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50 ISSUES
IN 17 YEARS
THE MAGAZINE you are holding is the 50th issue of
Inspire – inspiration from Iggesund Paperboard for everyone with an interest in the design and production of
packaging and other graphical creations that can involve
paperboard. It has been 17 years since the beginning, and
with every issue we receive firm evidence that Inspire is
highly appreciated.
crosses over into interaction, means a lot to us. We receive tips, ideas and inspiration from a highly international readership. And because our covers are always made
from our Invercote and Incada grades, we also have the
opportunity three times a year to send out live samples to
thousands of knowledgeable people in the industry.
THANK YOU for all your support these past 17 years and
WHENEVER WE measure our readers’ views on the
magazine, the survey companies get in touch with us,
amazed at the results. Inspire, which is a free magazine,
is appreciated and valued the same as a specialised
subscriber magazine which carries a charge. Our readers
view Inspire the same way a wine enthusiast views their
specialist wine magazine, or a coin collector their niche
publication.
This relationship with the reader, which occasionally
50 issues.
IN THIS ISSUE of Inspire you can read about how im-
portant packaging is in brand-building, about the latest
trends in packaging design, environmentally friendly gift
cards, and the power of retail paper bags. We also pay a
visit to trendy Barcelona-based agency Lo Siento. You’ll
find all this and much, much more in this issue of Inspire.
Enjoy!
ANNICA BRESKY
CEO/President of Iggesund Paperboard AB
Address
Iggesund Paperboard
SE-825 80 Iggesund, Sweden
phone: +46 650 280 00
[email protected] • iggesund.com
Publisher
Jessica Tommila
(reponsible under Swedish press law)
Editor in Chief
Elisabeth Östlin
[email protected]
Editorial committee
Véronique Lafrance, Lydia Lippmann, Winnie Halpin,
Ian Huskinson, Staffan Sjöberg, Elisabeth Östlin
Publishing Agency
OTW Communication
PO Box 3265, SE-103 65 Stockholm
Editor and project manager
Anna-Lena Ahlberg Jansen,
[email protected]
Jessica Johansson, Katarina Sjöström
Art Directors
Kristian Strand, Fredrik Öhlander
Prepress
Done, Stockholm
Printing
Strokirk-Landströms, Lidköping, Sweden
Contributors
Michael Dee, Emma Holmqvist Deacon,
Sam Eichblatt, Isabelle Kliger, Anna McQueen,
Cari Simmons
Photos and illustrations
Veronica Ballart Lilja, Louise Billgert,
Jann Lipka, Anette ­Nantell, Rolf Lavergren,
Rodrigo Diaz Wichmann
Translations
Comactiva Language Partner AB
ISSN
1404-2436
Inspire is printed in English, Chinese,­French,
German, Japanese and ­Swedish
50th
I S S U
E
CONTENTS
INSPIRE # 50
Inspire, a source of inspiration,
provided by Iggesund Paperboard,
home of Invercote and Incada.
# 2 / 2015
THE SHOPPING ISSUE
BEYOND THE BROWN BOX
IGGESUND UPDATES
A NEW PACKAGING LANDSCAPE
GREENER GIFT CARDS
POWER IN THE BAG
LEADERS OF TOMORROW
COSMETIC CONSCIOUSNESS
EXPO OBJECTS
DESIGNING FROM WITHIN
THE RISE OF THE ‘SAVEAHOLIC’
4
8
9
13
14
17
18
20
22
27
--------------------------------------Inspire aims to inform and e­ ntertain
with stories and p­ hotos that are not
­restricted to the scope of Iggesund's
own business. As its name suggests,
the idea is to be i­nspirational and
not to infringe on a c­ ompany's or
person's image rights or intellectual
property. Products that are made
with Invercote, Incada and other
paperboard from I­ggesund are marked
in the text.
O F
You forgot
your package!
When it comes to online ­shopping,
many retailers are missing an
­important a
­ spect in the branding
process – and literally handing­that
oversight right to the c
­ onsumer.
P
The shipping box
should be used
to enhance the
brand ­experience,
­according to
­Swedish-based
Boxcom, which
turns boxes into
communication
channels.
4
icture this: You’ve finally decided to buy
that rather pricey silk scarf that you’ve
been eyeing in the store window all week.
You go to the register and pay for the
purchase, and the cashier plunks
your scarf into a generic cardboard box, seals it
shut with messy packing tape and hands it over.
Are you still pleased with your purchase?
Today’s savvy consumers expect to leave a
store with a purchase that has been carefully
handled, gently wrapped and neatly packaged in an attractive bag. Yet for some reason, when they buy the same item online,
it is delivered in that dull brown box with
warehouse packing tape all over it. Such a
miss leaves consumers feeling dis­appointed
and un­appreciated, and what should have
been a memorable brand experience turns
sour.
“If a product comes in something that is
plain and generic looking, it reflects badly on
the brand,” says Jonathan Asher, executive vice
president at Perception Research Services.
“There are all kinds of ways to deteriorate the
experience by not doing it well.” But by
offering something extra, companies have an
opportunity to reinforce the brand and quality
and to “surprise and delight”, he adds.
“First impressions last,” says Susanne Sifvert,
co-owner of Boxcom. She says the shipping box
should be used to enhance the brand experience
and perceived quality of a product. “Today, when
customers open the box with their online purchase,
the first thing they see is the invoice,” she says.
“Instead, retailers should make their customers love
the box from the minute they pick it up, to associate
the brand with a positive feeling.”
iggesund.com
TEXT CARI SIMMONS
PHOTO ANETTE NANTELL
BOXCOM TIPS
• Activate and engage your clients when you have
them all to yourself – at the ­moment when they
receive your package. Use social media campaigns,
special offers or whatever works for your target
audience.
