A cup is more than just a cup...

There is not much like a Red Starbucks Cup in November to make you feel just a little bit festive, and just a little like christmas is taking over the world. I purchased my first Red Cup beverage of the season today, and in all honesty I did feel cheered. It made me think just how much a colour can affect you're mood and attitude toward a product. Normally a cup is just a cup, whether its from Starbucks, Costa or that random coffee place you get your morning caffeine fix from, cup; but in some instances a cup is much more than a cup; just as packaging is so much more than a wrapper. The packaging can make or break a product, it is your first impression and as well all know, first impressions count! The exterior is the bench mark for everything held within. You expect a product with basic colours, information and imagery to be a basic product. Something that is more dressed up and decorative is usually A) more expensive and B) a better product, possibly the best product.

I have recently come to realise that perceptions and first impressions are important, or at least more important than I used to think. I have been working on several briefs that all require interaction with the consumer on a very close level; the designs they see will give an impression of what the product will be like whether I as the designer want it to or not. We as consumers have come to expect just as much from the packaging as from the product itself. As a designer I realise that the work I produce gives a first impression about me; who I am, what I like, whether I'm good at what I do...I put a lot of trust in myself to choose briefs that will showcase my abilities and enhance my attributes. I am not sure whether I trust myself that much. It is hard to accept that in a few months time I will no longer be a student. I won't have the security of someone telling me when they think I'm doing it wrong for my own benefit. The real world is going to be a bloody scary place when I'm done with uni, I just hope that I am up to the challenge.