Research on the Show-Oriented Sustainable Design of Cultural and Creative Product Packaging Based on the SOR Model

Abstract: Against the backdrop of evolving times, consumer demands have transcended the product itself, with an increasing demand for product accessories. The packaging industry has emerged accordingly, but many enterprises have engaged in excessive packaging, leading to high rates of packaging waste and, consequently, severe environmental issues. Therefore, the packaging industry must re-examine current social and economic activities and their development history to seek a path towards sustainable development [1]. Protecting resources and the environment and maintaining the coordinated development of ecosystems have been included as important policies in China’s development and have gradually attracted widespread attention from society. In December 2016, the China Packaging Federation issued the “China Packaging Industry Development Plan (2016-2020),” which identified green packaging, intelligent packaging, and safe packaging as the three major directions of the packaging industry [2]. The design of cultural and creative product packaging should consider the entire life cycle of the packaging, including a series of processes such as “design-manufacturing-packaging-logistics-use-recycling-reuse.” Therefore, this study integrates the display of cultural and creative product packaging throughout the entire process after the product enters the market, starting from the use’s perspective, taking into account the interests of both merchants and consumers, and proposes innovative design strategies for cultural and creative product packaging, striving to achieve the sustainability of cultural and creative product packaging.

2

The display aspect in cultural and creative product packaging design

The display design of products refers to the comprehensive classification of products through display and the marketing environment, with the aim of promoting product sales, thereby achieving the goal of promoting the sale of goods [3]. Due to the rapid development of commercialization in the market economy, the display of cultural and creative products has become an important business strategy for enterprises. Through the display of cultural and creative products, the brand image of enterprises is enhanced, effectively promoting sales behavior. Therefore, the display of cultural and creative products can effectively improve the marketing power of commercial space.

Packaging design and visual display should be two complementary parts, both of which are carried out on the basis of satisfying customer psychology and brand image. Consumer psychology is the ultimate market in marketing. Its consumption psychology is diverse and differentiated, which requires product packaging and display to cater to the multi-dimensional emotional needs of consumer groups, thereby meeting consumers’ expectations and psychological satisfaction, leading to the expected purchasing behavior [4]. In the packaging of cultural and creative products, by displaying cultural and creative products and brands, the added value of cultural and creative product packaging is increased to attract customers. It is necessary to not only visually capture the attention of users but also to capture the excitement and desire to purchase from the consumer psychology perspective.

3

Issues in the display process of cultural and creative product packaging

Due to a multitude of similar products in the market, merchants have gradually adopted a wider variety of packaging forms to highlight the uniqueness of cultural and creative products. In the marketplace, well-designed packaging for cultural and creative products can attract customers’ attention within a certain range. Therefore, in the final sales phase, to maximize the attraction of consumers’ attention, merchants employ various methods to enhance the display aspect of the packaging, aiming to draw consumers in. However, there are still many issues with the display process of a large number of cultural and creative product packaging.

3.1

High spatial occupancy rate in the display of cultural and creative product packaging

In the terminal sales phase of cultural and creative products, to enhance the attractiveness of the products, many items utilize display-oriented packaging. However, as an individual element in the packaging display, this type of packaging occupies a significant amount of space, leading to a relatively large overall packaging footprint. In comparison, the effectiveness of the packaging in showcasing the product is relatively weak. Even after the product is sold, this space remains occupied. To a certain extent, this display-oriented packaging increases the occupancy rate of spatial resources, as shown in Figure 1.

3.2

Low recycling and reusability rates of cultural and creative product packaging after display

Some cultural and creative product packaging in the market only considers the external transportation function of the packaging in terms of form and function, using it only for display and attraction during the product sales phase. Throughout the entire life cycle of the product, there is a lack of consideration for the sustainable extendibility after consumers bring the product home. The user experience of the packaging is limited to the sales phase, neglecting the consumer’s needs throughout the entire packaging usage chain. To attract customers’ attention, many merchants use various materials to repeatedly wrap the packaging, misleading consumers with false information and causing the problem of “over-packaging.” For example, some current cultural and creative cosmetic packaging (see Figure 2), to attract consumers’ attention and increase the purchase rate, merchants add a large area of additional packaging to the outside of the product, trying to improve the product’s delicacy but ignoring the actual function of the packaging.