• When you make a design for the box, make sure it
will work over a long time or at least until the campaign is finished, to avoid running out of boxes.
iggesund.com
5
A positive experience continues
once the consumer opens the box.
All extra touches could prompt
consumers to promote the brand,
for example in social media.
6
iggesund.com
SIFVERT AND her partner Helene Andersen started
“There’s a big opportunity for whoever is first, because
Swedish-based Boxcom in 2013 to help companies
not only are younger consumers in particular more likely
strengthen their brands by turning their shipping boxes
to shop online, but they also tend to respond well to
into communication channels. “A nicely designed box
these types of efforts – to the little extra touch and extra
can create the strong relationship with the client that
care.”
e-commerce companies need to get loyalty and brand
awareness,” Andersen points out.
SIFVERT AND ANDERSEN believe it is simply a matter
The boxes, which are designed either by Boxcom or
of time before the online shopping experience can match
by the retailer’s own creative team, should not only be
the in-store experience. “Packaging for online stores
functional in terms of weight, durability and their ability
has great potential, but we have to work hard at it since
to protect the contents, but also be
online stores lack many of the atwell designed and aesthetically pleastributes that actual stores have, such
“THERE’S SO MUCH
ing and, above all, deliver the right
as fragrance, sound, lighting and
brand message.
meeting a salesperson,” says Sifvert.
THAT COMPANIES CAN
DO ON AND IN THE BOX And because online stores lack these
TODAY’S DIGITAL PRINTING enaadvantages, it becomes even more
TO MAKE ­CUSTOMERS
bles high-quality printing at a reasonimportant to work with what they
LOVE THEM AND BUY
able cost with logos, sharp photos,
do have – namely the box. “ReAGAIN.”
graphics or multiple colours printed
ceiving the box might be the first
on the box. Structural elements and
physical meeting the client has with
finishes can also help reinforce the positive experience.
the store, and it’s the situation where the actual joy in
This brand experience should continue once the
shopping occurs,” says Sifvert. “Make sure to take control
consumer opens the box. “Some colourful tissue, foil, a
over that situation.”
thank-you note to your customers or some free samples
or coupons will make customers come back and buy from
you again,” Andersen says, adding that these are the extra
touches that in turn prompt consumers to promote the
brand in social media such as Facebook or YouTube and
spread the positive experience to their friends.
“There’s so much that companies can do on and in
A 2013 e-commerce packaging survey conducted
the box to make customers love them and buy again,”
by Dotcom Distribution reveals that 52 percent
of consumers are likely to make repeat purchases
Andersen says. “Right now, for example, we are experifrom an e-retailer that delivers products in premimenting with different Instagram campaigns on boxes to
um packaging. Half of the consumers expect online
generate a buzz in social media.”
orders to arrive in premium packaging if the same
PREMIUM
DELIVERY
DESPITE THE many opportunities, very few companies
have grabbed the reins on this final step in their brand
experience. “Many of the company executives that we’ve
been in contact with look a bit shocked when we ask
them what their delivery packages look like, because they
don’t know,” Sifvert says, adding that this is usually followed by the realisation that something needs to be done
about it.
“E-commerce is fairly new and still evolving, so a lot
of people just haven’t thought about this yet,” Asher says.
iggesund.com
retailer provides branded packaging in-store.
The study also shows that nearly four in 10 consumers would share a picture of an online order via
social media if it came in a unique, branded or giftlike box, and 83 percent of those consumers would
do so on Facebook. “Brands that target the young
adult market would especially benefit from marketing branded packaging on social media platforms,”
according to the survey.
SOURCE: dotcomdist.com/2013-eCommerce-Packaging-Survey
7
UPDATES
FROM IGGESUND
TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER
A CREATIVITY
CHALLENGE
Iggesund is collaborating with U.S.
crowdsourcing company Crowdspring on
an initiative that challenges the world’s
designers to improve existing consumer
packaging.
“Every day we see examples of packaging that could be improved by a better
choice of material or better design,”
explains Staffan Sjöberg, who is in charge
of the project at Iggesund. “We’re asking
designers from all over the world for their
ideas on how to replace packaging made
of glass, plastic or metal with solutions
that use paperboard.”
He stresses that Iggesund is not
looking for ideas for commercialisation.
Instead, the aim is to understand how designers believe packaging can be steered
in a more sustainable direction.
“We want to publish the ideas and
maybe reproduce some of them in physical form,” Sjöberg says.
Crowdspring co-founder Mike Samson
says his company is proud to be involved
in the project.
“We respect Iggesund’s efforts to reduce environmental impact and do so in
a way that spurs creativity,” Samson says.
“By tapping into Crowdspring’s community of nearly 168,000 creatives, we’re
confident we will help Iggesund achieve
its objectives.”
At the close of the campaign on 16
February, a total of more than 118 ideas
had been submitted. Some of the most
innovative ones included potato chip
bags, soft-drink containers and yogurt
packaging – all made of paperboard.
RESCUING THE
ART OF HANDWRITING
Winner 2014: Maria Imlou,
Ecole Jean Moulin,
Saint-Maximin
8
Union Professionnelle de la Carte Postale is an interest organisation for the postcard industry in France. Three years ago, the
UPCP initiated a venture called the Semaine de l’écriture, or
Writing Week. It’s a competition that sends out blank postcards
to schoolchildren, who are invited to fill them with handwritten messages on a given theme. The winner is the student who
writes the best card.
The aim of Writing Week is to increase the status of the handwritten word among young people. Since the start, Iggesund
has sponsored the competition with paperboard.
“Highlighting the handwritten word is a cultural act,” says
UPCP Chairman Bernard Bouvet. “We simply can’t have all communication going by email and text messaging, with the resulting degradation of the language.”
Demand in schools has been rising steadily. The first year
45,000 cards were sent out, last year 360,000, and this year the
plan is for half a million cards.
