Goodwin

"Couture and contour — we tried to strike a balance between the two," says Terry Montimore, creative director of the Goodwin design firm in Media, PA. Montimore says the combination of couture and contour resulted in the revamped Golightly peg bag, a packaging structure that in Goodwin's case is designed to integrate a tapered curve (read: a subtle waistline) that anticipates the appeal necessary to attract the range of Golightly purchasers.

That range points primarily to women aged 25 to 55, with the secondary market targeting diabetics. Montimore's team combined that demographic with the fact that women make up to 85% of household purchasing decisions. Even informed by such valuable data, it's still no easy task to invent a packaging concept for candy that intersects everyday indulgence and sugar-free sensibility. As the sales powerhouse for the Golightly brand, the peg bag is a conundrum, note Montimore, because it is necessary but also "difficult to make unique."

So, after the requisite research, Montimore says: "We had fun with it, and allowed branding and structure to resonate while giving each package its own color to distinguish flavor." Moreover, to demarcate a "haute" sensibility in a package prototype with otherwise mass appeal, the team added whimsical background swirls and band wraps for a premium, tailored effect, art director Brian Barto points out.

To elevate the work still further, the team partnered with Inwork of New York City on print and comp production, as well as with Insight Group in Brewster, NY, on prototype development of the candy's tin container.

About the tin, Barto offers, "We wanted to echo the waistline shape with something in the cosmetics realm, an easy-to-carry lipstick or mascara tube." With ease of use also in mind, the design works by dropping a candy into its holder's hand with a casual turn of the cylinder.

Beautiful inventiveness aside, the age-old question is how to avoid compromising manufacturing speed and efficiency for brand identity and appeal. In all projects at Goodwin, "The team routinely considers how it's going to reconcile style with practicality," says Montimore; and ultimately, the client decides.