Colour in Packaging Design … a design challenge for students curriculum strands and links     Technology: Technological Capability   Knowledge & Understanding Technology & Society     Language: Visual Language, Speaking, Listening, Presenting     Links to: Visual Arts Levels:3-5   How We Feel about Colour Tell the students that designers choose colours very carefully when designing packaging. What reasons can they give for this? eg - It must stand out on a supermarket shelf - Colour affects the way we feel about a product. To demonstrate this, display 5-6 colour sheets of paper, ask students to list the colours and then write down how each colour makes them feel and what each colour makes them think about, eg green makes me feel fresh and clean, green makes me think about the environment … Colours Affect Each Other Try some experiments with colour shapes on different backgrounds, eg Which colours work well with each other? Which colour combinations blend? Which stand out? Make a collection of similar products, eg washing powders. Which package colour appeals most? Why? Which colour or colour combinations stand out most? Why? Run a survey to find which colour combinations appeal most to people Extend the Survey Do certain combinations appeal to different age groups? What about different genders? Collate, display and discuss findings of the survey. Try another survey with different products. Do certain colours appeal more on different products? Why? Can the students say how a certain colour/combination affects a product? A Design Brief Give each group the task of designing a package for a product, eg tube of toothpaste or a packet of jelly. The product is to appeal to either a student of their own age or a younger or older student. Tell the groups that before any design team starts, they must conduct consumer research. Have groups brainstorm and list the questions they would ask. eg would we use bold colours? which colour combinations would be effective? how could we make the package stand out from others on a supermarket shelf? are there any colours which are popular in advertising at the moment? Have groups present their finished designs to the class. Have them explain the reasons why they chose the particular design features and colours they used. Further Directions Did the students enjoy working together as a group? Does working as a group mean that there are more ideas to use ? How did they resolve any differences? Test the product designs on the target audiences. Make a classroom display of effective packaging for evaluation by students. Do you have a lesson you would like to share with other teachers? Simply email us an attached Word, Works or PDF file and we will add it to our library. Don't forget to include your name and school so we can acknowledge your work.