetgroupfromtheoriginalbrief.
”Whenyoustartaprojectinacompany,thingsstilltendtokeepdevelopingandsometimesitisaschedulingissuethatyougoaheadandstartaprojectwithoutreallythinkingaboutwhatyouactuallywant...itisnotuncommonthatthingschangeintheprocess.”(GD-3)
”Idon’teventhinkthattheclientwouldhavebeenabletotellusinthebeginning,evenifwehadasked,becauseIthinktheirthoughtshavealsokindofevolvedthroughouttheprocess.”(GD-3)
Thedesignprocessandsolutionareinfluencedbytheinformationthatthedesignteamhasonthetargetgroupandthecontextofuse.
“Theeatingexperienceandopeningofthepackage(wasconsideredimportant)especiallyfortheelderly,becauseinthebeginningthatwasthefocus,butIthinkwestillhavekeptthatalthoughthefocusgrouphaschanged.Ifitiseasytouseforgrandmas,itiseasytouseforeverybody.”(GD-1)
5.3Userevaluationofpackagingprototypes ToseehowtheexperientialqualitiesoftheprototypesalignwiththeXgoalsofthebrief,theprototypes(Figures1–3)wereevaluatedbyconsumersrepresentingcase-specifictargetgroups.Foreachcase,30prototypesweremanufacturedbyaprinthouse.Figures1–3presentthepackageprototypescreatedbytheteams.Amarketingcompanywasusedtorecruit77participantsrepresentingthetargetgroupsofthethreeproducts.
Theevaluationtookplaceinalab-likeenvironment,with1–4subjectsatatime.Eachparticipanthadtheirownpackagingprototypeplacedonatable,nexttoacomputerwithasurvey.Eachparticipantinteractedwiththeprototypeandevaluatedrelatedexperiencesindividuallyandfollowingtheorderspecifiedinthesurvey.Nointeractionbetweenparticipantswasallowed,andvisibilitytotheothertesterswasblocked.Experiencesexpressedintheparticipants’ownwordswerefirstcollectedwithopen-endedquestionsregardingthefirstimpression,visualappearance,andopeningexperience(forresults,seeTable2).Thefirstimpressionandappearancerelatedquestionswereaskedbeforeopeningthepackage,sotheinsideaestheticsoftheprototypedidnotaffecttheappearanceevaluations.Inaddition,qualitativeinformationontheidealcontextofusewascollected.AttrakDiff2(Hassenzahletal.2004),InteractionVocabulary(Lenzetal.2013)andbrandpersonality(Geuensetal.2009)scaleswereusedtoobservehowtheprototypesperformedintermsofsomequantifiablegeneral(notcase-specific)packaging-relatedexperientialcriteria.Scale-relateddataareexcludedfromourpaper,astheyarenotcoredatarelatedto
Page 12
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
11
theintegrationofXgoalsintothedesignbriefs.TheresultsfromtheInteractionVocabularyscalearereportedinJoutselaetal.(inpress).
Figure1 Chocolatepackage.
Page 13
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
12
Figure2 E-commercepackage.
Page 14
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
13
Figure3 Readymealpackage.
5.4Addressingexperiencegoalsindifferentphases Table2depictsinthreecolumnshowreferencestoexperiencesarepresentinthedifferentstages.Thefirstcolumndescribes(emotional)Xgoalsmentionedbythecompaniesinthebriefs,thesecondcolumndescribestargetedexperiencesmentionedbythedesignersinthefinalpresentationorprojectreport,andthethirdcolumndescribesthemostfrequentexperiencesspontaneouslymentionedbytheactualusersintheevaluationphaseoftheprototype.Theuserexperiencedescriptionssummedupinthethirdcolumnwerecollectedwiththreequalitativequestions:thefirstimpression,visualappearance,andopeningexperience.Ifadescriptionwasmentionedinmorethanoneofthequestions,i.e.delightfulbothintermsofappearanceandopeningexperience,onlythequestionthathadahigherfrequencyoftheexperienceisreported.NotethatinCase1:Chocolatepackaging,12of34testsubjectscouldneitherunderstandnoroperatetheunorthodox(surprising)telescopicopeningmechanismofthepackaging,andthesesubjectsactuallyendedupbreakingthepackagingbyforcingupsomethingthatremotelyresembleddustflapsatthetopofthepackage.Wedecidedtoexcludethese12descriptionsoftheopeningexperiencefromtheanalysis,sincetheexperienceresultsaddressadifferenttypeofopeningmechanismandstructure.
