A Study In Flat Illustrations Applied To The Pet Food Packaging Design

In the last couple of years flat illustration or design has become the main design trend used in many companies.Unlike highly realistic and detailed skeuomorphic images,flat illustration is considered as a minimalistic design approach that emphases usability,and features simple icon-like shapes,clean open space,crisp edges,bright colours and two-dimensional elements.Pet food company is one of the industries to transition its products’ packaging design over to a flat style against the background when pet culture has changed and developed with the progress of the society and the improvement of living standards.Specifically,the number of pet owning is surging,whilst the owners’ emotional needs for pets are increasing.As a consequence,the owners’ willingness of consumption in the pet industry is growing,which makes the market expand.According to previous research,pet food has taken the largest market share in the pet industry,so it plays a significant role in the development of pet culture.This dissertation aims to study flat illustrations applied to the pet food packaging design.Starting from the background,the dissertation explores its research purpose,methods and previous studies,and investigates the basic notion,features and usage of flat illustrations.Moreover,the dissertation analyses how pet food companies brought this design style to their packaging in particular and therefore turned it into a trend that keeps gaining in popularity.The last issue was to elaborate the steps in applying flat illustrations to the packaging of a New Zealand’s pet food company,Ziwi Peak.Based on these explorations,this dissertation concludes that applying flat illustrations to the pet food packaging design changes the traditional consumption experiences and fulfills the aesthetic needs of customers,which aims at expanding the sales volume,promoting brand value and enhancing companies’ competitiveness.