There are also some packagings whose display is only for the terminal display phase. During use, they are prone to damage the packaging structure, affecting function and aesthetics. Most user groups, after opening the packaging, lose the value of the packaging and create a large amount of “use and discard” waste. For example, toothpaste packaging (see Figure 3), for most consumers, the packaging is not easy to open and has no value for preservation, lacking user experience. The packaging of products entering the market mainly involves the interests of both merchants and consumers [5]. In the sales phase, merchants try to attract consumers to generate purchasing behavior through the display effect of the packaging, thereby achieving product benefits. Consumers are tempted by external environments such as products and packaging to produce purchasing behavior, and the accessories of the products - packaging are also included in the consumption cost.

According to the aforementioned current situation analysis, it is known that the packaging occupies a large space in the market display phase; in the consumer use phase, the reusability is weak. Therefore, in response to these issues, the research proposes to analyze and explore user needs, introduce the SOR theory model, summarize the relationship between the market, product packaging, and consumers, and propose a sustainable development strategy.

4

Analysis of the relationship between cultural and creative product packaging and user behavior under the SOR model

4.1

User needs analysis

Needs give rise to behavior, and enduring needs and desires will drive users to engage in sustained actions. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, human needs are categorized from basic to advanced as physiological needs, safety needs, belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs. Only when the lower-level needs are satisfied can the higher-level needs emerge [6].

Under current social conditions, people’s choices of cultural and creative products are no longer limited to the product performance itself; the demand for additional services is increasingly growing. Consumers are willing to pay extra for cultural and creative products. Therefore, for merchants, the packaging of cultural and creative products should adapt to the current consumer context to achieve consumption upgrade [7], thereby obtaining profits; however, while increasing merchant profits, consumer rights should not be harmed. In product packaging design, it is necessary to start from a humanistic perspective, consider the actual needs of users, enhance the practical usability of packaging, and extend the packaging functions throughout the user’s use, improving the user experience. While meeting the basic functions of packaging, it is also important to achieve guidance on cultural value and sustainable participation, enhancing the aesthetics and sustainability of packaging. By adding value, the use cycle of packaging can be extended, alleviating environmental pressure. Sustainable product packaging display can attract consumer attention, increase the usage rate of packaging by consumers, and extend the demand cycle for packaging, realizing self-worth while meeting functional needs.

From the consumer’s perspective, products enter the market through packaging and mainly go through three stages: terminal sales, product use, and recycling, see Figure 4. In the terminal sales phase, the sustainability of packaging display mainly reflects in the packaging’s ability to effectively save public resources and reduce resource use during the overall sales process. During the use of packaging, it is manifested in the packaging’s continued display, which is valuable for preservation and repeated use. In the recycling of packaging, it is manifested in the packaging’s reusability and recyclability. Therefore, starting from the consumer’s perspective, the use scope of packaging should be extended, and the display of packaging should not be limited to the terminal sales phase; it should run through its entire lifecycle, thereby improving its utilization rate.

4.2

SOR model

Tolman’s “Stimulus-Organism-Response” (SOR) theory is a general model for human behavior; it places the user at the center, emphasizing that the “organism’s internal state,” or the individual’s internalized perception, plays a mediating role [8]. Therefore, based on the user needs and packaging sustainability analysis mentioned above, the SOR model is used to analyze and guide consumer demand, prompting consumer behavior to achieve the goal of sustainable packaging use. The SOR model has been applied to the analysis of consumer behavior in the retail industry since the 1980s, where S mainly refers to the internal and external environment, O refers to consumer emotional perception, and R includes both the consumer’s internal psychological responses (such as satisfaction) and external behavioral responses (such as approach and avoidance behaviors) [9].

