When Dynamic Clarity Is a Clear Design Opportunity

By Bill Wynkoop

For educators, springtime is not only the season when flowers bloom— sending many of our students' minds toward graduation—but also when final consultations need to be scheduled. So in a recent graduate thesis review ("A Graphic Designer's Introduction to Basic Marketing Concepts with a Focus on Package Design"), I found myself not only wanting to talk about type, shape, and color, but also "dynamic clarity."

You are probably thinking—like my students—that I had not had enough sleep the night before our session, or that I have not been paying enough attention to Karim Rashid's fabulous line of Method products, which are obviously so über-clear.

Shrink sleeve labels are reaching their full potential as package designers strike a balance between contextual messages outside and the view of the product inside.

So what exactly am I talking about when I throw out this dynamic clarity term, and how do I even begin to mention its use in the same breath as the foundation tools of graphic design?

I start with my firm's clientele— many of whom are based in the food and beverage industry—and, much to my wife's chagrin, I tap my Bob McMath-like proclivity towards collecting interesting packages and pull out some samples for discussion. (For those unfamiliar with Bob McMath, see www.newproductworks.com/about_npw/npw_history.html )

The first real "Wow!"

First up is my first real "Wow!" in full-coverage packaging, AriZona Tea's 20-oz. bottle from the mid-'90s. Do any of you remember the first time you saw Jean Pettine's Geisha on their Green Tea label? For me, it was a seminal moment because it changed the way shrink labels had heretofore been employed in the market, ushering in an exciting new decorating option for companies as well as a new medium for designers to leverage.

Since then, full-shrink applications have exploded with beverage marketers and have taken a strong hold of their full coverage capabilities in other select categories. Many times these packages elevate the product beyond a high-impact solution to one with a striking advantage.

As designs in these markets began to evolve, certain packages played with the visibility of the products inside, something that is passé in a package with applied labeling or that are directly printed, but wholly unique in full-shrink where full label coverage and color dominate.

Full-shrink to its fullest

The first that comes to my mind is Nestlé's NesQuik, which had a nifty circular swoosh surrounding the Nestlé rabbit and NesQuik brand name. Fun and playful, it was paired with Nestlé's signature yellow background, helping to establish their relaunched milk products in the single-serving category.

This also was a precursor to what I've come to call dynamic clarity, which I define as the intended visibility of the product as part of the overall package design. As a point of reference, when allowing the product to show through the label, the common convention for most full-shrink applications has been as a measuring device similar to the clear strip on a motor oil bottle. If employed, the strip would typically be relegated to the side or back panel.

What I'm focusing on are designs where the product's visibility through the label is integral to the design. In today's market offerings, Marie's Salad Dressings best exemplify this assertion, where the distinction offered by their half-visible, half-adorned design is undeniable. When their full line of product is viewed in the store, it is a visual smorgasbord of both color and brand—both evocative and provocative at the same time.

Another product taking full advantage of dynamic clarity is Marzetti's, a competitor of Marie's, which offers a restrained design that lets their product do the talking. The fresh lettuce, prominent logo, and vertical flavor bands of their full-shrink sleeve do however considerably amplify the discussion.

It is obvious to me that the designers for these products looked not only at the traditional and hallowed use of type, shape, and color, as my student would correctly point out, but that they also understood there was a new tool laid aside in their lunchbox.

I termed dynamic clarity as a trend because it is specific to a package with full coverage and can, I believe, easily be overdone. It is an interesting development to note and one worth at least a moment's thought for any designer or company with a product looking for a unique distinction.

Bill Wynkoop is an adjunct professor in the packaging department at RIT, and he is the lead creative with Lazer Design Services, a premedia firm specializing in branding and identity as well as package and structural design. Reach him at billw@lazerinc.com.