ARTISTIC
REFUGE
From 4 July to 16 August, renowned
Swedish artist Nils Olof Hedenskog will
be exhibiting his latest installation, ASYLUM, at Iggesunds Jernverk in Iggesund,
Sweden. ASYLUM is a monumental piece
consisting of six towers, positioned to
form an enclosed space, which can only
be viewed from the outside. The piece
is made up of thousands of sheets of
Invercote.
“The degree of whiteness of Invercote is
central to the work,” says Hedenskog, who
is Iggesund’s artist in residence for 2015.
“The work is a reflection of our time,
in which people are once again seeking
shelter and refuge from war and oppression,” he adds.
iggesund.com
TEXT SAM EICHBLATT
ILLUSTRATION VERONICA BALLART LILJA
New horizons
for consumer
packaging
9
iggesund.com
TRENDS IN SHOPPING
ILLUSTRERAS
A
s anyone who hasn’t spent the past
decade in a cave will have noticed, shopping has changed. In the past, all you
needed was a shopping basket and some
cash, but today anyone with an Internet
connection has access to thousands of online stores. The
basket is now an onscreen icon, and the cash is your
preloaded credit card details.
However, people haven’t stopped visiting brickand-mortar stores. And retailers are upping their game
– changing the shopping experience by adding cafés or
cooking classes (like the DeLonghi store in Paris), or using devices like the iBeacon, which uses Bluetooth 4.0 to
sense shoppers’ mobile devices and broadcast information and special offers on nearby products.
Branding is now multidimensional, across print, digital
and, increasingly, social media, on physical shelves and
in online galleries. Packaging design is facing a
new and exciting landscape, so we asked
two experts for their take on the role of
packaging in the shopping world
of the future. They identified
four big trends:
10
SIMPLIFICATION
We live in a busy mobile world. In response, designers
are making packaging easier to see on the shelf, more
efficient to use and more portable and convenient.
TRANSPARENCY
Brands that are honest and treat people and ingredients responsibly are using packaging as the perfect
canvas to tell the story.
INTERACTIVITY
Brands make it personal with interactive elements.
Think of the Coca-Cola campaign in several countries that printed the 150 most popular given
names for people on bottles and cans, and even
allowed customers to go online to generate
their own named bottles.
SUSTAINABILITY
Environmentally and socially responsible
design is here to stay. What’s crucial is
designing packaging that makes it easy
for shoppers to do the right thing.
iggesund.com
KRISTINA
DE VERDIER
Founder of food packaging blog Ambalaj
How has shopping
changed?
“Everyone is shopping
differently these days.
Some people go into
a store and shop the
old-fashioned way, some
shop online, and some
order online but go to a
store to pick it up. Retailers understand they
need multiple solutions.”
How is that influencing packaging design?
“The package has become the brand’s primary
advertising tool. It’s where the brand comes to life.
Brands have so many channels to reach consumers, but one thing they can be sure of is that
people will at some point actually hold the product
in their hands.”
You recently published a report on the top trends
in packaging design. Is sustainability still a major
influence?
“More mainstream shoppers have the environment
in mind when they’re making decisions. But while
people always say they want to be environmentally
responsible, everyday life is complex. The key for
sustainable packaging is to make it easy, whether
that’s with renewable or reduced materials, less
food waste or communicating how to do the right
thing.”
What are some of the more interesting futuristic
packages you’ve seen?
“Thermochromic ink that changes colour according
to temperature – like the Heineken beer packaging,
which changes to an icy graphic when it’s ready
to drink.
“There’s also a container called Vessyl. It has a
sensor that analyses on a molecular level
and can tell you what kind of beverage is
inside. It can track how much caffeine you
drink in a day, how much fat and so on,
and is paired with an app.”
What can we look forward to next?
“Short creative cycles are becoming
more important for brands, and technology like digital printing is making things
easier because it enables customisation.
Very soon we’ll find more affordable
solutions for smart packaging that tells
you the temperature of the product or
whether it’s good or bad. And then of
course lean packaging is also the future
– to do more with fewer resources.”
iggesund.com
11
DERRICK LIN
Founder of the Packaging of the World blog
How have shopping and consumer behaviour changed?
“Shopping decisions were once
influenced by TV and print, but
we now look to social media for
reviews before making decisions.
Shopping itself has also evolved
greatly, with various shopping
platforms and e-commerce sites.
“Consumers take a proactive
approach to health – they want
to know they’re buying the safest products available. They are
interested in provenance and how things are
produced, so brands have a significant role in
providing reassurance. Many consumers will
only buy products from a brand they trust.”
What trends have you identified?
“People travel much more these days, so
convenience is important. Eating and snacking away from home is a growing trend, and
brands are looking for ways to simplify packaging, as consumers are willing to pay more
12
for products that make their lives
easier.”
What part does packaging have
to play in an increasingly digital
world?
“Package design is a good way
to market brands. Some brands
have even gone all out by implementing a digital dimension with
interactive content. In the future,
this could also customise the
brand to each customer, identify
their needs or be used to educate them.”
What about sustainability?
“Sustainability is not just a trend – it has
become a culture. There are many people
who only purchase products that are
environmentally sourced and packaged responsibly. We can certainly
expect to see more 100 percent
renewable materials on our
shelves in the future.”
iggesund.com
TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER
Gift cards go green
What do you buy for someone who has everything?
You can’t go wrong with a gift card – a small, portable token
that may be ­exchanged for anything from tangible goods to
your favourite music or an unforgettable experience.
T
Iggesund uses one
of its standard
products, Invercote
Duo, for gift cards.
Invercote is made
from certified raw
material, is 90
percent biodegradable and complies
with the standards
specifying the
dimensional stability and flatness required for a card
to
function in a card
reader.
iggesund.com
raditionally, a gift card has tended to
come in the form of a piece of plastic
the size of a credit card. However,
Jonas Adler, business development director for
Iggesund Paperboard, says that a card made
of paperboard can be equally handy and is far
more sustainable than the polyvinyl chloride
(pvc) product.
