Defrosted

Design: Kiersten Ziegler
Location: United States
Project Type: Student Project
School: University of Wisconsin- Stout
Tutor: Nagesh Shinde
Packaging Contents: Zinnia Seeds
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Paper
Printing Process: Laser Printing

Defrosted is a zinnia seed company. For this project, the goal was to focus on the branding and identity for a seed package, and also focus on the user experience for those who buy the seeds. One of the things that users can focus on is taking one “petal” off of the packets and having only 1-5 seeds in each packet so then you aren’t wasting any seeds and can use again the next year since the entire packet wasn’t opened and wasted. When the box is opened, the packets resemble blooming out like a flower. The reason the company is named Defrosted is because zinnia seeds get planted after the last frost of the year. Then the colors that were chosen for the packaging are bright and vibrant because they are meant to resemble the brightness and vibrancy of zinnia flowers.

What’s unique about Defrosted is the way the seed packaging is designed. This project required thinking a lot about the user’s experience with a product before starting to design the packaging, so I spent a lot of time talking with those who like to garden to learn how they feel about seed packaging (by asking questions such as “what frustrates you about seed packaging,” “what do you like about seed packaging,” and “if you could change something about seed packaging, what you change?”). Some of the common things I heard was wishing that the packaging had a smaller quantity seeds in the packages, but more mini packets available with smaller quantities of seeds so they won’t be wasted once they’re opened and can be used in those smaller quantities when they’re opened to be planted. The shape of the packaging resembles what the flowers look like when they bloom, and the seed packets can easily be taken out and put back into the box through the design.