Focused around hair-care products, the company markets its products almost exclusively through salons, first in Japan, but now in the US and East and Southeast Asia as well. “Because our products are distributed through salons, they are introduced to customers by the stylists,” says Kyoko Kameyama, Junior Associate, Packaging Design Group, Packaging Design and Development, at Milbon. “We have to have a professional look and style. The stylists are our partners in approaching the customer, so we need to provide them with a professional, reliable product. The packaging, too, has to say to the customer that this is a quality product.”
Creating products with designs that visually express that sense of quality and professionalism is Ms. Kameyama’s job—although she is not a designer herself. “We have a project, we do the research and create the product concept and the product itself, and then develop a design concept to fit that product and concept. My job is to work with the designers so they understand the concept, and create a design that fits this.”
As an example, she points to Color Gadget, a set of seven hair-color shampoos. “The concept is expressed as a set of nine colour variations on one base colour, something like paint sample chips,” she says. “Because it’s a set of hair-color shampoos, the nine colors on the label show the different levels of colouring that can be applied to the hair. But getting that feeling right visually was a challenge. All nine colours are a combination of two or three colours of ink, so we vary the percentages to create the nine different colours in the brand design.”
One thing helping Ms. Kameyama to achieve the right look is Holmen Iggesund’s Invercote paperboard, created for high-end packaging applications. “We selected Invercote because of the deep colors that are possible when using it, and a matte finish that is of very high quality,” she says. “The print quality is excellent, as the ink doesn’t spread out or cause dark areas. It helps us to express to our customers that this is a quality product.”
While sustainability originally was not a key factor in making the decision to use Holmen Iggesund, Ms. Kameyama says that this has become an important focus for the company today. “We selected Invercote for the quality, but when we thought more about it, the sustainability factor really was important for us. We talked with Holmen Iggesund, and we really appreciate how this paperboard is not only beautiful but uses sustainable raw materials.”
A high-quality paperboard as the base for a product design is very important for Milbon, which stresses the individuality of each of its products. “Each one has its own concept, and we have to express that in the packaging,” Ms. Kameyama says.
She adds that she has a personal goal in package design. “I’d like to create boxes that people want to use for other things even after they’ve used the product,” she says. “Normally they throw it away, but if it’s attractive enough they might use it for something else—which is also more sustainable. Using Holmen Iggesund paperboard is one step towards doing this!”