“According to a study commissioned by
Master­Card, a pvc card weighs five grams, but
producing it actually generates 21 grams of carbon emissions,” he says. “Meanwhile, the equivalent paperboard product weighs 2.6 grams and
produces only 0.25 grams of emissions.”
THERE ARE many different application areas
for cards – from credit cards to gift cards,
loyalty cards and key cards, to name just a few.
While credit cards are subject to a great deal
of wear and tear and therefore require a more
durable material, paperboard is ideal for cards
that are used only a few times.
“Moreover, it allows you to make a more
visually appealing product,” Adler says. “It’s
better for printing, has a more pleasant feel and
reflects colour better than pvc.”
Estimates from the United States suggest
that each of its inhabitants is issued about five
new cards every year. In Europe, this would
equate to the production of 2.5 billion cards
annually, generating 52,500 tonnes of fossil
carbon dioxide emissions.
In the United States, the debate about these
emissions has resulted in growing demand for
gift cards made of paperboard – a trend that
has also started making its way to Europe.
ONE U.S. COMPANY that is blazing the trail in
this area is North America’s leading producer
of paper cards, pbm Graphics. pbm currently
produces gift cards made of Iggesund board for
companies such as Lego, Home Depot and the
Bojangles restaurant chain. According to Jim
Moriarty, director of loyalty and sustainability
solutions for pbm’s Ecko Card brand, 2015
looks set to be a big year for paperboard cards.
“The transition has already begun, and I
think this year will be a tipping point, with
more and more brands moving over to paper,”
he says. Moriarty says there are two principal
reasons for the growing popularity of paperboard products in the gift card market.
“The high-quality products made by companies such as Iggesund didn’t exist a few years
ago,” he says. “For customers to transition, we
need to get them comfortable with the idea
that a paperboard product really can work as
well as a plastic one.
“In addition, more and more companies are
going green these days. As a society, we can no
longer justify single-use plastic products, and
the truth is that the majority of gift cards are
used only once, so why not make them sustainable?”
“IT’S
­BETTER
FOR
PRINTING,­
HAS A
MORE
PLEASANT FEEL
AND REFLECTS
COLOUR
BETTER
THAN
PVC.”
13
Carry
me
home
The power of the retail paper bag extends well beyond its ability to
transport goods from store to home. If designed with strategic flair, it can
help to build a brand. Inspire turned to UK packaging specialist Keenpac
and branding expert Ibrahim Ibrahim to find out how.
14
iggesund.com
TEXT EMMA HOLMQVIST DEACON
PHOTO GETTY IMAGES
A
s the e-tailing phenomenon gathered
force a few years ago, the paper carrier
bag appeared as old-fashioned as the
physical store itself. But retail experts
agree that the traditional store needs to
coexist with its virtual cousin, since it has the ability to
flaunt a brand’s identity in ways that can’t be replicated
online. “The theatre of shopping” is currently a popular
term for a brand-enhancing experience, and the paper
bag is very much a part of it.
“The shopping bag helps to control brand image, and
it should always be a subtle reminder of the experience
the customer has had in the store,” says Ibrahim Ibrahim,
branding expert and owner of London design agency
Portland Design. “It needs to speak about the brand when
the customer leaves the store and, most importantly,
when it makes its way into the customer’s home.”
ASKED WHICH bag design Ibrahim holds in high regard,
the answer comes quickly: Ladies fashion store “& Other
Stories” has managed to create an entire structure around
their bags by using an organic visual identity of paint
smears, changing the colours of the bag to fall in line with
the palette of current collections,” he says. “Even though
the brand offers different variations that change each season, there is never any doubt where the bag is from – the
identity is unmistakable.”
A CARRIER BAG is a visual extension of the brand. If
designed correctly, it will increase the brand’s desirability
factor. “A bag should make consumers feel proud of the
brand they’ve just bought into,” says Darren Seymour,
head of creative at uk packaging specialist Keenpac.
“Many customers hang on to their bags, and some luxury
versions are works of art in their own right. Hence it’s
important that the feel of the bag matches that of the
brand.”
Keenpac, whose roster of high-end clients includes
Paul Smith, Penhaligon’s, Monsoon and Selfridges,
custom-makes all of its hand-finished paper bags. As
iggesund.com
JULIAN MOREY
Founder of design studio abc—xyz
Tell us about your bag design for the London
shoe label Mr. Hare.
“The bag was designed for the opening of Mr.
Hare’s inaugural store in 2012, up until which point
the brand’s visual identity had been constrained to
black and white with the occasional use of gold.
I felt that a monochrome bag wouldn’t reflect Mr.
Hare’s shoes, which come in a spectrum of colours
and often feature surprising elements. The store’s
fascia also inspired me – the sign is back-lit red,
and red lighting is used in the windows, while
there is also an illuminated box sign that perpetually changes colour. I liked the idea of making the
logotype as large as possible, to cover the whole
of the bag whilst remaining subtle. The final design
was something of an experiment that makes for an
unexpected solution yet still manages to communicate the idiosyncrasies of the brand.”
COLOURS: Black, Pantone Metallic 8623, PMS Pink
907, PMS 2035.
for materials currently in demand, Seymour has noticed
a surge in paperboard. “I believe there is a swing back
to paper bags, not only hand-finished ones favoured
by luxury brands, but across the board,” he says. “The
environmental legislative aspect is one reason behind this,
but customers tend to feel they get more for their money
if their purchases are placed in a beautiful paper bag as
opposed to a more affordable plastic version.”
