Packaging design is the heart of what we do at Landaal, but innovation is the cornerstone of our success. It’s what has helped us stay in business for over 50 years. As times change, so do the needs of our customers, and in order to continue to serve them, we recognize that we must adapt and innovate in terms of both our products and our processes. We are committed to continuous improvement and investing in the right technology and the right people to stay ahead of the competition. Our talented design staff is living proof of that commitment.
In the words of Theodore Levitt, “Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” At Landaal Packaging, we have developed a design team who can do both. We’d like to introduce you to one of the designers: Packaging Designer, Rory Hill.
- Rory, tell us about your career path and how you got to Landaal Packaging?
To start, I earned my Bachelor’s in Packaging at Michigan State University. After completing all my courses and receiving my degree from MSU, I was hired on for a 1 year internship here at Landaal Packaging Systems.
- How would you describe your approach to packaging/POP design?
When starting a new project, I have to take into consideration a variety of factors. Sometimes that includes having to learn everything about the product (size, weight, durability, etc.), figuring out all of the components needed for the final design, and determining all of the different types of environments the product goes through in order to get to the end consumer safely.
- Where do you go for inspiration? Do you have any favorite industry related publications or organizations?
There are multiple websites and magazines that I frequently look at to see what types of displays are out in the market today. Another source of inspiration for me is going back through our design library and looking at all the displays we’ve done in the past, then trying to come up with a better and more innovative way to improve them.
- What is your favorite packaging design project you’ve worked on so far and why?
One of my favorites was a display we did for a brewing company. I was given the opportunity to start completely from scratch and come up with a very cool looking display to showcase their product.
- What’s one thing you’ve learned in your time at Landaal? What challenges have you faced?
I’ve learned is that there is little to no similarity in each of the projects that I take on. Each project always poses a different challenge or task that I have to come up with an innovative solution for.
- What advice would you give to students who are pursuing a career in packaging design?
I would say get as much experience and knowledge about the industry as possible before you graduate. Doing an internship with Landaal helped me a great deal. Whether it was through hands on training with the software or the machines that are used in production, or by sitting down with coworkers and learning their tips and tricks of the trade, I was able to gain the skills and the knowledge I needed to become a successful packaging designer.