junior@salesmaven.io, Author at Damen Jackson

Food Packaging Trends

There are several themes driving changes in food packaging, with the pace of change accelerating now that the pandemic is largely behind us. These themes include labeling technology, sustainability, food safety, engagement, and design. Let’s take them one at a time. The promise of technology advances for food packaging has held promise. Today many of […]

Three Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Packaging

My name is Ron Farnum. And I am a rampant, enthusiastic retail consumer. I love shopping, studying and buying products. Combined with my shopping addiction, I’m also the father of four kids. My annual spending at Target rivals the GDP of a small island nation. My love of buying stuff may be part of why […]

Graphic Brands

Graphic is a good word. Its meaning is clear and universal. Graphic cues the listener’s and the reader’s mind’s eye that something visual is coming. Unlike text, the graphic experience is holistic. You get it all at once, even if you need to or choose to deconstruct it for detail and nuance and meaning. Unlike text, which you take in […]

Value Added Packaging

Increase Packaging Costs? Really? YES, especially if the extra cost provides a value add that is highly sought by your customers. Or if your package has discernably fallen behind your competitors. How to know for sure? If it has been some time (say 18 – 24 months) since you last did customer research, it likely […]

Does Your Packaging Measure Up

Consumer buying behavior and purchase decision making is kind of a black box—always changing (if you believe the trade press), and somewhat mysterious (that’s the black box part). With all the social media buzz, customer reviews and rants, interruptive ads (as soon as you have done a search for a product)—it’s kind of a jungle […]

Shifting to Sustainable Packaging Is Easy, Right?

Easy to contemplate, supported by consumer preferences, leverageable with company stakeholders—just swap out what we were doing, and go green. Not so fast! First, let’s look at the green packaging market, consumer trends, and government regulations. Then, we will look at each of the above issues. The Green Packaging global market is BIG and growing […]

Karen Kaplan: My Story

You could say packaging design is in my blood. My father, Herb, started Murrie White and Associates, a package design firm, in 1964. I was 2 years old then. Along with creative genius Tom White, my dad and his team created iconic designs for the Keebler tree house and SO many more. I grew up […]

The Power of Metallics in Great Packaging Design

AN INTERVIEW WITH RON FARNUM, FOUNDER OF DAMEN JACKSON Ron Farnum, is the founding partner and “Premiumizer” of successful Chicago-based packaging and branding agency, Damen Jackson. For nearly 20 years, his agency’s growth has been built around a focus on positive, long-term relationship building, better collaborations, and consistently doing great work for their clients. To […]

Navigating Packaging Regulations

The guiding principle of packaging regulations makes good sense—ensure the safety of consumers. Like many government issues, there is a patchwork quilt of regulations for manufacturers to abide by. Some are Federal laws while others are in various stages of enactment by State. And it is different for restaurant product packaging versus consumer products. And […]

Time Magazine: Visual Language & The Written Word

In its June 22, 2015 edition, TIME magazine debuted a new look, it’s third in almost as many years. It’s purported purpose was a simpler format, easier to read and the integration of its multiple platforms—digital, video, mobile and print. Even with these apparently functional and tactical goals, the magazine’s senior editors—journalists all, wordsmiths, reporters, storytellers who […]

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