THE VARIETY of finishes applied to paperboard range
from matt, satin and gloss lamination to hot-foil stamping, spot uv-varnish, blind embossing and debossing – or
a combination of these. Handles are equally diverse in
style – coloured stuffed cotton cord, twill, polypropylene
cord, satin, leather and grosgrain ribbon are all used.
How does the Keenpac team go about enhancing the
brand identity in its work? “The bag obviously needs to
“THE
SHOPPING­
BAG
SHOULD
ALWAYS
BE A
SUBTLE
REMINDER
OF THE
EXPERIENCE THE
CUSTOMER
HAS HAD
IN THE
STORE.”
15
be functional and look good,” Seymour says, “but the
design process involves other facets, too. How does it feel
to hold in your hand? Is it tactile? And do the type and
quality of paper reflect the brand well?”
AS UNSTOPPABLE as it seemed at one point, the world of
online shopping has suffered a slowdown lately and has
even seen a few casualties, such as the folding of fashion
e-tailer My-Wardrobe. Part of the problem could lie in
the packaging, or lack thereof. Chloé’s guipure lace skirt,
priced at just under 2,000 British pounds (2,750 euros),
would lose some of its magic if it arrived in a brown cardboard box with dented corners.
Since the parcel and associated trimmings replace the
carrier bag, they are the customer’s only tangible association with the e-store.
“Online retailers need to start investing more in their
packaging, as the customer isn’t leaving the shop with a
carrier bag,” Ibrahim says. uk high-end e-tailer Net-aPorter is one of the few contenders that has got it right,
he says. Its orders are sent in a signature “little black box”
fashioned from paperboard and wrapped in a decorative
wide ribbon. “Net-a-Porter’s packaging effectively carries
on the shopping experience and its luxury approach, thus
making sure their customers don’t lose out on the carrier
bag element that is an integral part of physical shopping,”
he says.
Darren Seymour is certain that the e-commerce community will start to take a closer look at its packaging
solutions, drawing on developments seen in the traditional carrier bag arena. “The emotional connection and
the theatre of retail must apply to shops operating in
the digital world as well on the high street,” he says. “As
online shopping evolves, so do ideas relating to packaging
– which type of box, ribbon, tissue paper and sticker to
use – it all contributes to the customer experience.”
VERITY MOTTRAM
Designer of luxury retail packaging,
Keenpac
Verity Mottram,
designer of luxury
retail packaging at
Keenpac
16
What are the most significant changes
that have taken place in the past
decade?
“A lot has happened, particularly in
terms of laser cutting techniques.
Brands can apply very intricate details
on different types of paper, something
that wasn’t possible a few years ago.
The method of deep embossing has
also evolved, and we’re seeing a rise
in layering techniques with varnishes,
which are used to create spots or
­pebble shapes, for example.”
What are the current trends in terms
of paperboard types?
“Sustainability is becoming increasingly
important, since it’s an aspect customers relate to. The green movement has
brought about some interesting new
paper types – one version is crafted
from tangerine peel, for instance.”
Do you know of any projects in which
clients have rethought their bags in
order to make them more sustainable?
“Selfridges has updated its ­recognis­able bright yellow bag so as to make it
environmentally friendly by replacing
the lamination used in the past with a
varnish that makes the bags entirely
recyclable. Neal’s Yard Remedies,
meanwhile, uses sustainably sourced
paper printed with vegetable-based
inks.”
Have you developed any particularly
innovative finishes lately?
“We recently created a paperboard
packaging solution using shell paper
covered with a shiny plastic coating.
The result is uncannily similar to real
mother of pearl.”
iggesund.com
The university students of today will be the design leaders
of tomorrow. A competition
aimed at fostering innovation
and sustainability in ­packaging
­design is helping to forge links
between industry and the
­academic world.
TEXT MICHAEL DEE
PHOTO ROLF LAVERGREN
Hands-on learning
B
ridging the gap between
education and industry:
That’s the idea behind a new
initiative that Iggesund has embarked
upon with three leading British universities: Norwich University of the
Arts, University for the Creative Arts,
Epsom, and University of Salford,
Manchester. Prizes will be awarded
to the best student projects that
focus on combining innovation and
sustainability in packaging design.
THE PROJECT has been developed in
collaboration between Iggesund and
Veronica Heaven, managing director
of The Heaven Company in London.
The company has an ongoing project
called Brief Cases, which acts as a
bridge between industry and education and provides students with an
introduction to handling a commercial brief.
Lucy Blazey is a senior lecturer in
the graphics department at Norwich
University of the Arts. Iggesund is
known throughout the industry for
its high-quality products, and the students are excited about the project,
Blazey says.
“This is the first time we have
worked with a high-quality paperboard company, and the Iggesund
products are exquisite. Handling and
choosing between the different paperboard grades will be an invaluable
experience for the students.”
This is her university’s first collaboration with Iggesund, but working with industry has been central to
its philosophy for the past 20 years,
Blazey says.
“There can be a disparity between
education and industry,” she says.
iggesund.com
Dan Thorne, Craig McFarlane and Eddie Magee, design students at the University of the
Creative Arts in Epsom showing their idea of how to convey Iggesund’s environmental
performance.
3 VOICES
James Etherington, Epsom
“The most challenging part
was working with the paper
engineering. To map the
design and get it to fold and
come together properly –
that is something I had never
come across before.”
Holly-Anne Stevens, Epsom
“The ideas came up pretty
easily, but the making was
really challenging. I do not
do a lot of infographics, so I
wanted to challenge myself,
and I did.”
CeCe Castro, Epsom
“We were trying to look at
wood processes and focus
on using colours to give life
to it. I only did one typographic work last year, so
this was a good opportunity
to learn more. It was also an
opportunity to be given more
knowledge about the industry
and this company.”
“Working with detailed briefs from
industry focuses the students’ thinking. It helps them set high standards
for themselves and teaches them
how to present work to a client,
both visually and verbally. I think it’s
difficult to overestimate the importance of the contacts they have with
industry. And we have stronger links
with industry than most universities
in the country.”
