[n° ou bulletin]
| Titre : |
07.15 - 2015-07-12 |
| Type de document : |
texte imprimé |
| Année de publication : |
2015 |
| Langues : |
Allemand (ger) Anglais (eng) |
| Catégories : |
Arts graphiques
Conditionnement
Design
Société de consommation -- Critique
Typographie - Design
|
| Index. décimale : |
766 Arts graphiques |
| Résumé : |
I am a great fan of beautiful and clever packaging – the sort that delights the eye, sets the product off in the right way and tempts you to buy. In the food sector you see this less and less, because all the regulatory information on content and nutrition, origin and processing, environmental symbols and codes, leaves precious little space for design. And, as if all that visual chaos on such a small space were not enough, the manufacturers then invent their own seals to add to the general confusion.
All kinds of claims are made, including the much flaunted »locally produced« label. Legally and in actual fact this has absolutely no relevance and truth about it at all: a milk can be labelled »from our region« even if only the closure on the Tetra Pak was fitted on locally! Suspicions should arise latest when you see a pack of coconut milk being described as »regional« … Studies that have found that consumers, given two identical jams to try, like the taste of the one claiming to be »regional«, and would be happy to pay more for it! So the label alone can enhance the taste experience – an uncomfortable fact and renewed proof that the critical consumer isn’t perhaps as critical as he likes to think he is.
The design world makes good use of this knowledge: The regional link is communicated, megaphone-style, with words like »country«, »natural«, »regional«, »local«, implying that anything coming from elsewhere has got to have something wrong with it. A curly handwriting-style font is a popular choice for these messages, as if the produce had just come out of grandma’s kitchen. Sometimes the »advantages« are pronounced in aggressive capitals, followed by an exclamation mark, for those who haven’t yet got it. Often it’s all in green and with such a dilettante look that you are tempted to believe that Farmer Huber himself got all creative after finishing the milking. The products from the big manufacturers are particularly noticeable: Like preserves-producer Schwartau, with its »Farmhouse marmalade« … a little bit of bucolic heaven for all the SUV drivers who can’t make it to one of the real farm shops (which do indeed exist!). Schwartau had to delete the »local fruit« claim from the label of one of its jams, because the fruit came from Poland, the Baltic States and Southeastern Europe, as the consumer magazine Öko-Test uncovered.
But it’s not only marketing that has discovered the lure of local and
regional. The far right, too, are attracted by these associations. A while ago, for example, the neo-Nazi NPD party published a campaign called »Buy German products!« The ominous historic echoes of this exhortation were enough to awaken an appetite in me – and many others – for Italian strawberries and Spanish tomatoes.
To be fair, we mustn’t let these things deter us – it is indeed a good and sensible thing to buy local or regional. But the manufacturers in turn should only use these words when the ingredients do in fact come from local or regional sources. All this fudging of facts on labels will sooner or later completely undermine this USP. And what about the designer? Perhaps s/he could draw the attention of producers of non-regional products to other qualities – because when everything else is wrapping itself in »regional« laurels, then maybe a thirst for the exotic will develop.
Enjoy the summer!
Bettina Schulz |
| En ligne : |
http://www.novumnet.de/en/world-of-novum/current-issue/072015/first/editorial.ht [...] |
[n° ou bulletin]
07.15 - 2015-07-12 [texte imprimé] . - 2015. Langues : Allemand ( ger) Anglais ( eng)
| Catégories : |
Arts graphiques
Conditionnement
Design
Société de consommation -- Critique
Typographie - Design
|
| Index. décimale : |
766 Arts graphiques |
| Résumé : |
I am a great fan of beautiful and clever packaging – the sort that delights the eye, sets the product off in the right way and tempts you to buy. In the food sector you see this less and less, because all the regulatory information on content and nutrition, origin and processing, environmental symbols and codes, leaves precious little space for design. And, as if all that visual chaos on such a small space were not enough, the manufacturers then invent their own seals to add to the general confusion.
All kinds of claims are made, including the much flaunted »locally produced« label. Legally and in actual fact this has absolutely no relevance and truth about it at all: a milk can be labelled »from our region« even if only the closure on the Tetra Pak was fitted on locally! Suspicions should arise latest when you see a pack of coconut milk being described as »regional« … Studies that have found that consumers, given two identical jams to try, like the taste of the one claiming to be »regional«, and would be happy to pay more for it! So the label alone can enhance the taste experience – an uncomfortable fact and renewed proof that the critical consumer isn’t perhaps as critical as he likes to think he is.
The design world makes good use of this knowledge: The regional link is communicated, megaphone-style, with words like »country«, »natural«, »regional«, »local«, implying that anything coming from elsewhere has got to have something wrong with it. A curly handwriting-style font is a popular choice for these messages, as if the produce had just come out of grandma’s kitchen. Sometimes the »advantages« are pronounced in aggressive capitals, followed by an exclamation mark, for those who haven’t yet got it. Often it’s all in green and with such a dilettante look that you are tempted to believe that Farmer Huber himself got all creative after finishing the milking. The products from the big manufacturers are particularly noticeable: Like preserves-producer Schwartau, with its »Farmhouse marmalade« … a little bit of bucolic heaven for all the SUV drivers who can’t make it to one of the real farm shops (which do indeed exist!). Schwartau had to delete the »local fruit« claim from the label of one of its jams, because the fruit came from Poland, the Baltic States and Southeastern Europe, as the consumer magazine Öko-Test uncovered.
But it’s not only marketing that has discovered the lure of local and
regional. The far right, too, are attracted by these associations. A while ago, for example, the neo-Nazi NPD party published a campaign called »Buy German products!« The ominous historic echoes of this exhortation were enough to awaken an appetite in me – and many others – for Italian strawberries and Spanish tomatoes.
To be fair, we mustn’t let these things deter us – it is indeed a good and sensible thing to buy local or regional. But the manufacturers in turn should only use these words when the ingredients do in fact come from local or regional sources. All this fudging of facts on labels will sooner or later completely undermine this USP. And what about the designer? Perhaps s/he could draw the attention of producers of non-regional products to other qualities – because when everything else is wrapping itself in »regional« laurels, then maybe a thirst for the exotic will develop.
Enjoy the summer!
Bettina Schulz |
| En ligne : |
http://www.novumnet.de/en/world-of-novum/current-issue/072015/first/editorial.ht [...] |
|
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