Towards Sophistication: French Packaging Design Expresses Joie De Vivre With Elegant Design

By Aude François

Hpnotiq was designed with French cues specifically to entice U.S. nightclubbers.

Package design in France represents the most active design field in terms of employees, and more than half of all package design work is done for international brands. Lars Wallentin, a Swedish packaging consultant, explains on that this French success comes from the ability of France to "offer certainly the most interesting design solutions, in terms of concept and creativity." [source: www.admirabledesign.com] If French design specificity exists, it can be understood by looking at the retail environment in France and new consumer habits.

"The French packaging improved a lot in the last 20 to 30 years," says Gérard Caron, the renowned expert of French packaging design. Caron is founder of several agencies and organizations, including Carré Noir, the Paneuropean Design Association, the Design Communication Corporation, the website admirabledesign.com, and the Caron Japan Network.

Though the U.S. started the high interest in package design, today France, the U.K., and Japan are on the same interest level, but with different strengths and ways of designing. Nowadays, there is specificity in French packaging design, but "it is understood by the professionals, not by the consumer," says Fabrice Peltier, president of the P'Reference design firm. For Peltier, the last four to five years shows a trend toward packaging uniformity throughout the world, with quite the same packaging "codes" and standard shapes.

The luxuriant bottle and box for Martell XO represent French package design at its finest, where the packaging endows the product with class and elegance.

French 'specificity'

But again, the specificity of French packaging can be understood by comparing it to packaging of other countries. "English packaging seems to be better in branding, and Italian packaging is more focused on decoration," says Jean-Christophe Boulard, president of the French national packaging design institute (INPD).

It is true that French packaging design could work more on ergonomics and typography, and could technically be as perfect as the Japan and German packaging. But to achieve this high level will require some investment. However, the wide diversity of the French packaging futher contributes to the creativity found here. The French retailing environment, with competitive discounters and new consumer habits, plays a major role in packaging design. Very present is the pressure to differentiate and help consumers recognize products in dramatically segmented markets. This diversity in shapes, textures, etc. is broader in France than in the U.S., and this diversity places more emphasis on the product itself.

Compact and ergonomic, the new Mennen Sport bottles created by the P'Reference design firm are very functional, able to be opened and used with one hand. The orange gel douche energisant bottle is very dynamic and features a patented twist-opening system that is easily turned with the thumb.

Both emotions and branding

To help this differentiation, French packaging is playing with the codes, "trying to convey both emotions and branding," says Boulard. It uses many colors, a specificity that may come from the French cinema and fashion culture. Appetizing pictures are also present on the packaging for highlighting flavor and expressing authenticity. The development of poly-sensuality has been very important for several years in France. New materials improve those sensations. Plastic is no longer considered as an entry-level material. Instead, plastic broadens the creativity field of the designers, engaging senses other than vision, such as the tactile, the odor, and the sound senses.

The new packaging also conveys more information. "Marketers understand that advertisement doesn't bring the right message to the right people," notes Boulard. "So packaging is today more used for its informative role as a media." With clear objectives--to be transparent on nutrition, to help fight against obesity, etc.--French package design is known for breaking codes. This is evident today with the current French trend toward package sophistication.

"[Some years ago], regional products were synonymous with premium position," explains Peltier. The packages of thsse products used special graphic codes that reminded consumers of the French gastronomical authenticity of the product, such as Reflets de France for Carrefour, Le Savoir des Saveurs for Systˆ®me U, Nos Régions ont du Talent for Leclerc. The retailers used this communication strategy to propose to their customers a new range of quality products that were in the past only distributed in fine groceries. The brands also included this premium segment in their product range. But today, another vision of the premium food is about to cross our French borders.

"After having proven to us that a good wine bottle was not inevitably represented with a castle on a white label decorated with fine gold, our neighbors are giving us a new lesson in packaging design," says Peltier, adding that a new idea of food quality has also emerged in the last two years in the U.S. "Having integrated perfectly that the top-of-the-line traditional gastronomy came from the old continent, the American manufacturers explore a virgin ground with promising potential: top-of-the-line modern gastronomy," adds Peltier.

