Brand agency, Percept, are packaging design experts.
When you select a product contained in a package, and you have never used it, you judge its quality by the package you are holding. It’s that mindset that will allow certain products to be tried for the first time and hopefully purchased again and again. If the packaging design isn’t attractive or doesn’t connect with a customer’s emotions, then a product may never get the chance to win over a consumer.
In the hyper-competitive retail world we live in today, much effort is invested into getting customers to notice, engage and connect with the products on shelf in order to win market-share. Percept is a brand agency and a design agency. We believe good packaging design has the following features.
1. Form and Design
The aesthetic shape of packaging is a fundamental element of product packaging. Packaging design that is unique and good-looking will be eye-catching to a prospective buyer. It should be practical, whilst allowing a product to stand out in the crowd, so it’s important to keep visual appeal in mind. When we talk about good looks, it’s not just about the form, but of course the style of brand identity, visual communication and graphic design including language and feature colours are crucially important. The feelings these packaging design choices convey must align with the product branding as well as the audience that you want to capture.
For instance, if you are selling a product aimed at kids, it might be appropriate to use a cartoon style with characters in addition to bright colour-ways. This will create a sense of fun in the appearance of the packaging design. If you make an organic product, your target audience will more likely be health-conscious adult consumers. Perhaps packaging design with a more muted colour palette, minimal printing and a focus on details may provide a more fitting look and feel for a sophisticated audience.
2. Function and Usability
Great packaging design allows your product to be chosen from the shelf by the customer, however, good functionality ensures consumers want to buy the product again. When design agencies are designing your pack, they will incorporate usability into the design where possible, in order to enhance the user experience. A customer will have a positive experience with the packaging as well as the product and will be more likely to be a return purchaser. For example, you can create a package that allows ease of opening, or packaging that is resealable. Is it easy to get the product out of the package? If the packaging design is for a drink, is it easy to pour? It’s this type of thinking that leads to a successful packaging design solution.
3. Informative Messaging
People want to know what your product is, what it does and what it is made of. They may also want to know about the nutritional ingredients in a food product or whether there are any side effects for a health care product. If it’s a cleaning product, the consumer would want to know if it’s organic, where it’s sourced from, and other practical information relevant to its performance. Your communication design agency needs to look at what distinguishes your products from the alternatives in your niche and communicate that information through the branding and packaging design with prioritised hierarchy.
4. Clarity and Simplicity
Good packaging design communicates with clarity and simplicity. Your design agency needs to develop messaging that is clear on the product benefits and also the branding. If you head to a retail shopping environment and pick a particular aisle randomly then browse through those products, you will most likely ask yourself questions like what’s this product for and is it any good? Or do I feel a connection with the branding design that represents the brand that is behind this product, does it seem like the best product for me from the selection I have to choose from?
This is where working with professional brand designers in quality design agencies such as Percept is important. An average consumer dedicates less than 4 seconds to any particular product on the shelf when assessing their purchasing decision. This illustrates the important role clarity and simplicity play in good branding and packaging design.
5. Honesty
It seems an obvious one, but you have to be honest with what appears on you packaging design. Don’t promise what you cannot back-up. When customers look at consumer product packaging that makes certain claims, they expect that the contents will live up to those promises. You need to depict the product in a reasonable, yet appealing way without going overboard. If you use the packaging design to depict a product to be far better than a customer would find it, it means you are misleading the consumer. In the end, you will disappoint your customers, they will not return, and it will lead to a bad brand experience.
There are also rules and regulations that apply to product packaging. As well as specific guidelines that apply to special sectors such as alcohol, medicine or personal care items. Knowing what applies to your industry and working with professional packaging designers in reputable branding agencies like Percept will help in the adherence to these policies where relevant.
6. Authenticity
With the consumer packaging of so many other bands competing with your product, it makes sense that you ensure that your brand identity and brand story is authentic and that it extends through the packaging design. Originality, memorability, and character are important elements of great branding. There are many ways to encapsulate these elements of a brand’s personality and how that is done will depend on the unique circumstances of each situation. However, it is imperative that the drivers are built from authentic origins in order to build branding that is not only endearing and appealing, but is convincing, trustworthy and most of all, credible.
