Design Evaluation

For some strange reason I decided to evaluate tea packaging.  I don't drink tea and I don't like tea but as I was walking down the tea aisle at Walmart the other day I found myself mesmerized by different tea packages and almost bought some just so I could feel as relaxed as the packaging made me feel.  Then I remembered the last time I drank tea and how much I hated it so I put the box back.

Below is an example of poor packaging design for tea:

Unless this is being marketed as military M.R.E. tea, this company missed their mark.  Not only do I find their colors and design just plain ugly, it also violates the Gestalt Law of Similarity because this packaging looks more like it belongs with the coffee than the tea.  It certainly is simple but not in a let's-forget-our-troubles-with-a-calming-cup-of-tea simple.  It's more of a we-couldn't-think-of-a-design-and-were-too-cheap-to-hire-someone simple.  The bag is very asymmetrical and unbalanced, the colors are all dull and boring, and there is just too much wasted space.  The use of plastic takes away from the natural feeling of tea and makes it feel more manufactured.

Now, for a good design:

This design works because the company has identified their target audience (people who savor the easy-going, old-school way of life).  By putting their tea in the burlap sacks, it gives the feeling that the tea has been hand-picked, dried, and packaged by the farmer himself rather than as the product of a factory.  The boxes us the Law of Similarity by all having the same design and using only different colors to convey the different flavors.  The images of bamboo and the paper of the boxes retain the feeling of a natural product which is something tea drinkers want.  This packaging is similar enough to other tea products so that it can easily be identified as tea but different enough from the others to set it apart as its own product.  The text is all left-aligned giving a sense of harmony throughout the product.  The bamboo also shows the use of the Law of Closure because we don't see where they are planted or how high they have grown but using closure, we feel like they are growing wild in the forests of China.  This Asian feel is also consistent with many teas because it makes Westerners feel like they are partaking in an "ancient Chinese secret" by drinking the tea.