Function and Aesthetics in Packaging Design

It is almost indisputable that packaging container design should have aesthetic value, because people need not only material satisfaction, but also spiritual satisfaction, so excellent packaging container design should be a high degree of unity of material function and spiritual function. As far as material function is concerned, its content lies in function, and its form is the structural form and expression that embodies functional significance; As far as spiritual function is concerned, its content lies in whether it contains people's creative power, and its form is a perceptual form that expresses people's essential power. Therefore, the design of packaging containers should pay more attention to the external aesthetic expression of the times while satisfying the functions.

However, influenced by the development level of social production, aesthetic standards vary from time to time, showing the historical limitations of aesthetic value orientation and aesthetic fashion. The delicate and complicated pattern composition unique to the traditional handicraft production mode has become the aesthetic feature of that era, but in modern large-scale industrial production, the processing technology has become very complicated and time-consuming, and the traditional pattern decoration aesthetics is no longer suitable for the essence of machine production. Modernism movement is a great revolution in the history of industrial design. Its greatest significance lies in shaking the traditional aesthetic view, completely abandoning the traditional pretensions and complicated external decorator pattern, and opening up a channel for the new aesthetic spirit and design culture. Modernism definitely affirmed the machinery, pursued the concise summary of the appearance, attached importance to the inherent texture of the material itself, and pushed the modern design thought and aesthetic consciousness to a new height.

First, the pursuit of concise and abstract form.

Highly developed modern science and technology and large-scale and intensive production methods make it difficult for container modeling design to continue to imitate and deform naturally, which determines that the aesthetic value of packaging container modeling must be based on modern large-scale industrial production methods, explore the aesthetic expression of formal creation, facilitate production and molding, pay attention to concise and standardized geometric modeling, and there should be no complicated decorative patterns on the surface of packaging containers. The aesthetic feeling of packaging container modeling is reflected in the abstract expression of the form itself and the harmonious relationship between the elements of the form. In the packaging container modeling without decorative patterns, the unified change of its modeling structure can also reflect the new aesthetic characteristics of simplicity and abstraction, and the change of the form composition of the packaging container itself is a decorative style. It should be emphasized that the concise and abstract formal composition does not simply refer to the rational form composed of straight lines and planes, but also includes the tactile form rich in perceptual expression and curved surface changes. The tactile form not only expresses the concise and abstract aesthetic characteristics, but also shapes the intimate and pleasant high emotional image of the packaging container with rich changes and smooth rhythm. In addition, in practical use, people also found that the simple and abstract modern container modeling is more convenient to clean than the traditional decorative objects, and the convenience of use has strengthened people's pursuit and confidence in the new aesthetic spirit and design culture.

The texture of natural materials endows packaging container design with unique regional cultural charm. (Wine Design/Cao Kunpeng)

Second, respect the texture of the material itself.

From conception to processing and molding, the design of packaging containers depends on various natural or artificial materials. Material is the material basis of packaging container modeling, and the artistic appeal of packaging container modeling is conveyed to our sensory system through the natural properties of material such as light, color and shape. As Santayana said, "If Athena's Parthenon is not made of marble, the crown is not made of gold, and the stars have no fire, they will be unremarkable things." Different materials give people different visual feelings, which is due to the different effects of material texture. Texture is the visual texture and tactile texture that people get because of the different organizational structures of materials. The massiness, softness and warmth of materials are mostly produced by texture, and different material textures will make people have rich aesthetic experience and spirit. Designers should treat the material texture expression of packaging container modeling with aesthetic attitude and creative spirit, and give packaging container visual charm to the maximum extent.

The continuous emergence of new materials not only enhances the visual expression of packaging container modeling, but also promotes people's brand-new aesthetic concepts and forms. In the handicraft era, the creation activities mainly decorate the appearance of objects by depicting natural patterns, which often masks the aesthetic feeling of materials and colors inherent in the modeling of packaging containers. Modern packaging container modeling pursues the texture and beauty of the material itself, such as the simplicity and naturalness of wood grain, the exquisite transparency of glass and rich light and shadow changes, and the brilliance of stainless steel. For the same material, different processing techniques or chemical treatment techniques can also show a variety of textures. For example, the metal bottle cap of the packaging container is polished to get a mirror-like texture effect, giving people a precise, rational and tense aesthetic feeling, while the polished surface obtained by chemical treatment expresses a subtle and hazy aesthetic feature. It can be seen that the influence of new materials on design is not limited to the technical category, but includes people's visual and tactile texture stimulation experience, as well as the stimulation of aesthetic fashion trends.