7. Shelf Impact
If you put yourself in the shoes of the shopper, you find that you don’t see a single product on the shelf when you get into a retail environment. Also, you never see a product in great detail. What you see are patterns made of different products. This is called shelf-blocking and can draw your eye to a specific area of the shelf. From there, a product will have more chance of gaining attention and getting a closer look. There are many techniques used by design agencies in professional packaging design that are based on the subliminal factors that make up the many steps involved in a customer’s decision making process. The one product that a prospective buyer finds the most attractive is usually based on a wide range of scientific factors that are taken into account by the best packaging designers. The overall distinctiveness and appeal of products when displayed at point of sale are what retailers call “shelf impact”. When selecting a packaging design agency such as Percept, make sure they have expertise in shelf impact. It is an essential factor in gaining a commercial advantage for any brand or product.
8. Extensibility
Working with creative agencies on any successful packaging design concept should allow you to introduce a new line extension such as product variations or sub-brands. Forethought should always be given to the future, not just the short-term. You may have a particular product you are launching, however, after time, you may introduce other varieties that would create a range. You should always communicate your plans and ambitions to the packaging designers in creative agencies. These packaging designers can then create a fully considered, future-proof solution that will not need to be continually adjusted and diluted over time because it hadn’t allowed for changes or new products. Good packaging designers always bear the future in mind, so make sure you let branding and creative agencies know all your plans right from the start in order to have the best packaging design results in the long-run.
9. Practicality
Often an overlooked element of the packaging design process, practicality is integral to good packaging design. In terms of practicality, we are talking about the fundamental basics of the packaging. This could be actual size, shape, and functionality of the packaging or product container, and not just what branding and design agencies put on the carton, wrap or label.
A more practical product just makes common sense, whether it helps in the supply chain or improves user experience. How does it hang or stack on shelf? What is its footprint, does that maximise on-shelf potential? Is it well balanced or will it fall easily? Will the shape affect freight costs? If the product requires refrigeration or freezing, is the printed substrate suitable? Can we introduce a practical feature that will help sell more product? For instance, when the first ketchup, honey and shampoo bottles were turned upside down, creating the ‘tottle’, their sales rapidly increased because it made them easier to use. These are just a few examples of how practical thinking can be beneficial to the success when it comes to working with design agencies on your consumer packaging design.
10. Attractiveness
Your packaging designers will create something visually engaging and appealing – obviously that’s a given. Make sure that the branding agency develops creative packaging design that can draw the attention of its intended customers from a distance when displayed on shelf. It is essential that during the briefing process you identify who the target market is so the packaging design agency can successfully appeal to them. Firstly, best practice brand designers will engage a consumer’s attention, then communicate key information clearly to pose a persuasive case that will influence their purchasing decision.
11. Uniqueness
When working with an Australian design agency such as Percept, you want to make sure that your packaging design is unique. It should be created in a way that appeals to your customers, but be conscious to stand out for all the right reasons. When developing unique branding, substance is the key. Any point of difference must be one for the better. Yes, a customer will be drawn in with creative packaging design, just ensure it is relevant to product and will enhance its appeal in the eye of the consumer.
Creative packaging design should be able to win a customer’s interest. It should hold attention for long enough to communicate key factors, and if this is done in a unique and interesting way, the product has a better chance of being bought. Uniqueness plays a key role in branding, conveying personality and ultimately developing a more convincing connection with a prospective buyer. Working with a branding agency like Percept will enable you to gain an edge over the many me-too competitors that can be found at the same point of sale.
12. Effectiveness
Another element that makes good packaging design, great, is effectiveness. Does the packaging design communicate the unique value proposition? Has the design agency considered priority and hierarchy of messaging? Does it clearly communicate the branding and intended message? Does the packaging appeal to the psychographics of the target audience? How well does it fit in the typical retail space? And the list goes on…
Effective packaging design does its job on shelf. The positive influence it can have on sales will repay the investment in a professional packaging agency many times over, ultimately contributing to a brand’s success.
As a trusted packaging design agency, Percept takes into consideration all these elements in our packaging design process. As an integrated brand agency, Percept takes pride in delivering strategic branding and creative packaging design work that benefits our clients in a commercial sense.
