Clutch kit packaging redesign for Vasure's market production
Zhejiang Huaxin Autoparts Co. LTD is a global clutch manufacturing and retailing company based in Wenzhou, China. Vasure is one of their sub-brand they own. This project is about redesigning the clutch kit packaging system for market production.
Client Map
End User Persona
Retail Market Research
The biggest client in the north America is Autozone. I have been there several times to buy the clutch kit, and normally staffs would ask which exact model you want and go to storage shelves to pick it up for you. The number one takeaway is makeing the packaging look professional, since that's something staff, consumer and user are looking at.
Competitor Product Research
Learning from competitors' product gives me idea about what are some popular color combinations on the market, materials they use to make the box and inner structure they are using to protect the clutch inside.
Panel Study
Design Criteria
Color Inspiration
Evolutionary or revolutionary? Vibrant or subtle? Going with what's matching the autoparts industry or something new and minimal? I was struggling with which direction shall I go. After discussing with clients and researching, we decided to go with vibrant colorway.
Design Process
I had ideation on the shape of the box and innerstructure, then I traced them in illustrator and lase cut them out. I also tested out different materials to see which one is easy to bend and gives better support. After series of testing, I realized the original shape saves more materials on mother sheet and provides enough cushioning. Corragted boards is the best material for clutch kit packaging.
Graphic Iterations
Final Design
Why Yellow and Orange
Manufacturing and Sustainability
The original design is made of Latho Laminate, which needs lay down an extra layer of white paper on top of corrugated board. The new design will be manufactured using Flexo, a form of printing process which utilizes a flexible relief plate. Without laying extra sheets on each clutch kit boxes, the amount of materials depletion and cost will be reduced significantly.
Material Choice
For material choice, corrugated board has been tested for the most affordable, recyclable and accessible material which also provides strong structure to protect product inside. For smaller size clutch kit packaging, F-flute is perfect choice. Three layers flute would give better support to big clutch kit.
Panel Study
