Packaging: past, present & future. Part 4

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative director, etc / LMMiami.com

  • We shop to fill the void of our existential tedium.
  • We live to shop and we shop to live.
  • We shop, therefore we are.
  • Shop, return, repeat.
  • In the digital age shopping is not was it used to be.
  • Another industry undergoing massive disruption.
  • The internet taketh away, yes, but the internet giveth too.
  • If you peruse YouTube you’ll find thousands of “unboxing” videos where users open a brand new packaging.
  • Consumerist porn.
  • Capitalist fetishism.
  • The new car smell of unboxing a brand new product -from a bag of potato chips to a $4k state-of-the-art laptop is a key part of the consumer experience.
  • If you cut corners on packaging, the unboxing experience will suffer and you will cheapen the perception of your brand and your product.
  • In the future of packaging industrial design will supersede good ol’ graphic design.
  • That’s nor all, there are more “revolutions” are underway.
  • IOT (Internet Of Things)
  • AKA the ability of machines to communicate with one another sans human involvement.
  • For instance: trash cans with sensors that only demand to be emptied when they reach their full capacity (as opposed to a human being doing the rounds every day for a visual check up just in case).
  • Refrigerators that order milk form the grocery store only when they “sense” that replenishment is necessary.
  • Will packaging as we know it be necessary when your home appliances do the shopping for you?
  • What will happen when we finally enter the age of hyper customization through 3D printing.
  • What will happen to brands, logos and the various forms of intellectual property associated with current day manufacturing and commerce the day consumers have total control of the shape, look and functionality of the products they buy?
  • Will brands still exist?
  • Will every human being be a unique brand?
  • Will we create a new fleeting brand every time we design an individual item for our personal use?
  • Will it make sense for companies such as Nike or Toyota to remain in business come the day when we have the ability to design and 3D print a pair of sneakers or a car from scratch?
  • Will logos make any sense in such a context?

 

 

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