WK 6 Material culture: Everyday life

I am a sucker for pretty designs and beautiful packaging. I love seeing that somebody took their time and effort and designed an eye-catching logo, drawing, box or whatever. So, when it comes to shopping, my eyes wander and always land on a product with a nice-looking packaging and I always get a sudden urge to buy it just because it looks pretty. The truth is, I am not that irresponsible, I tend to think about if I really need that product or am I going to be able to afford it AND survive another week in the city, or simply starve because I bought it. But, again, we all have our weaknesses and sometimes I do buy stuff without thinking things through.

When I look back and think about the product I bought only because of its packaging, the first thing I remember is the Monster energy Mango Loco. The first time I saw it I fell in love with the design: a light blue can with the orange Monster energy logo and one sugar skull on both sides of it, and on the back of the can a funny and interesting short text. Whenever I see a skull or a skeleton on something, I need to have it. So, I decided I would buy it and was actually surprised because I liked the taste very much, so it wasn’t a waste of money after all.   

Another thing I tend to do is buy comics impulsively. Thanks to my dad, I became a Dylan Dog comics lover, since he introduced me to them when I was younger. Now, every time I see one in a store, I buy it, even though I have a ton of them I haven’t had the time to read yet. The designs of the front pages always catch my eye, as they are horror-ish and interestingly looking. Sometimes a front page has a drawing of a skeleton (skeletons once again!), which draws me into buying the comic.

One thing I always need to have in my fridge is a fruit yogurt. I can’t resist the pretty packaging and how juicy and wonderful the fruit on the picture looks. These packages always have soft and light colors and look kind of pure and refreshing. I don’t feel like having fruit yogurts all the time, actually it rarely occurs that I really want them. Seems to me that I just like having them because of how they look.

Now, when I think about the Laura Oswald’s quote “Consumers shop for meaning, not stuff”, I can see that even I seem to do so. Me and everyone else. We tend to focus on the colors, shapes, symbols and logos on the packaging and on the meaning, which is presented behind it, instead of the need for the actual product.