Page 15
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
14
Table2Experiencesfrombriefstoconsumerevaluation.
Page 16
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
15
6.ConclusionsWehavereportedastudyofthreepackagingdesigncaseswhereXgoalswereintegratedintothepackagedesignbrief.Eachcasewastackledbyaninterdisciplinaryprojectteamonapackagingdesigncourse.Thepackagingdesignassignmentscamefromrealneedsofrealcompanies,whoalsosetstrictrequirementsforproductionfeasibility.WelearnedthatdescribingXgoalsaspartofthebriefisbeneficialforthepackagingdesign,butitisnotsimple.Afteranalysingthebriefformationprocess,studyingtheprojectteamsusingthebriefs,andevaluatingtheresultingpackagingdesigns,wecanmaketheconclusionsandanswerourresearchquestionsasfollows.
TheprimaryresearchquestionwashowtointegrateXgoalsintothepackagingdesignprocess.OuroriginalideaofhavingaseparatesectionoraunifiedformatforXgoalswasfoundunrealistic,ascompanieshavedifferentbriefingcultures,andasvariousbriefformatsareknowntowork.Forthecompanies,itwasmostnaturaltointegratetheXgoalsintotheexistingsectionsofthebriefs.Inthethreecasesunderexamination,eachbriefwasdesigneddifferentlyandXgoalswereplacedindifferentsections,dependingonthebrief(i.e.intheoverviewdescription,assignmentdefinition,projectobjectives,experienceobjectives,targetgroupdescription,andinadescriptionofvaluestobeaddressed.)IntegratingtheXgoalsintothesesectionshelpstoconveyamorecoherentstoryoftheclient’svision.
Relatedtotheprimaryquestion,weinvestigatedthreespecificresearchquestions.ThefirstquestionwashowtodescribetheXgoalsinthedesignbrief.Basedontheexperiencegainedinthestudy,alistofstandardizedexperienceadjectivesfollowedbyanimportancescalewasconsideredtoogeneral.Sincepackagedesignerswanttocreateuniqueexperiences,theformatofanXgoalshouldallowexpressinguniqueexperientialqualitiesthathavethepotentialtodifferentiatethepackageonthemarket.Inotherwords,thebrandownerspreferredqualitativeexperiencedescriptionsoverquantitativescaleswhenspecifyingXgoals.Inthethreeresultingbriefs,theXgoalsweredescribedasadjectives(descriptors)orsentencesthatdepictthedesiredexperienceinamorenarrativeformat.
InadditiontotheXgoalsdescriptionsinthedesignbrief,discussionbetweentheclientandthedesignteamwasneededtoestablishasharedunderstandingofthereasonsbehindandthespecificnuancesoftheXgoals.Intwooutofthreecases,theassignmentpartiallyshiftedduringthepackagingdesignphaseastheparties’knowledgeofthecaseandfocusoftheprojectdeveloped.Weconcludethatthebriefshouldbeinaflexibleformattoalloweasyupdates.
ThenextsecondaryresearchquestionwasconcernedwithhowthebriefanditsXgoalswereinterpretedandusedbytheprojectteamduringthedesignprocess.Intheexaminedcases,theteammembersdidnotexperiencedifficultiesunderstandingthegoals,butseveralstudentswouldhavelikedtohaveamoredistinctdifferentiationbetweenprimaryandsecondaryrequirementsingeneral.Thebriefsinourthreecasesunderexamination
Page 17
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
16
sufferedtosomeextentfromtoomanyobjectivesandXgoals,anditmighthavebeenbeneficialtopicke.g.threeprimaryXgoalsandlistothersassecondary.
Duringthecourse,thestudentteamsusedvariousmethodsfordeveloping,expanding,specifyingandsharingtheconceptidea,involvingitsexperientialaspects.Variousmoodboardsandconceptmaps,personasandscenarioswereusedtohelpbuildasharedunderstandingoftheintendedusers,theirvaluesandmotivationsaswellasthecontextofuse.Studentteamsworkediteratively.Theygeneratedseveralideas,sketchesandmock-upstobeinternallyassessedagainsttheperceivedrequirementsinthebrief.Theteamsalsopresentedtheirworkindifferentstagestotheclienttocollectfeedback.