4.3

Construction of the relationship model between cultural and creative product packaging and user behavior

This study conducted field investigations of cultural and creative product packaging in the market through interviews [10] and studied consumer psychological behaviors to obtain consumers’ acceptance psychology towards the packaging. A total of 345 typical users were randomly selected from different age groups for interview surveys. The survey results show that 82.8% of consumers do not keep the packaging after using the product, as shown in Figure 5; the main reason is that the packaging does not have the function of multiple uses and has no value for preservation, as shown in Figure 6. Therefore, the SOR model is applied to the sales process of product packaging display, analyzes consumer behavior, and sets the functional relationship of consumers facing cultural and creative product packaging, that is, S'→O'→R'. Where S’ mainly refers to the display in the terminal sales link, O’ refers to the perception of consumers in the use link, and R’ refers to the internal psychological response of consumers to the acceptance of product packaging and external behavioral response. It can be known that the appearance, convenience, and operability of packaging affect the user’s perception structure, thereby generating a satisfactory psychology and sustainable use behavior in users. The study selected two different packaging forms of the same type of product for consumer interviews. One is the ordinary market shoe packaging P1 (see Figure 7), and the other is the shoe packaging P2 with display and multi-functionality (see Figure 8). Under the same price, consumers are more likely to choose P2; when the price is increased, as long as the price range does not exceed 5% of the original price, consumers still choose P2. It can be seen that consumers are willing to pay for the added value of packaging and have the intention to use it sustainably. Therefore, the more attractive the appearance and function of the packaging, the stronger the user’s perception ability, the higher the satisfaction, and the stronger the intention to use it sustainably. Based on this, a theoretical model for packaging sustainability is constructed (see Figure 9), proposing to run the display throughout the entire life cycle of the packaging to extend its continuity.

4.4

Based on the improved analytic hierarchical process model construction

4.4.1

Design element hierarchy model construction

We have constructed a hierarchical model for the design elements of cultural and creative product packaging by integrating the findings from comprehensive surveys and interviews with established packaging design theories and practical design experiences. The elements have been meticulously selected based on the principles of scientific validity, applicability, and feasibility to form an elemental set. Key design elements have then been systematically organized into the criterion layer and sub-criterion layers, creating a more structured and coherent hierarchical model. This model aims to provide a clear framework for understanding and applying design elements in the packaging of cultural and creative products, as depicted in Figure 10.

Analytic hierarchical process is a method from the perspective of mathematical dimensionality reduction to identify comprehensive variables with design significance to replace subdivided variables and to inherit the information carried by the subdivided variables as much as possible. Its mathematical model can be expressed as $F = A P = \sum a_{i j} p_{i}$ $${\mathbf{F}} = {\mathbf{AP}} = \sum {a_{ij}}{p_i}$$, that is (1) $[\begin{matrix} F_{1} \\ F_{2} \\ F_{3} \\ F_{4} \end{matrix}] = [\begin{matrix} a_{11} & a_{12} & \dots & a_{1 n} \\ a_{21} & a_{22} & \dots & a_{2 n} \\ ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ \\ a_{m 1} & a_{m 2} & \dots & a_{m n} \end{matrix}] [\begin{matrix} p_{1} \\ p_{2} \\ ⋮ \\ p_{n} \end{matrix}]$ $$\left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {{F_1}} \\ {{F_2}} \\ {{F_3}} \\ {{F_4}} \end{array}} \right] = \left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {{a_{11}}}&{{a_{12}}}& \cdots &{{a_{1n}}} \\ {{a_{21}}}&{{a_{22}}}& \cdots &{{a_{2n}}} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\ {{a_{m1}}}&{{a_{m2}}}& \cdots &{{a_{mn}}} \end{array}} \right]\left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {{p_1}} \\ {{p_2}} \\ \vdots \\ {{p_n}} \end{array}} \right]$$

In the formula: F_j represents the j-th principal component, p_i represents the i-th design parameter (variable), a_ij represents the principal component coefficient, and the model meets the following conditions: (2) $C o v (F_{i}, F_{j}) = 0$ $$Cov({F_i},{F_j}) = 0$$ (3) $V a r (F_{i}) \geq V a r (F_{j}) (i \leq j)$ $$Var({F_i}) \ge Var({F_j})(i \le j)$$ (4) $\sum_{j = 1}^{n} a_{i j}^{2} = 1, (i = 1, 2, \dots, m)$ $$\mathop \sum \limits_{j = 1}^n a_{ij}^2 = 1,(i = 1,2, \cdots ,m)$$