The French designers see two styles for this modern gastronomy. The first graphic style is minimalist: no logo, just type. Black and white or two colors with the maximum flat tint. All is written, nothing is shown. Simple, effective, these packages create desire for buying to know some more. The second style is much more refined, with the visual elements dominating. These new trends should also appear soon in France.

The modern Suzi Wan wok kit package conveys healthy eating while the shape is inspired from a pagoda.

A hyper-realistic picture on the front produces an emotional response, and the presence of a hand sprinkling seasonings suggests easy cooking.

Strength in food and cosmetics

In France, sophisticated package design is used most to develop food and cosmetic brands, applications for which the segmentation is very intensive, with short product life cycles. The brands try to target the right consumer--either the young, the women, or the senior. The wine market, for example, is creating new products for women and young people. The packaging uses a lot of colors and shapes, giving the product a fun appearance in order to attract the consumer with a desire of discovering.

This was the idea behind Hpnotiq, a vodka, cognac, and tropical fruit spirit with French flair that was designed purposely for the U.S. market and nightclubs. Linea Design created a Champagne-like bottle with screen-printed flint glass, and used special pigments that allow the logo to be seen in dark environments.

The famous Martell cognac brand recently renewed its packaging to combine modernity, authenticity, and luxuriousness. The Dragon Rouge design agency created an XO concept, which reflects the rich personality of Jean Martell, by designing a unique carafe and box that bind tradition and modernity, French origin and universality. The bottle takes the shape of a very pure arch, and the glasswork brings sophistication with embossed elements and spiral design. The box expresses the subtlety and nobleness of the product with contemporary platinum, and the heavy metal silver cap is the final touch.

On the cosmetic side, if France is well known for its perfumes, it is also the world leader in perfume bottle manufacturing. Each cosmetic brand counts on design specificity. Like Hermˆ®s, which launched the perfume L'Eau des Merveilles in a spherical bottle that can stand up on one of its two angled base surfaces. Luxury is here not only in the bottle shape, but also in its decoration. A shading of orange varnish and silvered stars offer a moving visual effect when looking around the bottle.

The Well company recently introduced an "active" panty hose that helps blood circulation in the legs. To accompany this launch, the Team Créatif designers created the brand ActiWell, with a typography reflecting beauty and technical improvement. The packaging illustrates this innovation through differentiating visuals that express modernity and efficiency. The colorful packaging highlights the benefits of this new technology, creating segmentation in the textile sector.

New horizons

If food and cosmetics are extremely demanding markets, the entertainment and professional sectors are relative newcomers requiring versatile package design. Boulard explains how entertainment packaging is threatened by dematerialization because of downloading. "Only a new packaging gives back the desire to buy CDs and DVDs," says Boulard. "With the packaging, music and video are products again." That is why there are so many collectors' editions created, like the famous French singer Charles Aznavour's box set, which was in the shape of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

Finally, the professional business sector is looking for more functionality, but is not asking for so much effort on branding. Another area were the French are increasing package design efforts is the tools and hardware business. With a 35-hour workweek enjoyed by many in France, there are many French DIY-ers, and this sector registers significant growth. Companies are asking for new packaging to help consumers use their products in a fast and easy way.

Legislation, eco-behavior, and eco-awareness are also leading new packaging developments, trying to achieve less weight but with the same physical resistance and functionality. "Designers have less influence regarding the material choice," remarks Caron. However, those constraints can be sources for creativity, as new bioplastics like PLA have a bright future, metals become more flexible, and improving converting technologies help to expand alternatives. While ecodesign is very important, it has to integrate new consumer habits.

Consumers are asking for various packaging--unit doses, on-the-go consumption--adapted to their way of life. The waste status of the packaging plays also an important role on the product life cycle. New developments favor monomaterials and the use of fewer colors for purer packaging. Not only for economic and legislative reasons, but because sustainable development is an important policy for most French industries. Finally, all the efforts made in that direction might be caused by consumers, who are more and more aware of acceptable eco-behavior for individuals as well as companies.

Aude François has been a writer for Emballage Digest in France since 1998, reporting on French packaging news, trends, and performing technology surveys on packaging, packaging materials, and packaging machinery. Aude can be reached at audefrancois@emballagedigest.fr.