For my final project I wanted to integrate illustration with the design-focused part of my major. I wanted to use this project as a way to expand my portfolio of work, and I knew I hadn’t done a lot of package design work that I could show future employers. Of the package design I had done, none of it incorporated hand-rendered illustration. That was how I arrived at my general idea.
The next step was figuring out what kind of package I wanted to design. I was interested in stylized botanical illustration, and as I thought about what kinds of products that might work for, I remembered working as a barista and thinking the packaging on our alternative milks could be improved upon (we used Pacific Foods Barista Series milks). From there, I decided to rework their oat and almond milk packaging. I considered also creating a soy milk redesign, but ultimately I realized I just didn’t have the time to create another illustration I was satisfied with as finals approached.
These are the illustrations on watercolor paper:
These are the designs I created that incorporated my illustrations. I scanned my illustrations, then cut them out in Photoshop and assembled the design in a new Photoshop doc.
And these are the designs mocked up on milk cartons:
I really enjoyed creating these package designs because I got to work by hand and digitally. I love to start by hand but then move my work into the digital realm to polish it up, which is what I got to do here. I’m very happy with how these turned out, especially the oat milk package, and I enjoyed tailoring similar design elements to the unique needs of each product.