THE RESULTS can be seen in the
statistics, she says.
“We have a very high success
rate when it comes to competitions with industry briefs,” Blazey
says. “After graduation, 98 percent
of the students from the course find
employment in the industry, and that
high percentage has held despite the
economic downturn.”
Three top prizes will be awarded,
one for each participating university.
The winners will be awarded a visit
to Iggesund in Sweden to visit the
mill and learn more about the possibilities of paperboard.
17
TEXT ANNA MCQUEEN
PHOTO LOUISE BILLGERT
More than
skin deep
Growing demand for environmentally friendly personal g
­ rooming
products has inspired numerous companies to c
­ reate natural
­solutions that soothe both the skin and the conscience.
W
e’ve come a long way since Anita
Roddick started The Body Shop
in a tiny boutique in Brighton,
England, in 1972. Her philosophy
of offering sustainable natural
products and an ethical approach to business, inspired by the burgeoning green
“THERE WAS
movement of the 1970s, has since spiraled
A GAP IN THE
into a multibillion-dollar business that
MARKET AND
continues to grow in popularity.
WE WANTED
Growing awareness of the potentially
TO FILL IT.”
harmful effects of chemical products
and an ever-greater focus on personal
grooming have driven the market for natural and organic
personal care products that offer a purer, more natural
approach to beauty. Consumers are finding that natural
products soothe both our skin and our consciences on an
environmental and social level.
According to a 2014 report from Grand View Research, the global market for organic personal care is
set to grow from around 8.2 billion us dollars in 2013 to
almost 16 billion dollars by 2020, or about 9 to 10 percent
a year.
Companies such as rms Beauty have grown out of this
trend, offering high-end skincare products with natural,
raw and organic ingredients. Its overall sustainable approach extends to its packaging, all of which is biodegradable, recyclable and reusable.
THE FRENCH skincare company Léa Nature, based in La
Rochelle on the Atlantic coast, is tapping into the trend
with its range of products aimed at today’s beauty-conscious and eco-friendly consumer.
The company was launched in 1996, offering a range
of natural beauty products. “It was our desire right from
the start to position ourselves as a company focused on
both health and natural products,” says Mireille Lizot,
head of corporate communications for Léa Nature.
“There was a gap in the market and we wanted to fill it.”
18
iggesund.com
Lift'Argan’s
golden package
is ­eye-catching
and positions the
­product in the
­premium sector.
THE LIFT’ARGAN range was created in 2003 when ceo
Charles Kloboukoff met with a delegation from Essaouira,
Morocco, a twin city of La Rochelle. The delegation
gave a presentation on the natural benefits of argan oil,
produced by cooperatives in Essaouira. “Kloboukoff was
intrigued and immediately saw the potential of the oil for
French beauty consumers,” Lizot says. “He sent a team to
Essaouira to investigate, and Lift’Argan was born.”
After two years of visits, partnerships, tests and samples, the Lift’Argan range was launched in 2005, and it
soon found devotees both in France and internationally.
“Lift’Argan offers anti-ageing products that are extremely
beneficial to the skin, while guaranteeing only organic
and natural ingredients, and a sustainable business
approach,” says Marion Barre, head of marketing for
Lift’Argan. “Argan oil has been used by Berber women
for centuries to keep their hair, skin and nails in beautiful
condition, and we have translated those benefits through
our product ranges to suit our modern beauty needs.”
The Lift’Argan portfolio has four key product ranges:
Fleurs d’Orient for the body, Lumière d’Exception beauty
products, Sublime to fight wrinkles and Anti-âge Global,
the company’s premium anti-ageing range. “We are now
market leader in terms of pure argan oil, and we produce
France’s best-selling organic anti-ageing cream, but we
are constantly seeking out potential new ingredients to
improve our organic product range,” Barre says. “Recently we have been looking into the benefits of saffron
flowers, which have enormous beauty potential, but are
usually confined to the kitchen.”
GILLES MARAY, head of cosmetic packaging development
at Léa Nature, says the company uses two types of cartons, one for major retailers and the other for pharmacies,
beauty product retailers and organic stores. “For the first
group, our main concern is value for money,” he says.
“But for the second we are looking for a certain whiteness, because we are in a more cosmetic or pharmaceutical universe. We use gold for much of our packaging
because it’s eye-catching, it feels precious, and it positions
us in a premium sector. And we use Incada Silk for
certain products as it can be printed front and back, both
glossy and matt, and gives a whiteness that suits us very
well.”
THE LIFT’ARGAN CHARTER
•All products use a minimum of 95 percent natural ingredients, of which
at least 10 percent are organic.
•Products use natural active ingredients with proven results.
• We do not use any raw materials about which there is any doubt with
regard to our health.
•We use no animal ingredients apart from those produced by bees.
•The Lift’Argan range is guaranteed free of parabens, phenoxyethanols,
phthalates and artificial colouring.
iggesund.com
19
EXPO
OBJECTS FROM
IGGESUND
TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER
PHOTO JANN LIPKA
ART DE
COLOGNE
CUSTOMER: Mäurer & Wirtz – Cologne GmbH
DESIGNERS: Koralie and SupaKitch
MATERIAL: Incada Duo 480 g/m²
PRINTING TECHNIQUE: 5-colour offset
FINISHING TECHNIQUES: Matt and glossy varnish,
cold-foil stamping, multi-level embossing
PRINTER: Edelmann
CUSTOMER: Cantine Ferrari
DESIGNER: Robilant & Associati S.P.A.
MATERIAL: Incada Silk 220 g/m2
PRINTING TECHNIQUE: 4-colour offset
FINISHING OPTIONS: UV gloss varnish,
hot-foil stamping and embossing/debossing, plastic lamination
PRINTER: Pusterla 1880 S.P.A.