Analytic hierarchical process for the conceptual design of cultural and creative product packaging takes the relevance of design parameters to the LC_pack design principles as sample data: (5) $X = [\begin{matrix} x_{11} & x_{12} & \dots & x_{1 p} \\ x_{21} & x_{22} & \dots & x_{2 p} \\ ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ \\ x_{n 1} & x_{n 2} & \dots & x_{n p} \end{matrix}]$ $${\mathbf{X}} = \left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {{x_{11}}}&{{x_{12}}}& \cdots &{{x_{1p}}} \\ {{x_{21}}}&{{x_{22}}}& \cdots &{{x_{2p}}} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\ {{x_{n1}}}&{{x_{n2}}}& \cdots &{{x_{np}}} \end{array}} \right]$$

In the formula: x_ij represents the relevance of design parameter i to the LC_pack design principle j, and the data is normalized for processing: (6) $x_{i j}^{*} = \frac{x_{i j} - {\bar{x}}_{j}}{\sqrt{V a r (x_{j})}} (i = 1, 2, \dots, n; j = 1, 2, \dots, p)$ $$x_{ij}^ * = \frac{{{x_{ij}} - {{\bar x}_j}}}{{\sqrt {Var({x_j})} }}(i = 1,2, \cdots ,n;j = 1,2, \cdots ,p)$$

Which, ${\bar{x}}_{j} = \frac{1}{n} \sum_{i = 1}^{n} x_{i j}$ $${\bar x_j} = \frac{1}{n}\mathop \sum \limits_{i = 1}^n {x_{ij}}$$, $V a r (x_{j}) = \frac{1}{n - 1} \sum_{i = 1}^{n} {(x_{i j} - {\bar{x}}_{j})}^{2}, (j = 1, 2, \dots, p)$ $$Var({x_j}) = \frac{1}{{n - 1}}\mathop \sum \limits_{i = 1}^n {({x_{ij}} - {\bar x_j})^2},(j = 1,2, \cdots ,p)$$

Calculating the sample correlation coefficient matrix (7) $R = [\begin{matrix} r_{11} & r_{12} & \dots & r_{1 p} \\ r_{21} & r_{22} & \dots & r_{2 p} \\ ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ & ⋮ \\ r_{p 1} & r_{p 2} & \dots & r_{p p} \end{matrix}]$ $${\mathbf{R}} = \left[ {\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {{r_{11}}}&{{r_{12}}}& \cdots &{{r_{1p}}} \\ {{r_{21}}}&{{r_{22}}}& \cdots &{{r_{2p}}} \\ \vdots & \vdots & \vdots & \vdots \\ {{r_{p1}}}&{{r_{p2}}}& \cdots &{{r_{pp}}} \end{array}} \right]$$

Which, $r_{i j} = \frac{1}{n - 1} \sum_{i = 1}^{n} x_{t i}^{*} x_{t j}^{*}, (i, j = 1, 2, \dots, p)$ $${r_{ij}} = \frac{1}{{n - 1}}\mathop \sum \limits_{i = 1}^n x_{ti}^ * x_{tj}^ * ,(i,j = 1,2, \cdots ,p)$$, calculating the eigenvalues (λ₁, λ₂⋯λ_p) and eigenvectors $a_{i} = [a_{i 1}, a_{i 2}, \dots a_{i p}], i = 1, 2, \dots p$ $${{\mathbf{a}}_{\mathbf{i}}} = \left[ {{a_{i1}},{a_{i2}}, \cdots {a_{ip}}} \right],i = 1,2, \cdots p$$ of matrix R.

4.4.2

Design element judgement matrix construction

The construction of a judgment matrix is fundamental to analyzing the weight and necessity of design elements, following scaling principles. Using a 3-point scale method, i.e., 0, 1, and 2, to build a comparative matrix, a sampling survey was conducted on customers who have purchased cultural and creative products and professional design students from the author’s field. A total of 20 individuals were selected from each group. Additionally, 5 front-line sales terminal staff members and 15 individuals aged 20 to 55 were randomly chosen. After quantifying and organizing the scale, a matrix array was formed for each indicator. Only the target layer and two criterion layers were selected for detailed data description. The quantitative comparison matrix construction is shown in Table 1.

