Overview
For this project, I was tasked with creating chocolate bar packaging targeted towards dual income, no kids (DINK) households. It needed to represent the the culture where the cacao was sourced from, which is the Dominican Republic. The packaging also needed to convey that the chocolate is organic, sustainable, and uses fair trade practices.
Sketches + Research
I decided to base my approach off a symbol originating from the Taino culture, which is the indigenous people of the Caribbean. The symbol I chose is called Eternal Lovers, represented by two birds facing each other and dancing. I chose this because I thought it aligned with Dominican culture and the goals of this project. Dominicans have a lot of love for their family, friends, dance, and their land. This love has helped them to advocate for more sustainable cocoa practices. As a result, they now produce 70% of the worlds organic cocoa despite only producing 2% of the worlds cocoa.
Type + Color Palette
Process + Development
For my design, I wanted something that would properly reflect Dominican culture while also attracting the DINK audience. I decided to create a pattern with the Eternal Lovers symbol, a heart, cacao beans, and the flavors of the chocolate (almond, coconut, and guava). I flipped each row of the pattern to create more movement to mimic dancing.
Originally, I had a lighter brown background, but I changed it to a dark brown to help the pattern and logo stand out. This would help grab the attention of the consumer and make them curious about the product. There are also unique flavors that people with more disposable income would be willing to try. I decided to go with natural looking packaging paper and more muted colors in order to further promote the organicness of my product.
As for my logo, I went with a rounded and more organic looking typeface that emphasizes friendliness and sustainability.
