Product Presentation

This is officially my first post since the end of my 12 month Creative Sparks Grant supported project, Making Place: Wallpaper & Textiles…

So, what’s been happening?

This past week has seen me work with Designfront on some concepts for packaging to support the presentation of my products to clients.

We are working on designs for Shade Cards and Swatch Cards.

Shade Cards provide a ‘one-glance’ format for showing all the colourways in which a particular fabric is available. They’re generally A4 in size and organised in a folder or box supplied by the manufacturer to keep them all together. Often there is fairly detailed technical information on the back of the card, so it’s easy to see if the products meet any specific criteria which might need to be addressed for the client.

The next step involves Swatch Cards, which are a really practical way to show both sides of a small piece of fabric (particularly if it is reversible), while also supplying basic technical information on the back of the card for easy reference. Interior designers/architects frequently use swatch cards on concept boards to present ideas to their clients. It’s a great way to illustrate how the textile component will sit back with the paint colour scheme, flooring and other finishes.

There are other presentation formats too. Often interior designers/architects will request an A4 sample or larger of the product to show the client. Some manufacturers also create A5 or A4 Hangers, which are good for furniture retailers/manufacturers to show their clients various fabric options for their own products.

I’m really enjoying coming up with solutions for presentation, solutions that are easy for the end user to navigate (read, handle, work with). I have seen some options, which are so frustrating to use that I’m sure that even if the products are amazing, it would be difficult to convince the end user to take the time to look at the samples!

And so, the progression over the next couple of weeks will be about solving this puzzle as I prepare to meet with some lovely clients in Brisbane. Really looking forward to getting out and about amongst it all!