Table 1.

Target layer matrix

A	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5	ri
B1	1	0	0	0	0	1
B2	2	1	2	0	2	7
B3	2	0	1	0	0	3
B4	2	2	2	1	2	9
B5	2	0	0	0	0	2

Based on the comparative matrix data mentioned, to calculate the judgment matrix A, where a_ij represents the element of the judgment matrix A at the i-th row and j-th column, and b is the ratio of r_max to r_min, the calculation formula can be expressed as: (8) $When r_{i} \geq r_{j}, α_{i j} = \frac{r_{i} - r_{j}}{r_{i \max} - r_{j \min}} \times (b - 1) + 1$ $${\text{When}}\;{r_i} \ge {r_j},{\alpha _{ij}} = \frac{{{r_i} - {r_j}}}{{{r_{i\max }} - {r_{j\min }}}} \times (b - 1) + 1$$ (9) $When r_{i} \leq r_{j}, α_{i j} = {[\frac{| r_{i} - r_{j} |}{r_{j \max} - r_{i \min}} \times (b - 1) + 1]}^{- 1}$ $${\text{When}}\;{r_i} \le {r_j},{\alpha _{ij}} = {\left[ {\frac{{\left| {{r_i} - {r_j}} \right|}}{{{r_{j\max }} - {r_{i\min }}}} \times (b - 1) + 1} \right]^{ - 1}}$$

We have implemented an algorithm that takes the average scale values from all individual judgment matrices to derive the comprehensive expert judgment matrix A'. The construction of matrix A’ is presented in Table 2, where m represents the number of experts, and n denotes the number of elements being evaluated.

Table 2.

Improved judgment matrix construction

A'	A'₁	A'₂	…	A'_n
A'₁	[α₁₁₍₁₎+α₁₁₍₂₎+…+α_11(m)]/m	[α₁₂₍₁₎+α₁₂₍₂₎+…+α_12(m)]/m	…	[α_1n(1)+α_1n(2)+…+α_1n(m)]/m
A'₂	[α₂₁₍₁₎+α₂₁₍₂₎+…+α_21(m)]/m	[α₂₂₍₁₎+α₂₂₍₂₎+…+α_22(m)]/m	…	[α_2n(1)+α_2n(2)+…+α_2n(m)]/m
…	…	…	…	…
A'_n	[α_n1(1)+α_n1(2)+…+α_n1(m)]/m	[α_n2(1)+α_n2(2)+…+α_n2(m)]/m	…	[α_nn(1)+α_nn(2)+…+α_nn(m)]/m

To minimize the impact of decision-makers’ subjectivity on the results and introduce a significant error, the Consistency Ratio (CR) is defined for consistency testing [11]. The calculation formula for CR is as follows: (10) $C R = \frac{λ_{\max} - n}{(n - 1) R I}$ $$CR = \frac{{{\lambda _{\max }} - n}}{{(n - 1)RI}}$$

In the formula presented: λ_max denotes the maximum eigenvalue of the matrix; n signifies the order of the matrix; RI stands for the Random Index, a value that is determined on the basis of randomness. The numerical values for RI corresponding to various orders can be referenced in Table 3.

Table 3.

Average random consistency index (RI)

n	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
RI	0	0	0.52	0.89	1.12	1.26	1.36	1.41	1.46	1.49	1.52	1.54

Following the computational execution of the code, the resultant analysis of the judgment matrix is delineated in Table 4. The calculated Consistency Ratios (CR) for the judgment matrices across all hierarchical levels are found to be less than 1.0, substantiating the successful fulfillment of the consistency verification.

Table 4.

Consistency test results

Item	A	B1	B2	B3	B4	B5
RI	1.26	1.26	0.89	1.26	0.89	1.26
λ_max	6.00	6.13	4.17	6.19	4.13	6.06
CR	0.00	0.02	0.07	0.03	0.05	0.01

4.4.3

Design element weight coefficient calculation and ranking.

