Is austerity the new luxury?

An example of the austerity trend from
local jewellery brand, Twopenny Lane.

The financial climate is still tough, and the trends in the economy have been reflected in trends within the packaging industry. Design has been stripped back, muted and simplified, initially to reduce cost in packaging production, but it appears now this has become accepted as 'trendy', but why? Because we think it sits well our price sensitive audience, or conversely, because we think it's the new sign of luxury?








As with everything, there are several sides to this debate. First let's assume that we are designing with the cash strapped economy in mind. Let's suggest that gold still means luxurious and that

Benefit's 'Great Gatsby' inspired collection.

flamboyancy is the way to sell luxury products. Look at The Great Gatsby for example. The Guardian hit the nail on the head when they said that Baz Luhrmann's latest offering is "celebrating opulence". The jewellery for the film was designed by Tiffany, the costumes by Prada, everything about the film screams luxury, and some companies are riding on that wave. Take Benefit cosmetics and their 1920's-inspired limited edition packaging. The luxury cosmetics industry never ditched their metallic, intricately designed boxes, velvet covers and superfluous layers of packaging, for butchers twine and a brown paper bag, yet they are still selling products by the bucket load. They know their products have value and people will pay for it. Fact. So with that said, luxury is the new luxury.

The new Leona Lewis collection from The Body Shop.

So now let's look at another side of the argument. This might be a little controversial, but are we the only ones who think that some of the Benefit packaging looks a little cheap? When you compare it to a brand like The Bodyshop, who have stripped their packaging right back to allow the product to take centre stage, Benefit's packaging just looks a bit much. The Bodyshop have not lost their personality by being more reserved with their designs, they have simply aligned themselves with the austerity trend. Although it is not technically a luxury brand, the price point is towards the higher end of high street make-up brands, making this brand a bit of a luxury when financial times are hard.






Looking at some of the greats in graphic design, such as Herb Lubalin, it's easy to see why design austerity can be such a successful strategy for a brand.  He has been described as proving that "to be effective, all you need is a typeface and a good idea" (Adrian Shaughnessy), removing the need for all the excessive elements of design. Furthermore, it has been argued that because of a change in attitudes towards 'organic' and 'pure' products, (both of which are becoming increasingly important in the cosmetics industry), consumers now associate luxury products with packaging featuring quirky graphics, hand-written styles of text, less focus on colour, and more on texture. In times of austerity, brand loyalty is easily swayed. Packaging plays such a huge role in consumer decision making, and getting that right for your potential, (and existing), customers is paramount.

The power of the typeface. The development of the food wall, designed by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase for Lou Dorfsman, director of design at CBS in 1966.

Finally there's the argument that people will buy what people will buy, regardless of the economic situation, or trends in packaging. Suppose that with or without the pomp and ceremony of the golden YSL box that people would still buy the product because they "simply can't live without it", ask the majority of women who own Touche Éclat how many they have bought, and whether they pay that much attention to the packaging!

However we believe that, when a consumer is in the market for a new product, your packaging plays too much of a part in purchasing decisions to be ignored. Once that purchase becomes habit, packaging plays a lesser role. But surely you always want to be attracting new customers, so packaging always matters.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this, how do you think the economy has affected luxury packaging, if at all? Are you more attracted to the 'shiny' or the quirky?

Sources of information:
http://www.packagingnews.co.uk/design/markets/a-quest-for-luxury-in-austere-times-markets-luxury-packaging/ 
http://www.printmag.com/interviews/designer-for-the-age-of-austerity-adrian-shaughnessy-on-herb-lubalins-life-and-work/  
http://www.jkrglobal.com/design-gazette/flapper-fabulous/#comments

World Book Day

We love to read! And that's why we're very excited that it's World Book Day! We also love the printed page which is a fantastic excuse to write a post.  Some of us are bigger bookworms than others, but we thought that we'd share with you what we are all reading at the moment:

Owen is a bit of a busy body and is currently reading three books at the same time! The books Owen is reading give you a brilliant insight into his personality. First of all, he likes to learn about, (and drink), beer, so it makes sense that he would be reading Beer School: Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery. Owen also likes quirky and unusual things so there is no doubt why A History of the World in 100 Objects is right up his street. And finally, as you probably all know, Owen is a graphic designer, therefore his interest in the biography of legend Herb Lubalin, an American designer, is pretty obvious.

Lucy is a big bookworm, she is reading two books at the moment. Because she got so many books for Christmas, (including the Game of Thrones boxset!), she has only just got around to reading Life of Pi, and is refusing to watch the film until she has completed the book! She is also reading The Power, a book about the power of positive thinking.

Annabel and Ross are, quite sensibly, only reading one book each at the moment. Annabel is currently reading The Great Gatsby and Ross is reading a book by Stefan Sagmeister.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

Of course a story couldnt be a story without a great narrative, but sometimes you need something more, and that's where illustration takes over. We have worked with some very talented illustrators over the years, especially in the last few weeks on the Doodle Day posts. Below is a great video from the World Book Day website, featuring Chris Riddell and Paul Stewart, an illustrator and a writer, who work together to create fantasy worlds and creatures. They way they work is quite fascinating.


Storycraft, Chris Riddell, Paul Stewart from World Book Day on Vimeo.

Did you know World Book Day is celebrated in over 100 countries, and that the event is now in it's 16th year?! And although the World Book Day is specifically aimed at children, we think you're never too old, or too young to enjoy a good book.

Are you celebrating World Book Day? Or are you enjoying a really good book at the moment? Give us a tweet @ubd_studio.