The 6 Benefits Of Good Packaging Design
Many manufacturers think that their product and its performance are the most critical aspects of their brand. They don’t appreciate that a compelling packaging design can also play a vital role in their sales. It’s simple: humans are far more attracted to beauty than functionality. If your brand can speak to them with a personality, all the better. Look at how Apple brands its products and packaging.
Packaging should be theatre; it should create a story because it is this story that shapes our emotional connection to a product.
Steve Jobs (Co-founder, chairman and CEO of Apple)
Customers will judge your packaging by how it looks on the shelf. It must have a hook to get them to investigate further and pick it up. If they do and the packaging has done its job, the benefits will be as follows:
- Shelf standout and increased social media attention (such as unboxing videos)
- Brand reinforcement will aid memory recall
- Quality by association. If it has high-quality packaging, the product must be of high-quality also
- It will protect your products, and if it’s eco-friendly, save the world as well
- It will create an emotional connection with your customers and increase their loyalty
- If it’s part of a range, it will appeal to completists
You Only Have Seven Seconds To Make A Strong Statement
It only takes a consumer seven seconds to decide to buy your product. However, we interact with packaging daily, be it canned, wrapped, boxed or bottled. Our interaction with this packaging, if executed well, gives us all a tactile and emotional connection with the brand that created it. So it’s worth spending the time, money and research to design a compelling packaging design. Although your window of opportunity to convince a consumer is small, every aspect of your packaging should persuade a customer to purchase it.
Something to consider if you have a range of products is that too much choice may work against you. Consumers like to make quick decisions and get on with their day. If your range is extensive, they may become overwhelmed at all the options, much like a rabbit dazzled by headlights. Your customer might then turn to a competitor for a simple and clear option with a reduced range.
Customers will judge a book by its cover. However, we can’t help looking at the words, images and textures used in a piece of packaging and from an opinion. Your packaging design will determine if a customer picks it up and interacts with it or continues scanning the shelf for a competitor. The decision to make the purchase is subconscious in 90% of cases. Therefore, the first impression has to impress and convince.
Effective Packaging Will Raise Brand Visibility And Customer Interest
Creative branding and packaging design will give your product a super “shelf presence”. Effective packaging is attractive and exciting and will stand out from its competitors. In addition, Unique Selling Points should be communicated in a beneficial way to your customers. For example, as with Apple’s iPod, don’t tell customers the storage capacity of your product, instead, say you can have 1,000 songs in your pocket. This kind of benefit first approach will encourage customers to choose your product over your competitors. After all, at certain points, we all ask ourselves, “what’s in it for me?”.
Packaging is your silent sales person
Geoff Hocking (Breathe Creative)
Stand Out Using Colour
There are several ways to make your packaging stand out. Let’s go over them.
- Consider choosing a vibrant overall colour. Obviously, this has to be a colour different from your competition. If your competitors are using blue, you should use orange. If they use yellow, you should use purple and so on. However, if all your competitors are using vibrant colours, there’s an argument for going white or black.
- Consider fluorescent colours or special finishes like making it transparent or metallic or playing around with unusual or textured papers and boards.
- A plain white pack with just a bold stripe of colour is also an intelligent way to go. If this is vertical and your packaging is stacked vertically, this will create a bold statement. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s in contrast to your competition. Your packaging should say “look at me, I’m different”, not “me too”.
Stand Out Using Photos Or Illustrations
Imagery, whether it’s bold and graphical or light, soft and airy, is an effective way to create an emotional connection. Especially if it has some wit in what it depicts or shows human emotion. Simple images usually work best unless your product wants to create an over-embellished feel, like chocolate or high-end spirits might do.
If your preference is for an illustration route, making it a bit quirky will help it stand out. Here, I’m thinking of brands such as Monty Bojangles, Montezuma’s and William Whistle. Why not check them out for some inspiration?
Tone Of Voice And Typography
Your brand’s tone of voice is a very effective way to attract customers. Innocent Drinks are past masters at this, the small drink with big aspirations. Always natural, always trying to save the planet. If your messaging is consistent and is not just talk but followed through with action, this will create a powerful influence over your customers.
THIS ISN’T MEAT food packaging, designed by Johnson Banks, is a terrific example of solid typography and simple, clear messaging. As newcomers, they have already made remarkable headway in a market that’s already ultra-competitive. They are a perfect example of having a simple, clever idea, executing it well and cutting out a sizable share of the market for themselves.