This paper employs the entropy method for the calculation of indicator weights to enhance data objectivity. The judgment matrix H is constructed for the computation of entropy values and the determination of the weight vector, where the calculation formulas for the entropy values of each factor indicator are shown in Equations (11) and (12), and the results of weight calculation and ranking are presented in Table 5. (11) $H = R^{T} = {(r_{i j})}_{m \times n} = {(h_{i j})}_{m \times n}$ $${\mathbf{H}} = {R^T} = {({{\mathbf{r}}_{ij}})_{m \times n}} = {({{\mathbf{h}}_{ij}})_{m \times n}}$$ (12) $e_{j} = - \frac{1}{I n m} \sum_{i = 1}^{m} h_{i j} I n h_{i j} = - \frac{1}{I n m} \sum_{i = 1}^{m} r_{j i} I n r_{j i} (j = 1, 2, \dots, n)$ $${e_j} = - \frac{1}{{{\rm In}m}}\mathop \sum \limits_{i = 1}^m {h_{ij}}{\rm In}{h_{ij}} = - \frac{1}{{{\rm In}m}}\mathop \sum \limits_{i = 1}^m {r_{ji}}{\rm In}{r_{ji}}(j = 1,2, \cdots ,n)$$

Table 5.

Design element weight calculation results and ranking

Criterion Layer	Ranking	Criterion Layer Weight	Sub-Criterion Layer	Sub-Criterion Layer Weight	Overall Weight	Ranking
B₁	1	0.324	C₁	0.146	0.053	4
			C₂	0.143	0.044	10
			C₃	0.204	0.066	1
			C₄	0.185	0.058	2
			C₅	0.183	0.056	3
			C₆	0.139	0.047	7
B₂	5	0.123	C₇	0.316	0.039	13
			C₈	0.229	0.028	21
			C₉	0.227	0.028	21
			C₁₀	0.228	0.028	21
B₃	2	0.198	C₁₁	0.173	0.034	16
			C₁₂	0.142	0.028	20
			C₁₃	0.169	0.033	17
			C₁₄	0.221	0.042	12
			C₁₅	0.155	0.031	18
			C₁₆	0.140	0.030	19
B₄	4	0.175	C₁₇	0.227	0.038	14
			C₁₈	0.214	0.037	15
			C₁₉	0.315	0.049	6
			C₂₀	0.244	0.051	5
B₅	3	0.180	C₂₁	0.142	0.046	8
			C₂₂	0.302	0.047	7
			C₂₃	0.139	0.042	11
			C₂₄	0.149	0.045	9

In the formula: e_j represents the weight vector, m and n denote the total number of rows and columns, respectively, i and j indicate the i-th row and j-th column, r is the original matrix vector, and h is the normalized matrix vector.

5

SOR model-based sustainable design methods for the display of cultural and creative product packaging

Environmental issues have gradually attracted the attention of all sectors of society, and the concept of green design has been proposed accordingly, which is also a requirement of the sustainable development strategy. The famous American design theorist Victor Papanek, in his book “Design for the Real World,” emphasized the social and ethical value of designers. He pointed out that the greatest role of design is to become an appropriate element of the social change process, to consider the use of limited Earth resources, and to commit to protecting the Earth’s ecology. Sustainable packaging design, also known as green packaging design, is an important part of green design, which refers to packaging design that is harmless to the ecological environment and human health, can be reused and recycled, and conforms to the concept of sustainable development [12].

5.1

Integration of cultural and creative products and packaging in the terminal sales link