20
To commemorate last year’s 222nd anniversary of 4711 Original
Eau de Cologne, artists Koralie and SupaKitch were invited to
create one special edition each of its 800 ml perfume bottle.
French street artist Koralie’s concept was inspired by the neoGothic buildings of the perfume manufacturer’s flagship store in
Cologne’s Glockengasse, while tattoo artist SupaKitch adapted
the brand’s personality to his own creative universe that draws
on nature’s textures and colours.
The packaging, subsequently named the winner of the 2014
Deutscher Verpackungspreis (German Packaging Award), was
made from Incada Duo.
“We chose Incada Duo for its high quality rating and the
stability of the packaging, which makes it able actually to hold
an 800 ml bottle,” says Christiane Edelhoff, head of packaging
development at Mäurer & Wirtz, which owns the 4711 brand.
PERFECT
FOR BUBBLES
Luxury goods packager Pusterla 1880 designs and manufactures
boxes and cases in all shapes and sizes. In 2011, Italian wine producer Cantine Ferrari asked Pusterla 1880 for a packaging solution for its flagship product, Ferrari Spumante sparkling wine.
Gianfranco Vicini, director of product development at Pusterla
1880, says his company decided on a so-called crash lock bottom box.
“It can be designed to hold either one or two bottles, although the one-bottle solution remains the most commonly
used,” he says.
Vicini says Pusterla 1880 uses Incada Silk for the Ferrari Spumante packaging because of its consistent thickness and reliability, as well as its excellent whiteness and optical properties.
“Incada is also ideally suited for creasing and folding over a
range of settings and offers flawless printability,” he says.
iggesund.com
URBAN LOOK,
URBAN FEEL
COMPANY: Zound Industries
BRAND: Urbanears
DESIGNERS: Jon Salamon, art director,
Mojdeh Hassani, packaging designer
MATERIAL: Invercote G 300 g/m2
PRINTING TECHNIQUE: Four-colour offset and one PMS
FINISHING TECHNIQUE: For protection, a water-based
varnish is used on the printed side
PRINTER: Elanders Group
iggesund.com
The colourful headphones developed by the Scandinavian collective Urbanears combine the best of Scandinavian style and design with outstanding sound quality.
Zound Industries sought to reflect these qualities when
it redesigned the packaging for Urbanears in 2014.
“Urbanears has stood out on shop shelves since day
one, and we wanted it to stay that way when we redesigned the packaging,” says Jon Salamon, art director at
Swedish electronic accessory start-up Zound Industries,
which co-owns Urbanears along with Stockholm-based
industrial designers Norra Norr.
“Sweden is a big part of Urbanears’ DNA, so we
looked to strengthen that identity by using paperboard
from Iggesund,” he says.
Salamon and his colleagues decided to print on the
uncoated reverse side of Invercote G because it offered
the “tactile, fashionable feel” they were looking for.
Meanwhile, they gave the solid-coloured inside of the
box an aesthetically appealing marble print effect.
Salamon confirms that the print has lived up to
Zound Industries’ expectations and objectives. “The
hand-folded construction is sturdy and strong, and the
layout has a good balance of Scandinavian restraint and
quirky playfulness,” he says.
“We chose Invercote G because we needed a
­paperboard with a strong backbone that could live up
to our demands,” agrees Mojdeh Hassani, ­packaging
designer. “Furthermore, Invercote’s ­reliability is a crucial
part of ensuring a consistent print solution.”
21
TEXT ISABELLE KLIGER
PHOTO RODRIGO DIAZ WICHMANN
22
All about
feeling
Good packaging design is about more than just creating
an attractive exterior. Barcelona’s Lo Siento design studio
strives to get inside the products in order to convey their
unique identity.
iggesund.com
L
o Siento is a different kind of communications firm. Based in a converted warehouse in
Barcelona’s trendy Gràcia district, the office
feels more like an artist’s studio or artisan’s
workshop than a bustling agency.
This is precisely the kind of environment in which
Borja Martínez, Lo Siento’s creative director and founder,
prefers to work.
“We’re not really an agency – we’re a graphic design
workshop and studio,” he says. “Our methodology is artisanal. We use the old ways of working, exploring textures
and dimensions to create something you can touch. I
believe physical objects are warmer than those that just
exist in the digital world.”
Founded in 2007, Lo Siento employs eight people and
specialises in design projects within branding, packaging
and editorial. Martínez has a particular preference for
identity projects and likes working with small to mediumsized companies, as opposed to huge brands.
“We worked with some big companies in the past but
didn’t really enjoy it,” he says. “If I’m not enjoying myself,
I don’t do good work.”
iggesund.com
Borja Martínez is
creative ­director
of Lo Siento.
He worked at
­Visioncorp in
­London and
­Gráfica and
Basedesign in
Barcelona before
starting Lo Siento
seven years ago.
23
PABLO SALAS is Lo Siento’s studio manager, as well as
the person responsible for its commercial and financial
matters.
“The name Lo Siento has a double meaning,” Salas
explains. “On the one hand, it translates as ‘I feel’, which
reflects passion for our work and way of working. On the
other hand, it means ‘I’m sorry’ – because we know we’re
not infallible.
“When we start a project, the first thing we do is visit
the client’s ‘home’ – by which I mean their factory or
office – to understand their dna, their essence,” he says.
“After that, it’s up to us to translate it into something
visual.”
24
Gerard Miró, Lo Siento’s volumetric design and packaging expert, helps transform Borja Martínez’s ideas into
tangible objects.
“From a sketch, we make a drawing, usually digitally,
of all the parts needed to build the object,” Miró says.
“We then print and cut manually before assembling it.
Sometimes the drawing of the final piece is made by
hand, but for more complex geometries we use Illustrator.
