Companies invest large amounts of money into custom packaging designs because they believe that their product will be noticed and consumers will be more likely to purchase their product if they’re stylized well.
How important are your packaging designs to your brand? Coca-Cola spends millions on advertising and marketing, which includes developing top-notch designs for their bottles.
For a product to be successful in the market, consumers need to recognize what the product is and why they should buy it. This can only be achieved when a company chooses the right packaging designs, a fact that has repeatedly been proven. Most people do not purchase products at random. They take time and look at different products because they want something that will work best for them. But when they do buy an item on impulse, how attractive the packaging is has a major influence on their purchase decision.
The Purpose of Packaging
Packaging has three main functions: protect the product, contain it, and communicate to consumers. Packaging serves to protect what’s inside from various elements, including moisture, insects, sunlight, and anything that can harm the product. It also works to contain the product to make it easier to transport and use. Lastly, the packaging should communicate to consumers details about the product, such as its function, composition, usage, and even its story.
Today, marketers know that packaging design is crucial to create an impression in the market and foster brand recognition. Packaging design makes the product look attractive to shoppers and provides information about the product to persuade them to buy it. The packaging design serves to showcase the product in a way that does not outshine it.
Packaging Design Standards
Even if companies do not have standards for their designs, they still have their clientele for which they want to produce the best possible design—that is, their target market. For example, people who purchase expensive products need their packaging designs to be upscale and classy without being too formal. On the other hand, older consumers need packaging that is secure yet easy to open and handle with clear labels and distinct design for convenient identification of the product and its function.
A brand’s target market is a crucial indicator of the packaging design they should use for their products. That’s because first impressions are essential. If you’re launching a new brand or product, you want your target market to identify with it immediately, and packaging design plays a massive role in that.
The Complexity of the Product
The complexity of the product has a big impact on how the packaging design is made. If companies have a complicated product with multiple components, they will need their packaging designs to cater to the shape and specifications of the product. For example, if the product has many small, delicate parts, the packaging should include features that contain and protect these. Products with unconventional shapes also need custom boxes and containers that adhere to them.
Elements of a Good Packaging Design
A good packaging design contains several elements that communicate a message to consumers. The elements are as follows:
- Images: These can include photos, illustrations, or graphics. Images convey what the product is, its function, how it is used, and more without using too many words. Images are highly effective at sending a message and making consumers understand in just a few seconds.
- Color: This is used to draw attention and make the product stand out from others. Colors have meanings and convey feelings, and they can be used to elicit emotions from consumers, which makes them powerful visual tools for marketing. Your chosen color palette can communicate what type of brand you are. For example, eco-friendly brands use green to signal that they are sustainable companies. In turn, this works to attract like-minded consumers.
- Brand elements: Packaging design is used to tell the consumer what a company is all about. These elements include a brand’s logo, signature fonts and colors, catchphrases, and anything that can help consumers identify a product from a specific brand.
- Design: A design should express the characteristics of the company or brand that created it so that people can recognize the company with only a quick glance. The design encompasses the layout, logo, images, fonts, shapes, and other visual elements and how they are arranged to appear in the final product.
- Compelling copy: This is what gives the design a sense of personality and makes the product appear to have a distinct voice. The copy makes it into more than just an object. It creates a story and communicates a message to relate to consumers on a personal level.
- Materials: These can determine the quality of your packaging and send a message to consumers as well. For example, a well-designed tin can packaging makes a product look premium and luxurious. Meanwhile, kraft paper and boxes may convey an eco-friendly image. When it comes to packaging materials, it’s essential to consider the kind of product you sell to provide the best protection and contain the item(s) properly.
- Target market: This will tell the designer who will buy their product: age group, gender, interests. Your target market is a significant factor to consider when creating your packaging design. The colors, fonts, words, and graphics you use for your packaging design should appeal to your target market; otherwise, they won’t notice your products.
- Sustainability: With climate change and environmental issues at the forefront, sustainability is a top priority of consumers and companies. Eco-friendly packaging can be a powerful tool to attract environmentally conscious consumers and build your brand’s reputation.
- Personalization: People love to see their names on things. Companies have started to allow those who purchase their products to personalize them for free or for a small fee.
- The unboxing experience: It is not enough for a product to have the best packaging design; every aspect must be well thought out. Packaging must elicit excitement, pleasure, and euphoria in consumers. This can be done by creating an unforgettable unboxing experience through the combination of excellent packaging, beautiful presentation, personalization, and benefits like freebies and special coupons.
To begin with, you will need to know what you want in your package. It sounds relatively obvious, but you need to know what the package is supposed to do to create a superb packaging design. If you have no idea where to start, get a couple of different samples of various types and sizes of packages that you would like to try. This will give you an idea of what your product will look like in action, and it will also help give you a better feel for how your product will fit into the store.
Why Does Packaging Design Matter?
Packaging can influence consumer behaviors, protect the product until it gets to the right hands, and catapult your brand to the forefront overnight. Moreover, packaging can also do all these things:
Great Packaging Design Inspires and Excites
Packaging can create meaning for the customer and help them make decisions in a way that fits their life. A good packaging design can lead the consumer to believe the product is something they need to have to be happy or feel fulfilled. Even if the product is not being designed for this purpose, it can influence consumer’s buying decisions by virtue of being attractive.
Packaging Design Creates the First Impression
How a package looks when the consumer first sees it will determine whether or not they will be interested in purchasing it. If they do not think it will be worth the money, they will not buy it. This is why companies spend so much time and money on their packaging designs; they want their product to be the one that catches their customer’s eye.
Packaging Design Can Make or Break the Product
A bad packaging design can make a product look cheap and not worth the money. If people do not feel like they are purchasing a quality product, they will not buy it. This can make a huge difference in brand image and product sales. On the other hand, a good packaging design can make a product look like it is worth having. This will cause consumers to buy more than they would have otherwise.
In addition, an appealing packaging design will draw people over to it, while an unappealing one will cause them to move on to the next one.
Packaging Design Is Important Given the Competition
Companies need to reinvent their packaging designs for each different type of product that they sell. If your product gets lost in the variety of other products on the shelf, it will not get as many customers as it should.
Packaging Design Helps the Consumer
The design and layout of a product’s packaging can help the consumer by creating a sense of ease when opening the package. If the design and layout are confusing, they will not have any idea how to open it, which can cause them to feel frustrated. Frustration will cause some people to give up on trying to open it and leave them feeling overwhelmed. This may cause them to decide not to repurchase the product because they don’t feel like they have enough information about it.
The Takeaway
Packing design plays an integral role in selling a product and increasing brand recognition. To create a superb packaging design, companies must consider their target market, the needs of the product, and the environmental impacts of packaging, among many others. That said, investing in product packaging is essential to survive in today’s competitive market.