Cozy Critters Nap Mat Packaging
Hanger Header and Belly Band
Hanger Header and Belly Band
The buyer came to the manager of packaging with a new product he had discovered, a nap mat that had a matching stuffed animal attached as a pillow. The mat came in five different styles with a design on the front which coordinated with the stuffed animal. It was a completely open project as far as what kind of labeling would be allowed, I was given free reign by my manager.
My first step was to decide what kind of labeling would be best. Because of the cute design on the front of the mat, I thought it would be best to show the item hanging up. It was also important that we secure the stuffed animal to minimize flopability and showcasing it's cuteness. I thought a hanger header card with a front and back would work nicely. I devised and tested a method for folding and securing the stuffed animal and mat to the hanger and got approval from my manager. The next step was getting approval from the buyer and more importantly, from production.
The design phase continued while we waited for final specs. The "Cozy Critters" name was trademarked by our company but sorely in need of a redesign as a brand. My manager/art director asked me take care of this as part of the project.
I did market research and discovered this product was very similar to an item that was in the market and very hot for the holiday season. Our product wouldn't reach the market until the following fall. The buyer did not want to mimic the other product. My thought was to try to appeal to grandparents, who might buy a whole set, one for each grandchild, while remaining current with design trends. I thought the parchment background hit both points. The subdued colors are child friendly but are the opposite of the primary colors that the competing product was utilizing.
The design phase continued while we waited for final specs. The "Cozy Critters" name was trademarked by our company but sorely in need of a redesign as a brand. My manager/art director asked me take care of this as part of the project.
I did market research and discovered this product was very similar to an item that was in the market and very hot for the holiday season. Our product wouldn't reach the market until the following fall. The buyer did not want to mimic the other product. My thought was to try to appeal to grandparents, who might buy a whole set, one for each grandchild, while remaining current with design trends. I thought the parchment background hit both points. The subdued colors are child friendly but are the opposite of the primary colors that the competing product was utilizing.
There was no budget for models or photography so I took photos of the product in our conference room. At this point we thought there would be a different label for each style and it would be nice to cross sell the items by showing the various styles on the back. The concept was that each label would have the same treatment but the color around the image, and of course the image, would change for each style.
By this time we had confirmed the actual production size of the mat which gave us a better idea of the needed thickness of the header card. The buyer also let us know they would be running one label for all of the products. At this point we were waiting for hanger specs but the design phase continued.
My art director felt that since it would be only one label for each, it was important to sell the happiness it would bring to any child. There was still no budget, especially not for models, so photo research began. I found several images of happy attractive children but the way this child was positioned worked well for what I needed to do. I went into Photoshop and had a great time with various tools putting the nap mat into her arms and her into the nap mat. The buyer loved it!
We still waited for the hanger but to no avail. One week before the art work was due to meet shipment, it was discovered that this item would not be able to be hung, it would go into bins. The buyer requested a belly band. I had to determine the appropriate width and length, where the best place for the slot and tab would be, reformat the design and prepare it for production which need to include instructions for the assembly line.
