Structural groups’ foray into branding is good for clients

I am writing to reinforce the benefits of combining structural and graphic pack design under one roof, as discussed in your recent feature (News Analysis, DW 11 September).

We are seeing a trend towards skill specialisation, with clients pigeon-holing their pack design consultancies into strategic, graphics, 3D or implementation roles. While clients may like to feel they are working with specialists in each discipline, they forget the simple fact that consumers do not isolate graphics from the structure or product, but view it as ‘one whole thing’.

Surely, then, packs should be created in this way, with planners, structural and graphic designers working alongside each other to create a consistent interpretation of the brand – which is how we’ve worked at Holmes & Marchant for the past 12 years. This holistic approach is not done, as Laurel Miller mentions in the article, to ‘maintain control of the project’, but to provide the client with the most effective way of conveying the brand’s story to the consumer.

Natalie Alexander, Holmes & Marchant, by e-mail