Kondapalli Bommallu | Packaging Design for Toys
Background & Objective
The rich crafts of India are almost as old as Indian history, culture, and heritage. Every geographical corner of India has its unique crafts and weaves. NIFT Hyderabad organised a Design Hackathon in December 2021 as part of the Geographical Indication (GI) Day events, wherein designers from across the country had to suggest innovative designs that improvise processes, enhance livelihood generation and extend market opportunities for crafts with the Geographical Indication tag (given by the Government of India) in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states of India.
Under the Packaging Design category, I picked the craft of Kondapalli Bommallu (Telugu Transalation: Toys of Kondapalli).
The event organisers selected this design to win the First Prize with a cash prize and a certificate.
Design Brief
A craft with GI status from Andhra Pradesh or Telangana should be chosen based on the nature of the craft and the products available. Suggestive ideas suitable for packing the selected
craft products will help to promote and market the craft products.
Design Statement
The packaging design is the Face of the Toys and I wanted the design to speak about the richness of the craft. Giving the toys a premium feel would help target the kind of audience that can support handicrafts and give it a value statement.
How I began
The reason to pick packaging for Toys of Kondapalli is that local toys are not usually packed properly and the packaging of any product makes the first impression a lasting impression for it to catch a customer's eye, so it had to convey a story.
The design is the 'face of the products' metaphorically and thus I decided to illustrate toy faces literally. After studying the toys available in the market, in terms of how the face of the figures are hand-painted and I started illustrating.
I wanted the packaging to be sustainable in nature such that they don't harm the planet even after they are thrown. The handicrafts are made in eco-friendly ways and it only made sense for the packaging to be of the same nature.
Packaging
Inspired by Egg Cartons, which are sturdy and help protect the delicate eggs, the material for the packaging design is Paper Pulp which is made of fibrous materials, such as recycled paper, cardboard or other natural fibres. Thus reducing the carbon footprint while being biodegradable and compostable.
The choice for material that I had suggested, which already exists predominantly in the market, is packaging made out of recycled paper or cardboard, and the box is filled with sawdust, wood shavings or shredded paper. The sawdust/shredded paper would protect the toys well and prevent them from breaking. Both of these materials are again biodegradable, recycled and environmentally sustainable.
INSPIRATION BOARD
COLOR BOARD
#B20E24
Fire Engine Red
#E99323
Carrot Orange
#250038
Midnight Purple
#087678
Skobeloff
0C0A2B
Space Blue
Packaging Illustrations
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Layout Design
Mockup
Alternative design for toys of different sizes and shapes.
Poster Design for the Project
