Package Design: Showcasing a Better Mousetrap

Excerpted from Information Design Workbook (Rockport)
By Kim Baer


Founded by an entrepreneurial CEO who figured out how to “build a better mousetrap,” simplehuman, a home product design company, created an elegant, well-engineered, yet affordable trash can that appealed to people with contemporary taste. It was especially timely given a trend toward commercial-grade kitchens in the home, complete with well-designed, high-performance appliances.

When simplehuman needed to develop a logo and a packaging language, they chose Smart Design because the firm knew the “space” well, having done similar work for OXO, another company specializing in high-end housewares.

Performance Driven. With a focus on consumer-driven products, Smart Design's packaging and branding efforts are informed by years of design experience. The designers understand that, just like the product itself, packaging needs to meet performance objectives. With little control over how the product would be displayed in large retail environments chock-full of competing products, they needed to create packaging that would stand out from the clutter. As Smart Design cofounder Tom Dair says,
“Most retail packaging is overly complex and gimmicky. We knew we could make the packaging stand out by paring back the imagery and text to the essential elements.”

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