Hoping to get students to appreciate package designs in their everyday lives,  Graphic Design II teacher Jeffrey Ball has asked students to make designs for product packaging.

“It was an interesting project when he first pitched the idea,” junior Lily Budginas said. “I think I  was a little confused on how we would get it done and turn it in, but after it was clarified I was mostly excited to start it. It’s unlike anything else we really do.”

To fully replicate a professional package design, each student chose a real company as well as a specific product to put within the box. 

“I chose Nature Valley Granola Bars,” junior Nia Anderson said. “I thought it would be interesting to try and rethink something like that, and also it’s a little more of a challenge to construct compared to a regular box, which I thought would be fun.”

Many elements were considered by the students, including the printing services, construction methods, and sustainability of the packaging.

“Something I’ve brought up to [students]  is starting to think about sustainability,” Ball said. “You buy something on Amazon, you get a big cardboard box with your stuff inside of it. Well, what do you do with that big box? You throw it away, or at the very least you recycle it. Well, what about the object that you have?  It can have other uses for its packaging so that you can continue to use it. [Students] can think about how [they] can make those materials sustainable or recyclable or compostable to where it’s less effect on our environment and our climate.”

In order to submit the assignment, students are going to turn in photos of the construction process, as well as the final product. Projects are due on Apr. 25. 

“Most of the things we’ve been dealing with so far are just pure digital types of things, especially with our distance learning thing,” Ball said. “In the real world, we have real objects that we touch and we hold and package design is a huge part of that, so to get them working with hands-on things is a huge part of the appreciation and the recognition of all these things around us because we really do take it for granted. That’s the biggest thing I want students to get out of this.”