Thefinalresearchquestionwashowtoevaluatewhetherthedelivereddesignevokestheintendedexperienceinthetargetaudience.Despitesomeproblemswithsmoothlyopeningandclosingapackage,therespondentsspontaneouslyreportedmanyoftheintendedexperiences.Therefore,weconcludethatopen-endedquestionssuchas“Whatkindofafirstimpressiondoyougetofthepackage”canbeusedtoseewhethertheexperiencesarerealized.Themostdemandingtaskistheanalysisoftheopen-endedquestions,asitrequiresidentifyingsemanticsimilaritiesofthetermsused.Thequantitativescalesweusedturnedouttobetoogenericfortestingwhethertheintendedexperienceswererealized.
6.1FutureresearchOurstudyraisedmanyquestionstobetackledinfutureresearch.Firstly,whatformatsarecurrentlyinuseforXgoaldescriptions?Wehavenotlocatedanypublicationssummarizingthedifferentformatsusedforstatingexperientialgoals,i.e.designgoalsthatfocusonemotionalornon-instrumentalaspectsofUX,inadesignbrief.Comparisonoftheunderstandabilityandexpressivenessofthedifferentformatswouldbeusefulforbriefingprofessionals.
Secondly,whatkindofguidancewouldhelpinexperiencedbriefersdescribeXgoals?Inthepackagingindustry,notallcompaniescanuseprofessionalsindefiningadesignbrief,andthedesignassignmentisoftenstatedverballyindiscussions.WhentheXgoalsarenotformallydefined,thereisariskthattheintendedexperiencesarenotrealizedinthepackagingdesign,althoughthesubcontractorhasperformedtheagreedjob.Futureresearchshouldaddressthisriskandgiveguidanceonstatingexperiencegoalsinameasurableformat.
Thirdly,howtoevaluateexperiencesasearlyaspossibleinthedesignprocess?WhentheXgoalsarestatedinameasurableformatandreachingthetargetexperiencesisamust,thedesignagencywantstoverifythatthedesignworkisprogressingintherightdirectionasearlyaspossibleinthedesignprocess.However,earlyevaluationofexperiencesischallenging(Rotoetal.2009).Ourstudyalsofaceddifficultiesinevaluatingpackagingprototypes,evenwhentheprototypeswereclosetofinal.Productionrelatedissues,suchasminorchangesinthegradesorstiffnessofmaterialcancontributetohoweasyordifficulta
Page 18
IntroducingExperienceGoalsintoPackagingDesign
17
packagestructureistouseandinteractwith.WesupportthecallbyRotoetal.(2009)formoreresearchonearlyevaluationofexperiences.
Acknowledgements:ThisworkwassupportedbyaTekes-fundedValuepackresearchprogram.WethankvariousemployeesofValuepackcompaniesforallthehelptheyprovidedduringthestudy.WethanktheteachersofthePack-AgeInterdisciplinaryPackagingDesignProjectcourse,aswellasourstudentsfortheirpackagingdesigncontribution:PetriinaPiuhola,HeliJuuti,OonaCasalegno,RodrigoPrietoPadila,AnuPenttinen,JanikaHaataja,AnnaAncCiechanowicz,ErikoIshii,SaraCeccherini,An-TingDin,TerhiIsokuortti,TatuLaakso,MukundhanKulur,EssiHuotari,KaroliinaHeikkinen,DuYuexin,Anna-MiiaSuominen,andJennaVirrankari.
7.ReferencesAmpuero,O.,&Vila,N.(2006).Consumerperceptionsofproductpackaging.JournalofConsumer
Marketing,23(2),100-112.Björklund,T.A.(2013).Initialmentalrepresentationsofdesignproblems:Differencesbetween
expertsandnovices.DesignStudies,34(2),135-160. Bloch,P.H.(1995).Seekingtheidealform:productdesignandconsumerresponse.TheJournalof
Marketing,16-29. Creusen,M.E.,&Schoormans,J.P.(2005).Thedifferentrolesofproductappearanceinconsumer
choice*.Journalofproductinnovationmanagement,22(1),63-81. Geuens,M.,Weijters,B.,&DeWulf,K.(2009).Anewmeasureofbrandpersonality.International
JournalofResearchinMarketing,26(2),97-107. Hassenzahl,M.2003.“TheThingandI:UnderstandingtheRelationshipBetweenUserandProduct.”
