Ooh La La Licorice!

Those of you who follow my blog, know that I am taking a graphic design certificate program at my local career center. It's been really fun, learning new skills, and polishing skills that I developed long ago. And it hasn't hurt that I have been doing digital scrapbooking for the past 5 years! I'm currently almost finished with my Photoshop section, and will soon begin Illustrator.

My most recent project was to create a package design, based on a package structure of something I found out in the marketplace. I've loved Target's Choxie brand of treats packaging, so I bought a box of truffles to disassemble and use as a template for my new package design. I recently designed an invitation to my niece's baby shower, with a pink and black Paris theme, so that's where I got my jump start!

There were certain mandatory elements and techniques that I needed to incorporate: smart objects, a gradient, a blending mode, a clipping mask on some typeography, plus all of the elements to make it look like a real package: bar code, nutritional information, etc.

I had the artwork printed at Costco, then I attached the print to some black cover stock, and folded & taped it together, adding an acetate window and filling it with black licorice. I thought it came out rather well! I did make 3 changes to the artwork after I assembled it and noticed a couple of small design issues. But that's all part of the design process!