Spec Mix
Services: Packaging Design / Packaging System
Spec Mix is a leader in the mortar and grout industry. Delivering the highest quality performance products and project solutions to the construction industry. Whether their client is a design professional selecting custom colored mortar for a restoration project or the contractor performing the work on a high-rise in downtown Chicago, they pride themselves on being good listeners and helping achieve maximum jobsite productivity.
Overview
Spec mix’s marketing team approached me with several product packaging issues. Their product line consists of over 20 bagged powder products in the mortar and grout industry; yet they had only one bag design (a brown bag with blue type - see below) that spanned all of their products with only 5% differentiation between each printed bag making it difficult to tell one product from another. I was tasked with designing new product packaging that differentiated their products clearly while also keeping their branding in the forefront.
As I researched their products it was evident a color keying system would have to be developed to differ the products from one another and categorize them accordingly. The system I created was then used to develop planograms for product placement in Home Depot, Lowes, and other building product carriers.
Planogram
One of the main problems Spec Mix faced with their previous packaging was little to no differentiation between each product when placed in stores like Home Depot. Often products would be mix-matched or put in incorrect racks due to all products looking similar.
I solved this problem with the color keying system I developed and packaging design. The main bag color would be their corporate branding while the secondary color would be the product category it fit in. The product category color would then be printed on the outside edge of the bag per the design, easily differentiating one product category from another.
