Before vs After
The Original Design
The original design of the Dual Brush Pen sets was problematic for a few reasons – primarily because it didn't speak to the audience of artists and crafters the product is designed for. The target audience is artists and crafters who are creative, expressive, playful, vibrant, fun, talented and experimental. But as you can see, the original packaging shown above doesn't express those characteristics.
Design issues with original packaging:
• The black background on the front of the packaging doesn't stand out on retail shelves compared to competitive products.
• The two-color logo could be confusing since the product has two tips of the same color. We didn't want consumers to assume from the imagery that markers were dual tone.
• The artwork shown on the front of packaging appears to be created digitally and is more realistic than expressive. It doesn't communicate "playful and crafty" to resonate with the target audience.
• The black icon pattern on the inside of packaging is also dark and corporate-looking. It doesn't add inspiration or excitement to the customer experience when opening the packaging.
• The information on the back of packaging appears sterile, doesn't make the best use of space in terms of educating customers or showcasing how this product can be used.
The Redesign
Goals for the redesign:
When it came time for the redesign, we had three major areas of focus including consistency, artwork, and customer experience.
#1) Create consistent packaging across all categories of the Tombow brand. Aside from the design flaws of the Dual Brush Pen packaging, the markers category as a whole didn't have many brand consistencies. It was a goal of our parent company to implement using the same color and placement of the Tombow logo on packaging, so we used this as an opportunity to define a grid and color structure to be used across all categories for cohesion and brand recognition (Markers, Pencils + Erasers, Adhesives, Correction Tape, Fine Pens). For example, the full color logo is standard across the top of all packaging and the black bar is incorporated on the base of packaging. We also defined a color for each product category based on existing packaging to create cohesion on retail shelves and vibrancy across product lines.
#2) Update artwork to incorporate playfulness, vibrancy, and visual messaging that better connects with our audience. Since our target customer consists of artists and crafters, creating compelling artwork and visual messaging is a huge opportunity to connect and attract visitors both in-store and online. Our goal was to work with artists who know and love Tombow products and to showcase artwork that's achievable with Dual Brush Pens. To achieve this goal, we developed unique messaging concepts for each color palette that would resonate with our customer base, and then we worked with a talented illustrator to bring these concepts to life by creating them using the Dual Brush Pens.
#3) Improve the customer experience by inspiring and educating consumers. Our third goal is also one of our biggest missions as a company – to teach people how to use our products. We achieved this goal in a couple ways. First, we added a blending tutorial inside the packaging to demonstrate how to blend water-based markers, which is a skill many people inquire about on social media. We also included links to our educational content such as workshops and blog to inform customers where they could learn similar skills. And secondly, we took advantage of the space on the back of packaging to focus on unique artwork that can be created for each color palette based on trends for hand lettering, watercolor and illustration.
Behind the Scenes Design Process
If you're interested in learning more about my process while redesigning the Dual Brush Pen product line, check out the video below. I walk through each step of the process and address why certain design decisions were made, as well as give a behind-the-scenes look into the art direction process.
Before vs After for Each Color Palette
The animation below showcases before and after images of the front and back of each color palette. Along with the changes outlined above, you'll notice several other small changes that were made to better connect with and inform our audience. Such as using hand lettering for the color palette name and showcasing the full marker and the strokes it can achieve with both tips.
Primary Palette
Secondary Palette
Landscape Palette
Portrait Palette
Grayscale Palette
Bright Palette
Muted Palette
Pastel Palette
Galaxy Palette
Tropical Palette
Final Artwork
Illustrations were created by Erin McManness of Paper Raven Co. If you'd like to learn more about the art direction process and reveal the unique concept behind each illustration, you can get behind-the-scenes details here.