Product display is one of the last opportunities to promote terminal sales, enhancing the product’s attractiveness to consumers from both internal and external environments, highlighting the product’s series and uniqueness, and inducing consumers to generate consumption behavior with a unified vision. Based on consumers’ psychological needs, starting from the high level of needs, from an aesthetic perspective, by artistically processing the product’s external environment, to seek greater benefits [13]. Good product display has a visual guiding effect on customers, allowing them to quickly gather around the product in a short time; it can also improve the image of the company’s products and brand. Therefore, when the product enters the terminal sales market, its overall display is the key to stimulating consumers. In general markets, the display of products and packaging itself is separated, increasing the product’s spatial occupancy rate and waste rate. Therefore, in the design, if the product’s outer packaging and display display are integrated into the design, it can achieve the green design concept of sustainable development. For example, after customers purchase toothpaste, the general behavior is to open the product packaging bag and discard the outer packaging bag along with the toothpaste shell. The inner and outer packaging of the toothpaste has no actual value for customers, but it consumes a lot of energy and generates a lot of unnecessary pollution. In view of such situations, in order to save resources, Coolpaste has improved the packaging design of toothpaste (see Figure 11), considering the product’s display method and spatial occupancy area. By omitting the outer packaging, abandoning the traditional stacking form, and combining the inner and outer shells into one, it becomes a hanging display; this not only meets the display of the product in the sales link but also saves space and reduces the waste rate of packaging. In terms of materials, this design uses recyclable, biodegradable plant fiber materials to avoid environmental pollution that may be caused after use.

5.2

Packaging aesthetics and cultural expression in the user experience phase

Once the product packaging has been presented to consumers through the sales process, its preservation largely depends on the aesthetic design of the packaging itself. Exquisite packaging design can instill a sense of collection psychology in consumers. If the packaging maintains its aesthetic appeal during use, it can increase the likelihood of consumers reusing it, achieving the goal of multiple usages. Incorporating cultural expression into the packaging can significantly expand its added value [14], adding value to the brand and, to some extent, evoking emotional resonance among consumers, thereby increasing its collectible and preservation value.

5.2.1

Enhancing cultural communication in graphic representation

Typically, graphics are more attractive than text. In the visual representation of packaging, starting from the graphic perspective and integrating the storytelling of the product and brand culture can enhance the packaging’s aesthetic display and its value for preservation. For example, the Hubei Shiyan Huanxiang Tea Tea Industry (Young Consumer) Series (see Figure 12). This series is inspired by “The Next Generation” and uses tea to reminisce about the regional culture of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, recreating life scenarios centered around cultural changes, era shifts, and humanistic sentiments, presenting the real lives of three generations. Therefore, culture needs to be passed down, and traditional cultural concepts should be injected into the product packaging to attract and guide customers.

5.2.2

Enhancing cultural communication through color use

In packaging design, color is one of the most influential elements. Consumers can easily identify a particular packaging or other characteristics by its color [15]. The strong visual impact of color can attract consumers to quickly pay attention to it, thereby understanding its detailed information. Therefore, infusing color with traditional culture and corporate elements allows the product to stand out in the complex retail environment. This can enhance consumers’ visual perception, transform into emotional perception, and thus lead to purchasing behavior. After use, it can also lead to storage and multi-use sustainable behavior.

5.3

Multifunctional transformation of packaging in the recycling and reuse phase

After the product is used, the packaging often loses its value and is typically discarded. To improve this “use and discard” lifestyle concept, from the perspective of sustainable development, considering the functional requirements of packaging [16], enhance the reusability of packaging after use, increase the utilization rate of packaging, and reduce the waste rate after use. By transforming the structure of the packaging, multifunctional use and post-use display can be achieved, enhancing users’ cognitive perception during the use process, thereby promoting user satisfaction and triggering sustainable use behavior, and achieving the reuse of packaging. For example, the packaging of organic rice from Thailand - SRISANGDAO rice, see Figure 13. This packaging material uses the material left after the natural husking of rice, playing an environmental role [17]. The outer box packaging is made by die-cutting, with a rice-shaped and rice panicle embossing on the box cover, and the sides are decorated with line embossing. The logo design is simple and clear, with a base tone of straw and simple embossing design, making the packaging simple but not monotonous. The unique texture adds style and conveys an environmental concept. It perfectly presents the visual effect of the product. The ingenious design of the outer packaging interprets the concept of environmental protection and practicality to the extreme. In addition, this packaging can be used in another way. After its first function is used, it can also achieve the second function (reused as a tissue box). The opening design of the tissue box is in the shape of rice grains, achieving the purpose of product display again, increasing the product’s publicity in a novel way, and using the packaging to form a “re-display” and “re-use” sustainability.

