Designing for People and Place A Case Study of Packaging Development for Local Winemakers in Lower Silesia

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dc.abstract.enThis paper presents a qualitative case study of packaging development with local winemakers in Lower Silesia, an emerging wine region in Poland. The study conceptualizes packaging as an integral component of local wine value chains—a coordination mechanismthat reduces information asymmetry, lowers consumer search and interpretation costs, and supports disintermediation in direct-to-consumer channels. Using a design-led participatory approach, the study documents a collaborative process involving designers and small-scale producers through workshops, interviews, and iterative prototyping. Five recurring communication strategies are identified—people-centered, place-based, cultural, character-based, and semantically open—interpreted as distinct signaling and coordination mechanisms within the value chain. These strategies enable producers to build credibility, communicate origin, and differentiate products despite structural constraints of small production scale and limited institutionalized reputation. Although systematic quantitative performance data are unavailable due to the predominance of direct sales, the study documents widespread adoption of packaging solutions and provides qualitative evidence of their role in market positioning. The paper contributesto wine economics by conceptualizing packaging as a mechanism of value coordination and adaptation in emerging wine regions.
dc.affiliationInstitute of Psychology
dc.affiliationInstitute of Design
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorWszołek, Mariusz
dc.contributor.authorGąsiorowska, Agata
dc.date.access2026-05-04
dc.date.accessioned2026-05-04T07:40:20Z
dc.date.available2026-05-04T07:40:20Z
dc.date.created2026-04-22
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>This paper presents an in-depth case study of a packaging development process carried out with local winemakers in Lower Silesia, an emerging wine region in Poland. The study examines packaging not only as a branding or communication tool, but as an integral component of local wine value chains, shaping how value is created, communicated, and captured under conditions of structural change in the wine sector. Using a design-led and participatory research approach [1,2], the paper documents a collaborative process involving designers and small-scale wine producers, including workshops, interviews, and iterative prototyping. The analysis focuses on how packaging choices are shaped by producers’ economic constraints, sustainability considerations, market positioning, and attachment to place. The findings show that packaging development supports the transformation of local wine value chains by strengthening place-based differentiation [3,4], facilitating direct-to-consumer communication, and enabling adaptive strategies oriented toward local markets rather than scale-driven competition. By integrating design processes into wine value chain analysis, the paper contributes to wine economics and policy debates by highlighting packaging as an underexplored, yet policy-relevant, mechanism for supporting resilient and locally embedded wine sectors.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimebefore_publication
dc.description.physical1-27
dc.description.sdgResponsibleConsumptionAndProduction
dc.description.sdgDecentWorkAndEconomicGrowth
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.identifier.doi10.36253/wep-19773
dc.identifier.eissn2212-9774
dc.identifier.issn2213-3968
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2324
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/19773
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.pbn.affiliationnauki o komunikacji społecznej i mediach
dc.rightsCC-BY
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enWine value chains
dc.subject.enpackaging design
dc.subject.enlocal winemakers
dc.subject.enplace-based value creation
dc.subject.enregional development
dc.subject.ensustainability
dc.subject.enValue Chain
dc.subject.enwine
dc.subject.enwine packaging
dc.subject.enLocal wines
dc.swps.sciencecloudnosend
dc.titleDesigning for People and Place A Case Study of Packaging Development for Local Winemakers in Lower Silesia
dc.title.journalWine Economics and Policy
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle