This project was a study on brand identity with a focus on packaging design. The project required me to create a company/brand who's items could be found on a stores shelves. The company that I created was a swedish knife company called Staal which had a rich history of making knives from steel. The process begins by developing what the company was all about, getting a feeling for their vision and purpose. Staal is a company who emphasizes honesty and reliability. They want to provide the best kitchen equipment for any cook. The company has a strong history of making knives since the creation of steel. I wanted to make a strong logo that doesnt overpower the importance of the product. I used Adelle as the starting font which had a strong blocky serif that showed strength but also a sort of historic feeling. Knowing I did not want to make it obvious it was a knife company the final type logo has pieces "cut" away from the name to subtly hint that the company sells knives.
With an identity and logo created the rest of the project went into the packaging. The project required a suite of three items which for a knife company I decided to be a sheath and whetstone. The target customers for these items are not meant to be high end professional chefs but anyone who wants to upgrade from their cheap $15 dollar knives. With this in mind I wanted to make a long-lasting image. The boxes and would be made out of wood. The idea behind this is that they double as storage for your items. The use of wood also elevates the suite to a higher level of quality in the consumers eyes. The final purpose of wood is the symbolism of strength. The packaging was relatively simplistic. There was a limited amount of information that was required to be on packaging about knifes so I was able to include a brief brand history on the back. As far as color goes the brands color scheme was slightly muted besides the blue. So to make it stand out among other high end knife brands that are all bland and colorless I enhanced the wood with a satin cherry stain. This complimented the blue logo and brought life into the product.