The best packs just make our daily lives that little bit more simple

Like all contests, Britain’s Got Talent seeks out the different and exciting, just as packaging awards do. But is that what we really look for as consumers? Sure, we get a kick out of a really different pack. But packaging is ubiquitous. What we really want is for it to do its job flawlessly and seamlessly – that is, without being noticed.

In discussions with design students at Leeds, we talk about ‘everyday delight’. This is the sort of delight that comes only when a pack fits unnoticeably into our daily routine. It is, in fact, the opposite of ‘wrap rage’.

So a few thoughts on the finalists of an imaginary Everyday Delight Packaging Awards. Let’s start with Bird’s Custard Powder – how much more British can you get? Simple materials, simple concept: you pick up the pot, flip the lip with the spoon you already have in your hand, scoop out and before you know it, it’s back on the shelf. It’s unobtrusive and so brilliantly workable you forget you even handled it.

Another of my top 10 would be lip balm, recently voted as one of the 10 products women could least afford to live without. And how much of that is the pack? Neat, portable, and so very appropriate for the product that it’s entirely forgettable. Brilliant!

Turning to the arthritic hands of my wife, top of the list comes Persil. Cardboard based, it has a brilliantly executable ‘zipper’ to open the top and you get straight into the product.

This is closely followed by Scott’s Porridge Oats. It says it’s an easy-open pack on the box, but it doesn’t need to – it just works. Pull the tab and you get a nice neat pouring hole in the paper-based box. Use it, forget about it and get on with life.
Which of your products would you put forward for the Everyday Delight Packaging Award? If a grumpy old man can find a few examples, there’s hope for us all.

Walter Lewis is managing director of packaging thinktank Faraday Packaging Partnership. Email him at walter.lewis@faradaypackaging.com

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