If you make a statement on your packaging, you must be able to back it up with your actions. Your brand must transcend from just making promises to delivering on them.
How Can I Attract More Social Media Attention?
If you have an unusually shaped pack or your packaging has been designed with a sense of theatre, social media will pick up on it. Unboxing videos of products are still popular, I think this is due to the pass-the-parcel aspect of anticipation and final surprise reveal, much like a prospector finally finding gold.
Apple does this well, as do high-end watch brands. It is tantalising to strip away layers until the final product is unveiled. At this stage, there is so much excitement. Who has the time to read a boring manual? This all makes excellent YouTube and Instagram content.
The Need For Emotion and Ecofriendliness
Today, a simple pack that communicates clearly is not enough. When consumers are faced with a wall of packaging in a retail environment, a well-designed pack must be a mini advert for that product. The packaging must now inspire an emotional response as well as a rational one. It must reflect your brand’s value and personality in a positive light.
Look at how successful Innocent has been and the amount of brand personality they inject into everything they do. They don’t just preach. They practice. Innocent have healthy ingredients and recycled packaging and are saving the earth one drink at a time. Now consumers want to be seen as more environmentally friendly. This gives Innocent a point of difference and a loyal following.
To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things-products, packaging, and systems-from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist,
William McDonough
Ensure It Can Be Recycled And Its Ingredients Are Good
The need for environmentally friendly packaging cannot be ignored. Recyclability has become of increasingly critical importance to consumers. Therefore, all packaging producers must take on social responsibility. Reducing the use of planet-harming construction materials has become a necessity.
Even the pack’s contents and ingredients put off some customers if it isn’t to their taste. For example, do you use too much sugar or salt? Is it made from too much plastic that can’t be recycled? Does it contain too many additives? Is the product you are producing of excellent quality for its price point?
Does the pack include everything it says it does, or will the customer need to call your helpline to track down a part? I don’t know about you, but if I look at the ingredients of a food pack and it’s a very long list, I don’t buy it. If I buy a product and it’s missing bits, I take it back and won’t buy from that company again. These things matter to consumers, and they vote with their feet.
All these things need to be right to increase your sales, and your brand needs to ring true with its audience.
What Can I Do To Ensure My Product Pops Into A Customer’s Mind First?
Being at the forefront of a customer’s mind is a slow burn. It takes time and consistency. Having effective messaging and imagery is only half the battle. You have to be really consistent with it. By this, I mean to keep the same tone of voice but change how you deliver your message and imagery.
If It Has Great Quality Packaging, You Know The Product Must Be Good
We all have expectations and judge a book by its cover. Try as we might break these habits. But, unfortunately, they aren’t going away anytime soon. While dining, we usually expect a knife and fork. When attending a cinema, we hope to be given a seat (no matter how uncomfortable).
If your packaging has a high-quality feel, customers expect high-quality content. Go against these expectations at your peril. You cannot ever break the bond of trust with your customer. If you do, expect to eat a large portion of humble pie on social media. However, if, like Apple, you create a brilliant product and have great packaging, the rewards will be plentiful.
With a little more tweaking, we could make orange juice in the orange without any packaging or processing
Homaro Cantu
How Good Packaging Can Help Define Your Brand Identity
Ideally, your packaging should make clear what kind of brand you are. The packaging is responsible for your product’s first impression. It also needs to consistently reflect your brand’s identity. For example, if you’re an all-natural organics brand, your packaging should utilise earthy colours and eco-friendly packaging. This will not only stay in line with your brand identity but also serve as a demonstration of it. Customers will be more likely to remember the brand message if it is consistent. And give them confidence and familiarity as they explore your website and social media. Especially if your messaging and imagery are consistent. Additionally, easy recognition encourages customer loyalty, increasing sales over time. See the case study above for how this can be achieved.
Breathe Creative Will Design A Winning Combination Of Aesthetics And functionality For Your Packaging
While the aesthetics of your brand’s packaging design should be the focal point, superior functionality also counts. Customers must receive well-packaged products, as products not packaged well are perceived as cheap and inferior and may become a customer service nightmare. Ideally, your product packaging should fulfil the essential requirement of protecting your product without sacrificing aesthetics. This will allow your customers to feel like you’ve taken special care to ensure they receive only the highest quality items from your brand.
Successful packaging design is more than just placing your products in a box. It’s forging an emotional connection between your brand and the consumer. Do this well, and your brand will rise to the top.
Thanks for reading.
Photo by Kelli McClintock on Unsplash