I created a set of visual elements designed to evoke the flavors, textures, and other sensory attributes of different Ritter Sport chocolate varieties. I then wrote a Javascript program that selects and combines components from that set of elements based on whatever sensory data the user plugs in, generating compositions for the faces of Ritter Sport chocolate bar wrappers that reflect distinct flavor profiles while cohering aesthetically with other wrappers created by the generator for the collection. The packages’ gridded format emphasizes Ritter Sport’s iconic square shape and plays into the refined, pragmatic ethos of the brand’s tagline, “Quality. Chocolate. Squared.”
Typefaces used: Futura PT (Paratype)
A Google spreadsheet served as my CMS (content management system), feeding into my program and dictating which attributes to generate for each wrapper. Some data points influence the package design more than others; for instance, flavor profile establishes color because flavor (e.g. strawberry, peppermint) has the biggest impact on the overall character of the chocolate bar, and color is one of the most prominent differentiators in humans’ visual perceptual processing.
The benefit of creating a generative system like this one is the ability to design on-brand packaging automatically, by simply plugging in raw data. In seconds, I can generate the wrapper for a new bar that is not currently in the actual Ritter Sport collection but that I would love to see produced: a lavender and cardamom flavored dark chocolate.