InFunology:FromUsabilitytoUserEnjoyment,editedbyM.A.Blythe,K.Overbeeke,A.F.Monk,andP.C.Wright,31–42.Dordrecht:KluwerAcademic.
Hassenzahl,M.,Burmester,M.andKoller,F.(2003).“AttrakDiff:EinFragebogenZurMessungWahrgenommenerHedonischerUndPragmatischerQualität.”InMensch&Computer,187–96.
Hekkert,P.,Mostert,M.,&Stompff,G.(2003,June).Dancingwithamachine:acaseofexperience-drivendesign.InProceedingsofthe2003internationalconferenceonDesigningpleasurableproductsandinterfaces(pp.114-119).ACM.
Hey,J.H.,Joyce,C.K.,&Beckman,S.L.(2007).Framinginnovation:negotiatingsharedframesduringearlydesignphases.JournalofDesignResearch,6(1-2),79-99.
Joutsela,M.,Latvala,T.andRoto,V.(inpress).Influenceofpackaginginteractionexperienceonwillingnesstopay.PackagingTechnologyandScience.Wiley.
Kaasinen,E.,Roto,V.,Hakulinen,J.,Heimonen,T.,Jokinen,J.P.,Karvonen,H.,...&Turunen,M.(2015).Defininguserexperiencegoalstoguidethedesignofindustrialsystems.Behaviour&InformationTechnology,(ahead-of-print),1-16.
Lenz,E.,Diefenbach,S.,&Hassenzahl,M.(2013,September).Exploringrelationshipsbetweeninteractionattributesandexperience.InProceedingsofthe6thInternationalConferenceonDesigningPleasurableProductsandInterfaces(pp.126-135).ACM.
Page 19
MarkusJoutsela&VirpiRoto
18
Lu,Y.,&Roto,V.(2014,October).Towardsmeaningchange:experiencegoalsdrivingdesignspaceexpansion.InProceedingsofthe8thNordicConferenceonHuman-ComputerInteraction:Fun,Fast,Foundational(pp.717-726).ACM.
Orth,U.R.,&Malkewitz,K.(2008).Holisticpackagedesignandconsumerbrandimpressions.JournalofMarketing,72(3),64-81.
Paton,B.,&Dorst,K.(2011).Briefingandreframing:Asituatedpractice.DesignStudies,32(6),573-587.
Phillips,P.L.(2004).CreatingthePerfectDesignBrief.NewYork:AllworthPress. Pilditch,J.(1961).TheSilentSalesman.London.Harper&Row. Polanyi,Michael(1966).TheTacitDimension.Chicago.UniversityofChicagoPress. Roto,V.,Rantavuo,H.,Väänänen-Vainio-Mattila,K.(2009).EvaluatingUserExperienceofEarly
ProductConcepts.Proc.DesigningPleasurableProductsandInterfaces,DPPI’09.Compiegne,France.
Rundh,B.(2009).Packagingdesign:creatingcompetitiveadvantagewithproductpackaging.BritishFoodJournal,111(9),988-1002.
Sanders,E.B.-N.,andU.Dandavate.1999.“DesignforExperiencing:NewTools.”InProceedingsoftheFirstInternationalConferenceonDesign&Emotion,editedbyC.J.OverbeekeandP.Hekkert,87–92.Delft:DelftUniversityofTechnology.
Underwood,R.L.(2003).Thecommunicativepowerofproductpackaging:creatingbrandidentityvialivedandmediatedexperience.JournalofMarketingTheoryandPractice,62-76.
AbouttheAuthors:
Markus Joutsela is a packaging design researcher and teacherwithan interest in developing packaging design education and studyinghowpackages conveymeanings andenableexperiences. HeworksatTheAaltoUniversitySchoolofArts,DesignandArchitecture,intheDepartmentofMedia.
Virpi Roto is a research fellow with research focus on experiencedesignapproaches.SheworksatTheAaltoUniversitySchoolofArts,DesignandArchitecture,intheDepartmentofDesign.