Information
Brand: General Mills
Name: Lucky Charms
Materials: N/A
Measurements: N/A
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Design
Graphics:
The front of the box features an illustration of a leprechaun standing in front of a photo of a bowl of cereal and an illustration of a rainbow passing over him, with pieces of the cereal floating in the rainbow. There is also a small illustration of a computer mouse.
Logo:
At the top of the box there is a brand logo and in the centre there is the name of the cereal.
Information:
At the top of the package is nutritional information and ingredients. Near the bottom it also has product weight information.
Typography:
There is text used in logos in the middle of the box, and other text around the outside of the packaging with nutritional information and a promotion.
Marketing:
At the top of the packaging there is some text saying "with Whole Grain", trying to give the appearance of it being healthy.
Audience:
The bright colours and the cartoon illustrations, along with the idea of magic and fairy tale creatures (leprechauns) give the impression that this cereal is targeted to children and early teens.
Promotion:
There is a promotion for a webisode (short online cartoon) on the box, which is to extend children's interest in the product. This is increasing the relation between the cereal and cartoons started by the illustrations on the front and the use of a cartoon character.
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Graphics
Images:
Underneath the logo is an illustration of a traditional Irish leprechaun, a mythical and magical creature. The hat also has a 4 leaf clover on it (referencing the name luck charms). He is looking down smiling at the photograph of the bowl of cereal below him, and has his arms extended. A rainbow flows from one hand to ther over, going over the top of the logo and contains pieces of the marshmellow in the cereal. There are also illustrations next to each of the pieces of nutritional information at the top which represent the information (e.g. a glass of milk next to "Good source of calcium").
Colour:
The leprechaun is white with ginger hair, and bright green clothes which is fairl typical for a leprechaun. The colours on the rainbow are typical but mild, so they don't stand out too much and take attention away from the logo or the main illustration, but at the same time still look nice. The coloured marshmellow pieces in the photograph of the cereal make them stand out greatly and attract your attention.
Layout:
The logo sits in the center, with the illustrations centered around that. The actual rainbow is all around it, and beneath that is the rest of the illustration with the leprechaun. They are placed from the middle lower because we read left to right, top to bottom and so the most important parts are usually placed near the top, then the illustrations come next.
Effects:
The cartoon style of the illustrations, and it being centered around magic make this cereal appealing to children as they are typically interested in those things. This also makes the cereal seem more fun rather than serious, or healthy etc.
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Colour
Main colours:
The background is a warm red colour, with a large variety of colours in the foreground in the illustratons. There is a rainbow, so it contains the colours of the rainbow, and a lot of green because of the illustration of the leprechaun. The colours in the logo are bright yellow and organe, warm colours which almost resemble gold (associated with leprechauns).
Types:
The background in a solid colour, but the illustration of the leprechaun contains blends of different tones of green and brightness to create a lighting efect, where it makes the bowl look as if it is glowing so the colours are brighter around the bowl. There are no large gradients but smaller blends of colours.
Effect:
The bright, warm colours attract younger people because it appears more exciting and fun, enhancing the illustrations considerably. The green colours add ot the irish feel of the illustrations, and the gold colours also add to that because of the association between leprechauns and gold. There is also of course the rainbow with the rainbow colours that are instantly recognisable and further strengthen the association with leprechauns.
Swatch:
This is a swatch of 5 colours from the package.
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Typography
Font Faces:
The font faces used for the logo are not standard fonts, so they must have been custom for the design. They are sans serif fonts that are very round and humanist rather than straight, but are also very bold adding to the cartoon feel. The corners are still hard to make the bended edges more stylised. The information around the edges use a more standard font to make it more straight forward to read.
Colours:
The text that expresses the nutritional information around the outside is in black (in contrast to the bright background) to make it easier to read. The brand logo is in a bright blue, which is in stark contrast to the main colours used in the design so it stands out. It is positioned next to text saying "with whole grain" in yellow and orange, making them stand out even more because blue and orange are opposites on the colour wheel. The main logo is a warm yellow to warm orange gradient, surrounded by a dark red.
Weights:
There is a great difference in font weights, with all the information around the outside being small and thin, whereas the logo is very thick and chunky which makes them stand out greatly.
Styles:
The brand logo and the nutritional information next to it has been given a thick black and thin white stroke to make them stand out even further. The main logo has a slight bevel with a drop shadow, sitting on a red base for the text so it looks like it is embedded in or sitting on it. This base also has a dark drop shadow to further give the impression of 3D.
Layout:
The nutritional information is scattered along the edges of the box, whereas the logo (which you can assume is the main part the company want you to look at) sits in the centre along with the illustration to create a focal point so anything else seems less important.
Effect:
There are great differences between the information and the main logo, where every element of the text is designed to draw you in to the name so that you remember it and then to the nutritional information and other information which they obliged to put on there, but they clearly manipulate your perception of this information by making the logo more impressive.