Third, advocate the purpose of formal modeling.

The traditional aesthetic concept regards function and decoration as two unrelated parts, which makes the decoration of packaging container modeling impractical, inappropriate and expensive. Modernism emphasizes that form obeys function and pursues simple and abstract form. However, the aesthetics of modern packaging container modeling does not deny the existence of decoration, but often combines aesthetic decoration with functional play when expressing the decoration of packaging container modeling. On the basis of satisfying the use function, fully and appropriately expressing the function of packaging container modeling with artistic perceptual form can make container modeling have pleasing aesthetic value. For example, the wavy line modeling of plastic bottles of mineral water, on the one hand, shows a smooth and rhythmic aesthetic feeling, on the other hand, plays a functional role in strengthening the fastness of plastic bottles and increasing hand friction. Therefore, excellent packaging container modeling will inevitably reflect the purposeful and regular characteristics of the form of utensils. Instead of separating the aesthetic factors and functional factors of decoration, we decorate for the sake of decoration and design formalism and aestheticism in isolation. Only by combining aesthetic decoration with functional structure and other factors, formal elements can reflect the inherent elements and values of packaging container modeling itself, and reflect some consistency with users' material and psychological needs, so as to have its real aesthetic value.

Simple and abstract geometric modeling expresses new aesthetic spirit and design culture. (perfume bottle design/Cao Kunpeng)

Fourth, advocate the aesthetic value of scientific and technological strength.

The texture of natural materials endows packaging container design with unique regional cultural charm. (Wine Design/Cao Kunpeng)

Modern aesthetic consciousness reflects today's technical form, and the development of science and technology directly or indirectly participates in the form creation of packaging container modeling, which brings people new aesthetic concepts. High-tech is characterized by knowledge-intensive, and the automation of production and standardization of products have created high-quality household appliances. For example, some aluminum alloy seals designed for packaging containers are easy and laborious to open. People enjoy a superior lifestyle, deeply feel the modern civilization and advanced scientific and technological level in the process of using container products, feel a kind of beautiful enjoyment, infinite joy and interest, and revel in the greatness of scientific power. The aesthetic value of artifacts is closely related to the level of science and technology. People realize that technology itself has artistic characteristics and begin to play an inherent beauty in the modeling of packaging containers. The high-tech direction of aesthetics is an aesthetic category with profound rational connotation, which presents the mechanical order and accuracy in the intuitive form of packaging containers, which fully meets the requirements of the specification. For example, the straight and precise processing line at the edge of the packaging container and the processing traces left by machine production all give people a beautiful experience of scientific rationality and logic. For example, the packaging container designed according to the principle of ergonomics conforms to people's psychological and physiological characteristics in terms of size, feel and operation mode, which will inevitably make people have a pleasant aesthetic experience in use. Modern aesthetic principles that incorporate technical factors have become an indispensable attribute in people's aesthetic activities. In a sense, high technology is beauty and modernization is beauty.

The change of aesthetic consciousness represents the change of the times. The aesthetic concept of modern packaging containers is the product of the times and society under specific historical conditions. From decorative performance to abstract aesthetic concept, they all show distinct characteristics of the times. The essential difference between modern aesthetic concepts and traditional aesthetic concepts is that they represent different modes of production and social productive forces, and their aesthetic principles are based on meeting scientific standards, being rich in economic benefits, having the characteristics of the spirit of the times and adapting to social aesthetic needs. People's discovery and thinking of materials, development and utilization of technology, and adherence to and grasp of aesthetic standards all reflect the contemporary lifestyle and social needs, and embody the ultimate expression of human aesthetic ideals and a beautiful vision for future life.

The historical wheel of aesthetic standards is still rolling forward in the future. Economic globalization has enabled mankind to quickly enter the era of material-rich consumption, constantly changing people's lifestyles and values, and will surely realize brand-new aesthetic values. At the same time, the aesthetic expression of form is also facing new challenges. Designers should rely on keen artistic intuition to discover and construct new aesthetic values, and show them visually. As far as packaging container design is concerned, it is necessary to express the aesthetic spirit and concept of the times in the design with new aesthetic thinking and pursue the latest connotation expression of packaging container form, so as to maintain fashion vitality, present vivid aesthetic interest and gain wide recognition from the market and consumers in the changing times. )