WHAT IS GOOD ...Primary Research//Shop report

I decided that it was no longer good enough for me to be sat behind a computer screen researching pencil designs, pencil packaging designs, pharmaceutical packaging designs and notebooks, so today I got myself into town and did a little primary research.....

The majority of these designs have a blue and white colour scheme with the blue being printed onto white stock. 

I thought these tubes would be highly suitable for packaging a pencil/pencils and exactly the type of design I was hoping to find.

In relation to colour there is a lot of white coming through when you glance at this selection, there is also a substantial amount of blue, green, yellow and orange. They all use a pretty basic colour scheme as it is more about the message they are having to convey rather than visually exciting aesthetics. However, within my design I obviously want to ensure it it visually pleasing, at the same time ensuring it is portraying a clear message. I think that by keeping to a simple colour scheme but using specialist print techniques too, this can be achieved.

Pencils can be bought on their own or as a set. If the pencil is bought on it's own it tends not to have any packaging with it, however, if the pencil is brought as a set it will usually be contained within some packaging. This is something I need to decide within my design; if I am going to package the pencils I will need to consider the packaging in relation to the pencil that is to be packaged.

I like the simplicity of this notepad design. The notepad has simply been covered by the orange cover design and stapled in place. I could produce my own design and apply it to the notepad in the same way.

These notepads are amazing! They have simply had the edges screen printed with a design (you can even hear the crack of the paint when you open the pages) however, you would have to be sure that the ink doesn't bleed into the page. 

The embossed shapes on this leather covered notepad create a texture to the cover which can be felt and seen in the light.

...other notepad cover designs.

Such a simple book with a simple design but such an effective outcome. I like.

The quadrilateral shapes have me embossed and had the embossed mark then coloured in gold. 

The bellyband around this book gives the details of the note book to the views but then allows the book to remain simple and clean in its design once its the band has been removed.

A UV varnish has been applied to certain sections of the notebook which become visible in the light. I could use this within certain areas of my design. I would not want to incorporate too much UV varnish though as it may take away from any information displayed.  

The containers at the bottom package pens and pencils, it is interesting to see the different shaped containers used.

The simple bold typeface on the bellyband makes it instantaneously obvious what the product is.

A range of pencils in all different shapes, sizes and colours all of which will inform my design decisions. I brought 3 of them as inspiration. 

This packaging is how I had envisaged the design I have already made to be applied to packaging. I like the way in which the pencils are concealed within the box then you, the viewer, have to reveal the pencils.