KOSÉ Addiction compact case winks its way to award honours
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- Published on Thursday, 22 March 2012 00:58
JAPAN – The chic packaging design of KOSÉ Corporation’s limited edition Addiction compact case channels the ‘60s Swingin’ London mood with its innovative use of lenticular printing technology and classy feel.
Launched in November 2010, this limited edition Addiction compact case was developed with creative input from Ayako, a famous Japanese make-up artist based in New York, USA.
What makes this chic piano black cosmetic packaging stand out is Japanese cosmetic company KOSÉ’s use of lenticular printing – a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles.
“It seemed almost impossible to fully communicate the charm and pleasure of our make-up product using mere conventional packaging,’ KOSÉ explained. “It was only through lenticular technology that we felt able to properly promote this product’s brand message.
“We printed a ‘Dolly Bird-like’ image on a lenticular sheet that lay on the top face of the compact case. Because of the lenticular effect, consumers can easily change the packaging’s graphic imagery - from that of a pair of beautifully made up eyes to one of a pair of the same eyes winking - by merely tilting the case.”
Not only does the lenticular sheet provide an almost real-life 3D feel and depth to the image, having the package ‘wink’ at consumers creates an element of surprise.
“Besides its physical beauty, the packaging design also communicates the theme of the make-up product’s and stirs up our consumers’ expectation of a pleasurable experience when they use it,” KOSÉ explained.
The graphic image was carefully chosen to reflect a ‘Dolly Bird’ mood, a 60’s Swingin’ London beauty style that is popular and viewed as highly fashionable in Japan.
“We paid particular attention to the positioning of the eyes and the ‘tone’ of the image, looking at a large number of image variations before deciding on the final graphic imagery,” KOSÉ added. “Not only did the eyes have to be beautiful, but the wink had to appear natural and lovely too.”
The Addiction limited edition compact case is made of ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), which gives the plastic case a shiny appearance. ABS also combines the strength and rigidity of the acrylonitrile and styrene polymers with the toughness of the polybutadiene rubber, providing impact resistance, toughness and heat resistance to the cosmetic packaging.
In addition, KOSÉ changed the structural design of the compact case to lightweight it and reduce its material costs and environmental impact.
KOSÉ’s efforts in developing a truly beautiful cosmetic packaging and its attention to detail was recognized by its peers, winning a Japan Good Packaging 2011 award for packaging design from the Japan Packaging Institute (JPI), and the Asian Packaging Federation (APF)’s prestigious Presidential Award 2011