Through the aforementioned design methods, considering the various stages of packaging entering the market circulation, the display effect of packaging in each link is highlighted, which can increase the variable values of S’ and O', enhance their functional effects, and take the user as the center, considering their experience in each link. This approach promotes the generation of consumer behavior and environmental awareness, couples with China’s green development strategy, raises national consciousness, and takes the path of sustainable development in packaging design.

6

Design practice

Some cultural and creative cosmetics companies in the market, in order to improve consumers’ expectations and enhance the appeal of products, have excessively packaged their products in multiple layers, passing the cost on to consumers. This not only wastes resources but also increases the burden on consumers and causes environmental pollution. In response to this phenomenon, the State Administration for Market Regulation has issued a new mandatory national standard “Requirements for the Restriction of Excessive Packaging of Commodities for Food and Cosmetics,” which sets a two-year transition period and will officially come into effect on September 1, 2023 [18]. Based on this, this paper takes lipstick packaging as an example for design case study.

6.1

Structural design of cultural and creative product packaging

Through market research, it is found that most female users have a dependency on lipstick packaging and hope that the product has display characteristics. In shopping malls, lipstick displays are mostly in the form of counters, with products and packaging separated. Therefore, the traditional cap-and-cover paper box structure has been changed in terms of packaging structure. The traditional cap-and-cover box structure has complete coverage of the product, with less product display, and is inconvenient for storage and retrieval. Therefore, a separate structure is adopted, and after the packaging is opened, the exhibit is completely exposed. In the case of multiple lipsticks, the products can be stacked for display. While meeting the basic functions of packaging, its usability is expanded, and it is used as a display rack. Saving space while also having display characteristics reduces the additional consumption generated by consumers after purchasing lipsticks (lipstick display racks), meeting the needs of both merchants and consumers, see Figures 14-15.

6.2

Aesthetic presentation of cultural and creative product packaging

In terms of aesthetic design, the packaging integrates traditional cultural elements, with colors corresponding to the lipstick shades. Taking Dunhuang culture as an example, the packaging exterior incorporates the illustrative style elements of Dunhuang. Focusing primarily on the Dunhuang murals from the Tang Dynasty, the original murals have been recreated and translated, as shown in Figure 16. The illustrations are combined with the packaging structure, placing the main three-dimensional display around the central image on the packaging cover, as shown in Figures 17-18. In terms of color application, red is used as the primary color to highlight the lipstick’s color attributes; complemented by gold lines, it conveys the magnificence and spirit of the Tang Dynasty. The lotus and halo in the background highlight the status of the figures, and the overall style expresses the free and unrestrained characteristics of the Tang Dynasty, conveying the Dunhuang culture of that period to consumers. This serves as both a marketing highlight and a cultural transmission.

7

Conclusion

The green design of cultural and creative product packaging is in harmony with current environmental protection strategies. This paper, while conforming to the background of the times, uses the SOR theoretical model to start from the user’s perspective and, through experimental research, comprehends consumer needs to obtain the variable relationships under S', O', and R'. It concludes that the display of cultural and creative product packaging must meet the interests of both consumers and businesses. The greater the stimulation of packaging appearance and functionality, the stronger the consumer perception, and the higher the possibility of sustainable use. Therefore, by extending the sustainability of cultural and creative product packaging throughout its entire life cycle, its utility can be enhanced, achieving the goal of sustainable development, thus saving resources and building an environmentally friendly society.

Language:: English

Publication timeframe:: 1 times per year
Journal Subjects:: Life Sciences, Life Sciences, other, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, General Mathematics, Physics, Physics, other

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Research on the Show-Oriented Sustainable Design of Cultural and Creative Product Packaging Based on the SOR Model

Meina Tang

Hongbo Ge

Lan Sheng

Published Online: Feb 27, 2025

Received: Oct 05, 2024

Accepted: Jan 27, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2025-0091

KeywordsCultural and Creative Product Packaging Design, Sustainable Development, Green Design, User Needs

© 2025 Meina Tang et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Cultural and Creative Product Packaging Design, Sustainable Development, Green Design, User Needs