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Brand Engine |  Goodwin |  Gravity |  Tin Horse |  MSU School of Packaging

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Michigan State University
School of Packaging

Packaging and perception: There's little uncertainty that the two are entwined. This idea helped to inform the professional and inspired package redesign work of three students from Michigan State University's School of Packaging in East Lansing, MI: Cristina Fernanda Guzman-Siller, Javier de la Fuente, and Maria Paz Gonzales.

To complete proper due diligence and understand the brand possibilities with full realization, the team went to the source. "One of the first things we did was to go to the store to see Golightly's packaging on the store shelf," explains Javier de la Fuente, who is completing his Master's Degree in industrial design. "One of the conclusions we drew was that there wasn't enough differentiation from other competitors."

This was an important point when considering Golightly's noteworthy status as the marketplace leader in the sugar-free candy category. To further inform the design process, and to validate the student design team's sense that "the existing package was not in compliance with the high-quality candy inside," says Maria Paz Gonzales, a doctoral student in Packaging Science at MSU. The team felt that this was limiting the price point, so they began compiling anecdotal evidence.

"We asked students, faculty — all different people around campus — how much they would pay for this candy," says Cristina Fernanda Guzman-Siller, the third member of the design team, also a Packaging Science doctoral student. "People said they wouldn't be comfortable paying more than one dollar," the team remembers discovering across the board.

Hence the design decision to incorporate some legacy elements of the Golightly package design — namely, the vertically-placed logo as well as the package "circle" — but otherwise break out of the box.

"We created a new logo and used transparent colors inside the circle to create 'light,' an 'active' feel, and to move in a more modern direction with the color silver," Guzman-Siller comments. The transparent colors also subliminally convey flavor, the team believes. In particular, de la Fuente notes: "We wanted to craft a signature logo, an identity, and future recognition for Golightly."

"Our main objective was to clearly communicate that this is a candy for all types of people," de la Fuente says, not just dieters. The candy tins are designed to be stackable or to "nest," says Guzman-Siller, which has positive implications for shipping and shelf storage, but also secondary usage. For example, the tins can be used as jewelry boxes, or storage for office supplies, or as containers to hold various and sundry household items, Gonzales notes. The team believes that and special, "collectible" holiday tins only add to the fun and staying power of the products' presence wherever they are used.