Katie Kirk Illustration

Pet Packaging

These are great! good design and very useful!

After a bit of research into packaging to do with pets. I have noticed that paw prints seem to be very popular.

Kazakhstan-based graphic designer Azamat Sayfullaev created the concepts for "Собачкина" & "Кошкина радость" - pet food packaging.

I know this packaging for gorilla new york coffee has nothing to do with pets. However I think the image is striking and the simple use of two colour print makes the packaging really stand out. key to attracting sales.

I could apply the same image technique the pet packaging concept.

After viewing this packaging closer. The red, making up the image of the gorilla, drips down to the left, almost like blood. This is suggesting to me the coffee company has something to do with endangered gorillas. I assume helps protects them.

People who look like their dog!

This ad campaign for dog food features people who look like their dog.

Benefits from owning a pet

Research shows that, unless you’re someone who really dislikes animals or is absolutely too busy to care for one properly, pets can provide excellent social support, stress relief and other health benefits—perhaps more than people! Here are more health benefits of pets...

•  can improve your mood
•  control blood pressure better then drugs
•  encourage you to get out and exercise
•  stave off loneliness and provide unconditional love
•  can reduce stress- sometimes more then people
• put organisation and routine into your life

Pet facts and figures

In the UK, almost 1 in 2 households own a pet

• There are 27 million pets in the UK with dogs and cats being the animal of choice for pet owners with over 7.3 and 7.2 million across the UK respectively.
  
•  60% of single people in the UK buy a pet for companionship – 39% of whom have replaced their partner with a pet
  
• 21% of pet owners have wanted a pet since childhood, and almost of half of people living in the North East have wanted a pet since their early years
  
• Over a quarter (27%) of the UK’s pets were bought or acquired from an animal welfare or rescue centre compared to 20% from a pet shop    

Top ten pets in the UK 2009

1. Fish (over 50.0M) Indoor and Outdoor) 
2. Dogs (around 8.0M)
3. Cats (around 8.0M)
4. Rabbits (around 1.0M)
5. Birds (around 1.0M - Indoor)
6. Domestic Fowl (around 0.5M) 
7. Guinea Pigs (around 0.5M) 
8. Hamsters (around 0.5M)
9. Horses/Ponies (around 0.3M)
10. Tortoises/Turtles (around 0.2M)

Top 10 Dogs in the UK in 2008 

1. Labrador (0.6M)
2. Border Collie (0.6M)
3. Jack Russell Terrier (0.5M)
4. Yorkshire Terrier (0.4M)
5. German Shepherd (0.3M)
6. Bischon Frise (0.2M)
7. Rottweiler/ Dalmation (0.1M)
8. Cocker Spaniel/ Shitzu (0.1M)
9. Labradoodle/ Golden Retriever (0.1M)
10. Greyhound (incorporating Whippets)/ Chihuahua (0.1M)

Top 5 Cats in the UK in 2008 

1. Bengal (0.1M)
2. British Short Hair (0.1M)
3. Burmese (0.1M)
4. Manx (0.1M)

5. Siamese (0.1M)  

   
   

   In 2008 the main source in which owners aquire their dogs are a:

   Rescue Centre: 32%
   Friend/acquiantance: 25% 
   Recommended Breeder: 16%
   Private Ad: 16%
   Internet: 8%
   Pet Shop: 7%

Graphic design that uses pet imagery

Not all these images are print, some are drawings however they all relate to the topic of pets.

I have been looking at children's book illustration as many feature pets.

These two books are designed and illustrated by Linda Huber. They both look good as a set and the layering of stenciled cut out paper provide a hand crafted look. 

Illustration below is by Chris Dickson.

Presentation WHAT IS GOOD

Examples of three slides i used in the presentation

The Pets Questionnaire

To gather more research about our pets and what we think about them. I have produced a questionnaire and handed it out to our graphics group.

Here are the results...

When asked do you have a pet?

The majority said YES.

However the few who said NO, all thought of one they would like to own. In most cases they were very detailed i.e a long haired miniature daschund.

Positives about pets from the questionnaires

• "Dogs- Fun Personality"
• "Snakes and Iguanas are interesting animals"
• "Ferrets and Pigs are interesting"
• "Turtles are cute, easy to look after."
• "Kittens self explanatory"
• "Huskies Best dogs, Beautiful eyes, amazing coats"
• "Bears really cute"
• "My dog is camp"
• "I like the meowing"
• "I like my dogs dopey grin"
• "Very interactive"
• "Playful, Fun"
• "There fat"
• "...hes moody"
• "They are so cool"
• "...really well behaved and has never bitten anyone."
• "...a bit thick"
• "fluffy"
• "cute, cuddly"
• "quite easy to maintain."

Negatives about pets from the questionnaire

• "Boring"
• "...too soft."
• "Spiders. Useless"
• "...a bit fat"
• "They whine a LOT"
• Weighs too much
• "So hyped"
• "...they never leave you alone when your eating dinner!!"
• "Disobedience"
• "Their so fast it's hard to get them back into their cage."
• "HAIR"
• "Fish, boring, no interest."
• "Iguanas, I just don't trust them"
• "Terriers, snappy, rats on string"
• "Birds, they freak me out"
• "Turtle, pointless"
• "baby chicks, too hard to take care of and always die young"
• "Fish, Dull!"
• "Cats, just...Annoying and useless!"
• "...a bit thick"

Some of our pets names,

Vera, Boris, Jasper, Pepper, Pedro, Sweet Potato, Snow, Jessie, Pickals, Jasper (again), Millie, Blaze, Arnold, Sammy, Jamie, Jampot, Ginger, Tammy, Fatty Bum Bum, Leonardo Choncey Bubbushka Fenton, Blaze (again), TG, Rusty, Emy, Ned, Tilly, Charlie, Dasiy, Dara, Edwin, Archamides, Charley, Bella, Smokey, Bugsy Malone.

Finally here are some of the participants pet drawings.