3 Keys to Successful Packaging Design

Packaging design is one of the most effective ways to market a product. That’s because it’s the customer’s first three-dimensional impression of your brand and the marketing material she interacts with the most at home. She holds it, uses it and develops a connection with your product through its packaging design.

As packaging design plays such a key role in a customer’s relationship with your brand, it is one of the most important designs to develop a creative and effective strategy for.

What will make the item stand out from the others on the shelf? What color and shape conveys the brand’s image brilliantly? What design will compel the customer to take the product home?

Packaging design strategy is vital, especially for new products and brands, as people lean towards the familiar. A Mobile Eye-Tracking study by Perception Research Services International found that most customers don’t even see two-thirds of the products on the shelf. Customers don’t go through the trouble of comparing each brand on offer.

What products do customers look at? The study found they are likely to default to a brand they’ve used before. That makes it especially challenging for new brands to catch people’s attention.

The study also discovered that customers are likely to buy the first brand they actively consider. That’s where packaging design is key. The physical package on the product needs to attract a customer’s attention when she walks by. It needs to be the most eye-catching design on the shelf. How can your packaging design stand out from the crowd of other brands?

The following are three traits packaging design should have to compel customers to take your product home.

1. Disruptive

In a sea of similar products, does your brand stand out? The color, icon and shape play key roles in creating a unique and eye-catching packaging design for your product. Ask the following questions:

a. Is the color unique and more attractive than the other brands?

b. Does the icon pop out and command customer attention? Does the icon reflect the spirit of your brand?

c. Is the shape of the package special and outstanding?

2. Attractive

People like to buy items that appeal to their senses. An alluring packaging design may entice a customer to pick up that product and take a closer look at it. Once the customer has touched the product, she is much more likely to buy it.

There are many ways to make packaging design attractive. The structure and design of the container can be stylish and surprising, thus compelling the customer to take it home with her.

The color should evoke positive emotions and thus make your product more. The overall design of the icon, slogan and information on the package should speak persuasively to the customer.

For a customer who values aesthetics, a prettier bottle could be the reason she chooses that particular brand to take home with her. A case in point is the successful new brand Method which introduced a whole new aesthetic to home cleaning products, making them something people want to display in their home rather than hide in their closet.

When the customer enjoys the packaging design at home, she will form a positive relationship with it as she uses it in her daily life. This alluring design could easily make her a new fan of your brand.

The tone and texture of the packaging design also conveys the spirit of the brand. As many people value more environmental and minimalistic styles, it reflects well on a brand to embody these new popular and admirable values.

3. User-friendly

The practical function of the design is essential if the customer is going to enjoy using it. It must be designed to fulfill the function of the product easily and. The design must protect the item and make it easy to access. Vertical toothpaste tubes are a good example of providing a new space-saving feature from the traditional container of this everyday item.

If a design is innovative and reusable, that will give it added value in a customer’s eyes. For example, if the shape and color of the bottle is so stylish that the customer wants to reuse it for other purposes, she’ll probably buy it again and again. If a box is attractive, the customer may keep it for other purposes. This will give the customer an even more positive connection with your brand.

As people are more environmentally conscious than ever before, packaging design that can fill more than one purpose will have much appeal. If the gift box is so aesthetic that it doesn’t need wrapping paper, that will appeal to the environmental and time-saving sensibilities of your customer.

Packaging design is an important key to effective shopper marketing. It catches the eye of the shopper and could be the reason she takes your item home. She also interacts with the design as she uses the product which helps her to have a deeper connection with your product.

It’s well worth investing time, talent and resources into perfecting the design of a product’s packaging. It could make all the difference in how many people notice it, buy it and fall in love with it.

Paradise Design is one of Taiwan’s top design companies with much expertise in packaging design and other design services. Paradise has served global brands for two decades and is available to serve clients in any country. For a free consultation or quote, email natalie (at) paradise-design.com.tw.