“I really enjoy our experimental projects, using mathematical calculations to create three-dimensional shapes,
forms and typographies,” he says.
WHEN MARTÍNEZ was a student of visual communications specialising in experimental typography at the London College of Communication, he learned that products
are like people – they communicate constantly.
“Products communicate through their packaging and
graphic design,” he says. “When I develop packaging, I
imagine that I’m the pasta or wine or olive oil and try to
understand what defines me. That’s the identity I have to
convey to the consumer.”
In 2012, Lo Siento was asked to develop a new packaging solution for Dauro, a premium brand of Spanish
olive oil.
“The previous Dauro branding was very loud, but this
isn’t a loud product – it’s meant to be subtle,” Martínez
says. “We tried to create something lighter, more refined,
reflecting the premium nature of what’s inside.”
iggesund.com
Packaging expert
Gerard Miró helps
transform ideas into
tangible objects.
PORTFOLIO
Martínez says packaging should be “honest” about
its contents. “If the product is premium, it should look
exclusive,” he says. “However, if the brand isn’t any good,
you can dress it up and use all the nice materials you like,
but ultimately the consumer will know if it doesn’t live up
to its communication.”
This approach is reflected in Lo Siento’s work for
Italian pasta and ice cream producer Sandro Desii. With
a high-end range of close to 30 different types of pasta,
Sandro Desii needed a concept that would stand out on
the shelf.
PARTIDA CREUS
Designing wine labels is one of Lo Siento’s specialities. Last year it created a series of labels for
Partida Creus, a wine producer from the Catalan
region of Penedès. There are two letters on each
label, which Martínez explains are the first letters
of each syllable of the name of the wine.
“The cork is covered in wax, so we created an actual alphabet in wax, using the same colours as the
corks, before photographing and printing,” he says.
Sandro Desii's pasta
packages come in
30 different colours,
reflecting what is
inside.
TRITICUM
Lo Siento designed a sustainable packaging line for
this bakery, based in Cabrera de Mar, outside Barcelona. The paperboard is recyclable, the graphics are
stamped, and the boxes contain no glue.
“When I tried the bread, I was amazed by the
quality,” Borja Martínez says. “I felt that the product was alive, so I didn’t want to add chemicals to
the packaging. I wanted it to be very natural.”
25
LATORRE PUNSET
Latorre Punset is a Barcelona-based food producer, specialising in canned fish and seafood
products, such as anchovies, mussels and clams.
Lo Siento has created a new packaging concept
and brand identity, consisting of a logo in the form
of an old-fashioned can opener, very tight typography – designed to look like anchovies in a can
– and bright colours that make the products stand
out on the shelf.
DISFRUTAR
Lo Siento created a logo as well as the menus,
business cards and interior graphics for this brand
new Barcelona restaurant, owned by three former
El Bulli chefs. Everything is very simple, clean and
natural, like the restaurant itself.
“The space is divided into three different parts,
so we did the same with the logo,” Martínez says.
“The smiley face means to enjoy, or disfrutar in
Spanish.”
“Now each pack has a number and a unique colour,
reflecting the colour of what’s inside,” Martínez says. “It
works well for organising the products on the shelves,
and it looks great.”
MARTÍNEZ MAKES no secret of the fact that a lot of his
work is related to food.
“We love food, and when you’re passionate about
something, it makes sense that those projects come to
you,” he says. “Because I love to eat, I also love designing
products that I love to eat.
“I like to compare our way of working to slow food,”
he says. “We do it the old-fashioned way, by hand, and
we take our time. I always aim to create something
timeless – something that won’t disappear or go out of
fashion.”
26
TYPEFRAME
An experimental project carried out internally at
Lo Siento by Martínez and 3D graphic designer
Gerard Miró.
“We spend a lot of our time experimenting with
design, especially with typography and volume,”
Martínez says. “This was a self-initiated project in
which we used multiple layers of paper to create a
unique 3D alphabet.”
TEXT GRAEME NADASY
PHOTO SHUTTERSTOCK
Opportunity
knocks
In the shifting landscape of consumer behaviour and ­product design, ­
successful brands must find new ways to ­collaborate with their customers.
That’s the ­message from Jörgen Jedbratt, a trend forecaster at the
­Stockholm-based r­esearch and consulting firm ­Kairos Future.
One challenge for companies in
the next 15 to 20 years will be to
develop products with, not for, customers. How will that change the
design process?
“We are entering a shopping detox
economy, and that’s a whole new
ball game. We’re starting to see a
shift from ‘shopaholic’ to ‘saveaholic’
consumer behaviour, where we reuse, recycle and rent more products
than ever. At the same time, companies need a more circular rather
than end-focused process for product
development, with new technology
driving collaboration with consumers. For example, when Lego was
iggesund.com
about to go bankrupt it turned to its
fans for ideas. Today’s seven-yearolds know what they want.”
Who should companies be trying to
please?
“The trick is to get your customers to
engage with your product. If brands
can understand that, they will see design and development in a new way.”
Just how collaborative will this
process be?
“When punk came, everyone could
play it. Now you can see that in production and lifestyle goods. Design is
being democratised. We don’t know
exactly what will happen, but it will
involve more collaboration.”
What effect will this have on the
craft and design industry?
“The digitised collaborative economy
offers tremendous opportunities.
Artisans will have more control over
the shopping process through the
Internet. They will be better able to
collaborate in new ways with their
audience and other artisans doing
handicraft with a twist, using 3-d
printers and mini-robots to serially
produce things they couldn’t serially
produce before because it was too
expensive.”
Jörgen Jedbratt,
forecaster at
Kairos Future
Read more about
the report Detox
in the Consumer
Landscape
at Kairosfuture.
com/publications.
27
A MAGAZINE FROM IGGESUND PAPERBOARD ISSUE 50 2015
CO15026E