Modern consumer packaging fulfills many roles, from protecting goods to advertising products to consumers, to conveniently dispensing liquids and powders. A field of packaging design specialists arose in the mid-twentieth century, creating complex objects designed to suit these purposes. Distinguishing their work from advertising and engineering, packaging designers developed an expertise in both the visual and functional aspects of packaging. They promoted their specialty by emphasizing their multifaceted knowledge of production, marketing, and consumer habits. By the late 1940s, design firms dedicated to the problems of packaging had emerged, and designers debated packaging issues in trade publications and organizations like the Package Designers Council.As packaging became a more prominent specialty from the 1950s through the 1970s, the design press began to evaluate packaging in terms of the reigning ideologies of functionalist modernism. Though critics questioned whether the market-driven graphics of packages could transcend their commercial origins, packaging designers actively defended their field, arguing that successful designs fulfilled their function by appealing to consumer sensibilities. Successful designs continued to sell in the home, where designers argued that attractive packages with well-conceived features would encourage consumers to purchase them again. Package designers presented themselves as the advocates for their imagined audience of sophisticated female shoppers who understood and insisted on quality designs and features.This thesis approaches the package design field through the work of Irvin Koons, whose firm, Irv Koons Associates, created consumer packages from the early 1950s until the late 1980s. An active member of the Package Designers Council, Koons promoted his field through his work, writing, and professional seminars. Using case studies from AbbottsRTM Old Philadelphia Ice Cream, American Can's DixieRTM Products, and Scott Paper's ScottiesRTM Tissues, this thesis examines how Koons balanced the concerns of design ideals, retail practicalities, and consumer desires in his packaging design practice.
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