This is a package containing Singapore noodles for an Australian market. It is an exercise in the structural elements of Graphic Design, with each side representing one of the four main elements; space, type image and colour.

Space
The front of the package emphasises the design element of space and grid. The dimensions of the product are based on the golden section ratio, that of 1:1.6, a ratio that naturally appears in nature but has also featured in traditional Chinese architecture (the origin of the product) over the centuries. It has also proven to be attractive, and therefore suitable for product design. This ratio occurs between the width, height and depth. The space between elements is based on this ratio also and forms the grid. The type sizes, too, are based on this ratio by use of a modular scale, from 13 point though to 55 point.

Image
The image panel has been split in two, forming each side of the package. Two images have been used to add interest through variation, but both communicate the same message. The photos are of rice fields, communicating by way of myth, an association with Asia – the origin of the product.

One image is cropped tightly on the subject in an attempt to remove connotation, so all that remains is the denotative meaning. It shows the object exactly as it is, so the photo becomes the object. This allows the viewer to add his or her own meaning; the signifier is given, the reader adds the signified, and the sign is created.

The other photo is shot from a wide angle. The man harvesting the rice adds a connotative meaning; it places the photo in a certain region. However, all notions of time have been removed from the photo, to add to the connoted message that a certain heritage, or tradition, exists.

Both photos also feature the natural environment, with green being the dominant colour. Green comes with many symbiotic meanings, among which the strongest and the most universal is nature, communicating that the product is natural and therefore by way of visual rhetoric, healthy.

Colour
The primary colour, brown, is the colour of earth and wood, bringing it in unity with the meaning derived from the image. It is solid and reliable. It communicates credibility, solidity, strength and maturity. All these properties are typical of Asian culture. I’ve also complemented the primary colour with red, through the type pane. Red is an attention grabber - words and objects in red get people’s attention immediately, suitable for a product. It is also the colour most often associated with China, and so builds the meaning of heritage that the other elements create.

Type
The type pane is the back of the box. The chosen typeface is Vendetta, by John Downer. It features a modulated stroke and is based on simple geometric proportions, giving it a ‘balanced’ and calligraphic appearance, similar to a Chinese script.he type has been manipulated to form the shape of noodles, in order to add another level of meaning and to attract attention. The legibility is affected by this manipulation, however the meaning is quicker to derive making the readability easier - which is more important when competing with attention. While the type isn’t legible in the traditional sense, I feel it is legible in another way – the reader takes meaning from form rather than words, so they don’t need to actually read it, or only read a few words, to understand the meaning.