Critical Daily    Critical practice in graphic design

I tried to focuse on marketing misleading and decieving of customers. Businesses often present half-truths or good-looking lies served on a silver plater. People, who are not deeper intersted in these issues, easily become their victimes.

I took a deeper look at problems of misleading packaging of groceries which do not represent their contents. It begins with the name of the product and continues with ilustrations on packaging which show idealized ingredients but most of the time we can find them only in the negligible amount in the final product. Often the least contained ingredient is presented as the most important and crucial one.

Ideally we ought to try to attract the customer with good-quality product ingredients themselves and they should be properly presented on the packaging. Nowadays companies are riding on the wawe of loading marketing with huge piles of money and on the other hand, saving on product content itself.

I did a quick internet and store research. I picked the the most misleading packaging and decided to create stickers which I attached to the original packing. Stickers showed a very simple information.

I decided to use united white stickers, because of they contrasted with packages mostly. My target group were people who read the name of the product or check the illustration on the etiquette at least. I stuck the stickers mostly near the taste information and illustration of the taste, for example strawberries. The stickers were placed near the information which respond to.

In both grocery stores, in which I realized my project, I tried to discreetly monitor people's reactions on it. Those who just passed by did not pay attention. Those who took some products placed near by "mine" mostly noticed it, but after few seconds of stare, they continued shopping. I noticed one young lady who grabbed juice with my sticker and red the etiquette. Later I asked her about the juice with sticker and she told me, that she was checking content of the product according to sticker. She said, that she also noticed sticker on instant mushroom soup. She ackowledged these information as useful, bud as she added, it does not deter her from buying, because she likes the taste and values the low price. These two aspects are more important for her than the quality and amount of ingredients. I hope that from now, she will buy this soup with awereness of what is inside. Everyone has its own values and priorities, but do not always has proper information. I just wanted to give people information, the choice is up to them.

It was intriguing to discover that the highest percentage of misleading products are those for kids. I think our lifestyle and diet are very important for our bodies, therefore for ourselves. We ought not to introduce our bodies to junk food, at least not intentionally and not to our children. I was aiming to increase people´s interest in product ingredients in this shocking and awakening way.