Star Wars Miniatures

The Anatomy of a Packaging Makeover

The brand: Star Wars Miniatures Game

The product: Collectable Miniatures Game Accessories

The customer: Core gamers and Star Wars fans

Our attitude: Be objective. Learn something.

Our approach: Ask questions. Assess the market.

Our goals: Make achievable targets to measure.

Our strategy: Choose tactics. Be unique.

 

The Star Wars brand manager requested a redesign of the Star Wars Miniatures packaging for a fresh look to introduce a full line of new products based on The Clone Wars animated series: boosters, a starter set, map packs, and a scenario pack. As a team, we needed to be open to ideas and suggestions for improvement.

 

Together with the brand manager and members of the sales team, we made market walks in the third and fourth quarters of 2007 to view the original packaging in a real-world environment. We considered placement, package condition, and visibility on the shelf against competitive products. We visited Target, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, and core hobby stores.

Our goals for the new packaging included:

• Reduce size of package while maintaining visual space of illustrations and logos
• Consider unique packaging shapes to create distinction and drive visibility
• Improve readability and message hierarchy by placement and color choices
• Show more of the product contents on package.
• Consistency across multiple Star Wars Miniatures SKUs. 

   

For inspiration, we explored beyond toys, games, and hobby items looking at anything that might stand out. We tossed ideas back and forth until we developed a concept that resonated with us. From there, Paul provided volume and scale information to Leon based on contents, factoring in our sustainable package goals (smaller package).

 

Leon used Freehand to create a die-line to scale. After creating several paper mock-ups and making adjustments to the die, we passed the information to our vendor for cost estimates and pack-out feasibility. While this was in process, Leon applied graphics to our preliminary design using Freehand, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign. We presented these mock-ups to Lucas Licensing and our internal teams for concept approval.

The new booster pack design reduced materials and shipping by 20%. This design also translated successfully for all subsequent Star Wars Miniatures products.

 

Recognition: Star Wars Miniatures: The Clone Wars was announced as the best miniatures line at the 35th Annual Origins Awards in June 2009. The packaging illustrations for this series, by Terese Nielsen, were selected for Spectrum 15 and 16 as among the best in contemporary fantastic art. Star Wars Miniatures packaging makeover was featured in the September/October 2009 issue of Layers Magazine.

ABOUT THE DESIGN TEAM:

 

Leon Cortez, Senior Designer

    After graduating cum laude from the University of Southern Colorado with a Bachelor of Science; Major in Art degree, Leon Cortez spent the next several years in the apparel industry designing T-shirts and graphics for Tyvek jackets. In 1998, he started at one of the top merchandising agencies on the West Coast as a Senior Designer for their Consumer Products Division designing toy packaging. Working for this fast-paced agency, Leon gained a lot of solid experience, which has allowed him to excel in his current position as Senior Designer for Wizards of the Coast since 2004.

    “Working at a game company is a dream job. I get to work with a team of top designers, which keeps me learning and attaining new skills. The best part of my job is getting to play all day. I still enjoy being a graphic designer as much as I did fifteen years ago when I started.”

 

Paul Hebron, Art Director

    Paul Hebron started working at Wizards in mid-2003 shortly after moving from Los Angeles. “I wanted greener grass and Seattle truly is the Emerald City. Sometimes I miss Los Angeles. There was something insanely comforting about being able to see the air I breathe and the challenge of successfully navigating a 15-mile route in less than an hour through midday traffic.”

    In Los Angeles, Paul owned a design studio for nine years specializing in entertainment related design. His clients included Fox Entertainment, Paramount International, Saban, and Warner Brothers. Prior to establishing his studio, he was Director of Creative Services at Live Entertainment (which later became Artisan Entertainment and was purchased by Lionsgate). Since 2003, he has worked on Star Sisterz, a collectable charm game for girls; Code Name Kids Next Door Trading Card Game; the d20 Modern RPG books; and Star Wars Miniatures.

 

Evangelize

Should you evangelize your brand or cause?
I ask this question because I don't think every product can be evangelized. Take cigarettes for example. What are the benefits of smoking? It's hard to evangelize something that has no benefits. If you are able to identify the added value of your brand, service or cause, then you should consider evangelizing.

Is it cause worthy? Can it make a change for the better? Are you ready to take a global view? Are you able to speak to the benefits and let the benefits do the selling? Do you have goals toward making something better for your customer, the community, the world or your industry?

By examining the word evangelize, we can identify several principles that can be applied.

Evangelize defined:
To share good news. Share a positive message. To convert.
To advocate a cause with the objective of making converts.
To share news of something in order to convince someone to join or otherwise accept it.

How to evangelize
Inform: Bring good news.
Does your cause or brand have something positive to offer? Do you believe your own message? You should have enough knowledge about your brand to be able to identify any objections. Your message needs to include unique contributions your brand is making towards a change for the better.

Disciple: Educate and facilitate.

Provide education. Share knowledge of how you plan to make things for the better. Teach them how they can contribute in ways that will make a difference in the outcome of your cause.

Experience: A favorable impression.
Help them acquire positive experiences to reinforce your message. Integrity is key, the message has to be true and deliver its promise. Remarkable customer service will add to a positive experience.

Empower: With a message.
Give them access to as much as you can. You are building a relationship. Let them be the first to hear new inside information and they will pass it on. Create micro groups where they can share ideas. Support user groups, networks, fan bases, etc. Encourage collaborative solutions towards the mission and purpose of your brand or cause.

Converts will help spread the word.
A customer: buys goods or services
A convert: a person who has been persuaded to change beliefs

Not every customer becomes a convert. Not every convert becomes a evangelist.

There's power in conversion. Passionate converts become evangelist themselves. They will generate buzz for you. Keep the conversion alive by feeding networks with new information that reflects your positive contributions towards the benefits.

If you give them a voice, you must listen to their opinions about your brand, service or cause. Passionate converts often know more about the brand than the brand owner. Let them help shape your vision and they will spread your message.

Check out: The Macintosh Way

Your Answer Might Surprise You

Guest blogger: Kurt Pfaff, illustrator and designer
I was interviewed recently with a few thought provoking questions that had me pondering various aspects of my life and career.  The experience required me to explore areas I hadn't really given much thought and to my surprise I learned something about myself.  Below are my answers to a few of those questions, but I'm wondering what your responses would be? Take a moment and share your thoughts. Simply swap out the word "illustrator" with "art director", "designer", "copywriter" or whatever is appropriate for your role in the creative team.

Question:
From what illustration assignment did you learn the most about yourself?
Kurt:
If I’m doing it right I learn about myself from each and every assignment. I try to push my own envelope to explore creative places I’ve not discovered yet. If I’m not terrified and questioning myself and my abilities at the beginning then I have little interest in the job. Luckily there are plenty of uncontrollable variables with each project to make it engaging. Assignments are plagued with inflexible production constraints and challenges with ridiculous deadlines. Throughout the project evolution answers are found by thinking it through and problem solving. The payoff is the check that arrives afterwards of course, but there are many other sources of gratification. Admiring the finished piece while chuckling about how frightened I was at the various stages of construction yields a fair amount of satisfaction, too. I enjoy sometimes surprising my customers and always get a kick out of surprising myself as well.