Nike’s Global
Football Division is using Esko’s Studio for its packaging
design, leading to considerable improvements in user-experience, concept
communication and time-savings. Esko showcased details of the partnership at
Adobe MAX (18-20 October 2017), the annual event held by Adobe Systems for the
computer design and development industries.
Nike was seeking a
tool that was compatible with Adobe Illustrator and could save time in creating
high quality 3D design images. Esko’s Studio, a unique set of tools for 3D
packaging design made specifically for packaging artwork professionals, has led
to significantly improved efficiency for Nike, with over 80% time saved on
creating high quality 3D images. It has also seen an increase in team
productivity and collaboration.
“I realized very
quickly that Esko had figured it out – this is something I have needed over the
last 10 years,” said Matt Maghan, Global Apparel and EQ Packaging Designer,
Nike. “We definitely save time and it has brought a significant increase in our
productivity. Something that would have taken two, three or four hours of Photoshop®
work, only takes about 10 minutes.”
Seamless link with Adobe, including Creative
Cloud 2018
Studio is a
modular solution, a mix of plug-ins and applications that work tightly together
and integrate seamlessly with essential design tools like Adobe Illustrator.
Adobe has recently launched Creative Cloud 2018, with new Illustrator,
Photoshop, InDesign and more. Esko has subsequently released new versions of
all its plug-ins to support Adobe’s new version of Creative Cloud. All of
Esko’s Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator plugins – including Studio – are now
completely compatible with the new version, helping designers to accelerate
their packaging design.
Studio even has
support for complex multi-piece structures from Esko’s ArtiosCAD – the world’s
most popular structural design software for packaging design – enabling users
to place structural design files from ArtiosCAD or from one of the Studio
Toolkits.
Giving designers time to focus on what
matters
Studio takes care
of the technical aspects of packaging, including bar codes, nutrition tables
and so on, so that packaging designers can focus on what matters most to them –
the creative aspects. It does so in a way that is very intuitive and
user-friendly.
“There is not a
large learning curve with Studio,” said Matt, “especially when you already know
Illustrator. I picked it up probably within an hour. What I really enjoyed is
the Studio part of it, building the package. In my work, I don’t just deal with
one sheet of paper that folds up into a box, they all have trays, lids and
everything. So I go into Illustrator, build out my ArtiosCAD files, and build
them in Studio, which I always find fun to be hands on with it, then load that
into Illustrator. I can show my clients my ideas very clearly.”
Studio is a fast
and easy way to turn ideas into 3D images, whether for inspiration in the
design process, to impress internal clients, or to help make key decisions more
quickly. “Being able to build those scenes of what exactly I am looking for and
then import that back into Illustrator using my flat die-line art has probably
been the biggest game-changer for me,” said Matt.
Packaging
Simplified. Esko helps its customers to make the best packaging for billions of
consumers.
Headquartered in
Gent (Belgium) with sales and service organization all over the globe, the Esko
product portfolio supports and manages the packaging and print processes for
brand owners, retailers, designers, premedia and trade shops, packaging
manufacturers, and converters. For 9 out of 10 retail packages, Esko solutions
are used in packaging management, asset management, artwork creation,
structural design, prepress, 3D visualization, flexo plate making, workflow
automation, quality assurance, sample-making, palletization, supply chain
collaboration and/or the production of signage and displays.
The Esko solutions
consist of an extensive suite of software and two hardware product lines: CDI
flexo computer-to-plate imagers and exposure units as well as Kongsberg digital
cutting systems, complemented with professional services, training and consultancy.
Enfocus, with its suite of automation solutions and PDF quality control tools
for printers, publishers, and graphic designers, is an Esko subsidiary.
MediaBeacon, with its digital asset management (DAM) solutions is also part of
the Esko family.
