The right building blocks - how automation can save any brand from costly mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes, even a brand as globally recognizable as LEGO. When we saw this tweet about a slip on one of their recent packages, it struck us as odd.

Human error always has a way of creeping into any traditional packaging design process, even with the very best graphic designers at your disposal. (which LEGO has – we have some big fans here at the office!)

With so many different sets being released every year, perhaps a detail was overlooked, forgotten or mistakenly omitted. Something as simple as a symbol, character or serial code can be incorrectly selected, even with a thorough proofing process. In this case, I bet the designer simply copied the template from one set to make the other, and unfortunately didn’t remember to change something as simple as a number.

Not pointing fingers here. Things like these happen every day. But there’s a way to avoid this.

Automation and templatization as building blocks

Much like the playful bricks that have helped abovementioned company become a worldwide phenomenon, any packaging design process is all about finding the right building blocks for the job. It’s about creating a connection in the most simplified and rewarding way. A brand as vast as LEGO is most likely using some form of PIM (product information management) system that stores all product information. Why not leverage the data into smart, dynamic templates to make better use of all the information at hand?

CHILI publisher is the perfect tool to seamlessly integrate into such a store of data and make human errors in packaging a thing of the past. From small independent businesses to some of the biggest brands on the planet, we’ve helped them reduce costs and completely remove the chance for any awkward packaging errors slipping through the design net thanks to variable data printing.

Re-energizing the design flow, brick by brick

By introducing CHILI publisher to any packaging workflow, brands wouldn’t just be avoiding costly mistakes, but completely reinvigorating how they approach the design process. It would likely reduce the publication time for each new iteration for the same style of product. With the relevant branding and data already uploaded to the PIM system, designers can almost instantaneously generate templates with the correct information already updated. Quickly updating an existing packaging or getting a new packaging to market would be child’s play. (pun intended, but no judgement, I’m a grown man who loves his LEGO.)

And just to be clear. By no means is CHILI publisher taking away the role of the designer. Technology should serve a higher purpose - enhancing creativity and productivity. Design automation may not make creativity more robotic. I see it as the supporting immune system; helping people fight off inevitable bugs, revitalizing their creative potential. Automating the rigmarole of the packaging process, frees up more time for those unique ideas that have made the designs like the ones from LEGO the foundations of past and generations to come.

Let’s keep whipping out the manual, rearrange our building blocks and start playing towards a more imaginative world. One building brick at the time.