Tic Tac

Julianne Howerton
Te process for designing a package for
orange favored Tic Tacs marketable in the
UK started with the initial selection of six
U.S. products. I chose Simply Balanced gra-
nola, an of-brand water enhancer, Triscuits,
Lindt chocolates, Altoids, and of course the
orange favored Tic Tacs. Some products,
such as the water enhancer or Altoids, I se-
lected because of the shape of the product.
Te shapes of the packages help sell the idea
of the product. Te chocolates and Triscuits
I picked because they were brand extensions
that stood out strongly from the typical designs. For example, most
Lindt chocolate appeals to adults while this new product is de-
signed to look younger and less formal to appeal to a younger audi-
ence. I selected the Tic Tacs not because the design itself was very
enticing, but because it was the only packaging on the mint and
gum aisle that was made with metallic packaging.
Beginning the Design
Process
Afer deconstructing the original
brands, we were asked to fnd three
UK products that were the same
brand as or similar to three of our
original products. Because the Sim-
ply Balanced granola and the Lindt
chocolates were my favorites origi-
nally, I had hoped to fnd something
similar to those products. But since
they were less known brands and not
a common product, this was a hard-
er task than Id expected. Eventually,
I found mint Tic Tacs to match the
U.S. orange favored Tic Tacs, pep-
permints sim-
ilar to the Al-
toids, and a UK
version of an
of-brand water
enhancer.
Matching Products
(Across the Pond)
Setting the Mood
Te next step was to create mood boards for the three products
using Pinterest.
For the Altoids, I found pic-
tures of vintage products and
classic brands. Paint strips in-
cluded mostly reds and neutrals.
Te bowl hats and mustaches
were inspired by the U.K. brand
which used a mustache on its
package. Tis supported the old-
timey, antique feel given by the
U.K. product while retaining fea-
tures of the original Altoids.
For the Tic Tacs, I used
several pictures of oranges
and grass to help convey the
fresh feeling given in the U.K.
package. I collected paint
strips with orange and green,
green to represent the Tic Tac
logo. I also used pictures of
freworks that illustrate the
favor tangy orange, and wa-
ter that resembled that of the
U.K. package design.
To give a feeling of fresh
and natural for the water
enhancer, I used pictures of
cherries and water. Color
themes were mainly reds and
blues to match the product.
Using the mood boards and
UK products as inspiration, we then
sketched 10 diferent design possibil-
ities for our original products. From
these we used advice from peers to
select and expand on the best three
designs from each product, which
were then narrowed down to one
design that we created on illustrator.
Te water enhancer was the hardest
for me to complete, and I never liked
any of the designs enough to im-
prove and push further. Te Altoids
design was not bad, but was also
nothing remarkably special, leaving
me to continue with the Tic Tac de-
sign.
Designing the Product Thumbnails
Front Panels
Roughs
Before & After
On the Shelf
Te U.S. :
Te U.K. :
Finished Product
Technical Dieline
Dieline
Design Brief
1. Te specifc product is tangy orange Tic Tacs.
2. A. Te specifc market is
Age range: Teens and up
Education level: Highschool/ college
Income range: Students
B. Te most important information for the consumer to see on
the package is:
Te most important information is the brand name and favor
3. Research:
U.S. Product: I went to Target and bought a four pack of orange
favored tic tacs in a metallic package. Tey were on the bottom
row of the candy aisle.
U.K. Product: I bought a four pack of mint tic tacs at a big Wait-
rose. Tey were on the top shelf in the candy aisle.
4. Additional Research:
Environmentally sustainable? Tese products are not typically
environmentally sustainable.
Colours used for this type of product?
Typography is unique in this way: Typography is ofen an older
style or very plain type.
Photography or illustration is used in this way: Little photogra-
phy is used on these products, but illustrations of the favors or
objects associated with the brand are used.
Brand Identity Guidelines
Information graphics: Tere is not too much to do with infor-
mation graphics on these products because they are so small
and have very little in them.
Design solution: How my visual solution is appropriate
a. for the product: My design matches the product because
while still keeping some American qualities, it shows a more
natural side of the product and a more descriptive favor. Te
package is much less fashy.
b. for the market: While my design is still aimed at a younger
market than the U.K. version, it still is aimed at an older mar-
ket than the U.S. version.
c. to be environmentally sustainable: I did not design my
product to be environmentally sustainable, which would be
an important consideration when actually selecting a design/
package.
d. shelf presence: My design has a strong shelf presence be-
cause its colors are bright and the graphics, while still natural
looking, are somewhat diferent than a lot of U.K. brands.
e. the information graphic you designed, on your products
package: I changed the information graphic to match that of
the U.K.s, so that their customers could understand it.
Cont. Conclusion
In retrospect, there are a few things I would change about my
design. While I did capture the more natural aspect of design used
in the U.K. depicted through the water and more realistic looking
oranges, the design is not as fun as most of the candy designs. If
it were displayed in a section separated from candy and with only
mints, it would most likely sell better than competing against the
candy. While many products in the U.K. are not very bold and look
very natural, the candy part of it is still bright and loud. I did cap-
ture this idea in my changes to the Tic Tac logo, where I added or-
ange to the typical, plain green background with white type.