History of Package Design (from YouTube video)

Packaging improved with the Growth of Trade in the 12th-13th Centuries. This is mainly because..

• It was fashionable

• Goods were becoming more complicated

• Goods were transported longer distances

• It was a marketing decision to sell things in larger volumes.

Answer explanation

With goods transported longer distances, they needed to be protected and preserved for longer periods of time, and be identifiable without being packages being opened.

What invention revolutionised packaging by making it possible and practical to mass produce printed packaging and labels?

• The Greek Alphabet

• James Watt's steam engine

• Jeff Bezos' Amazon

• Gutenberg's printing press

Answer explanation

Hand-written labels were very slow to produce, inconsistent, and expensive. Printing changed all of that.

In the 18th century, what invention stimulated the sales of more and more personal hygiene products?

• Indoor plumbing

• Water jugs

• Perfume

• Fashionable clothing

Answer explanation

The indoor plumbing changed everything! Suddenly, for the upper and middle classes, being dirty and smelly was no longer an option!

Packaging from the 18th Century often had shields, seals, coats of arms and fancy writing, This was because...

• the printing press made it possible

• they had run out of ideas

• stories about knights and lords were very popular at the time

• it made people feel like they were classy

Answer explanation

The emerging middle classes liked to feel like they were using classy products that, until then, only the very rich could afford.

What popular 19th century printed product lent its printing techniques to packaging in this period?

• Wallpaper

• Comic books

• Novels

• Posters

Answer explanation

Wallpaper was all the rage in the 18th century. It could make an old house look new and classy on the inside, and was much cheaper and easier than painting. The lessons learned in making it transferred to other industries.

In the 19th Century, more people moving to cities, and a more sophisticated and competitive market for all goods, meant that the "classy" coat of arms look on labels and packages gave way to...

• cartoon characters

• product and company logos

• memes

• complicated packages and labels covered in small writing

Answer explanation

Logos had been around for a while, but now, with so much competition, instant recognition became very important.

What new technologies in the 19th Century enabled food products to be transported further and last longer?

• Buckets and boxes

• Plastic bags and tetra packs

• Wax seals and tin cans

• Cloth sacks and stone jars

Answer explanation

Wax sealed cardboard enabled watertight, airtight packaging for light items. Canisters made of tin would not rust or poison food, but would seal it in a strong container.

"Commercial lithography" is a form of...

• Accounting

• Stonework

• Cleaning

• Printing

Answer explanation

Lithography uses plates of stone or metal that can be etched with acid to produce fine-lined, complex printing plates.

In the early 20th Century, this invention made complex packaging production much cheaper, easier and faster.

• Henry Ford's Assembly Line

• Gutenberg's Printing Press

• Og's wheel

• Einstein's Theory of Relativity

Answer explanation

The assembly line, with each person working on one small part of a job, then passing it on, completely changed the way that manufactured good were made and assembled.

The supermarket and the shopping trolley made product presentation even more important, because now...

• shoppers were self conscious about people seeing what they bought

• shoppers could easily transport more products home

• shoppers picked their preferred own products off the shelves

• products were cheaper than ever

Answer explanation

Previously, a shopkeeper would often make the choices for you. Now, with shoppers making all the decisions, making your product look eye-catching and attractive was more important than ever.