An average supermarket in the United States has about 40,000 different items for consumers to choose from. How does one consumer choose a product from the number of choices? Every industry relies on manufacturers, consumers, and distributors, but how do they grab the attention of potential buyers? Product Packaging. An industry in itself, proper packaging has the power to attract consumers. If you want to build a strong brand, consider optimizing your product packaging with a unique design and sustainable solutions.
What makes an excellent Product packaging design?
1. Simplicity and clarity:
When you walk into a supermarket, just go through products and take a glance at them. Do you identify the product or the brand by simply looking at it? The best example of quality packaging will be a clear and simple but highly distinctive packaging design. You will be amazed to learn that most consumers will decide to buy a product or not within a few seconds only. There will be numerous product listings with no specific brand name and you will also look at products that look great from the outside but they are unable to explain what is inside the box. Most importantly, packaging design should not confuse consumers. It should always deliver on clarity. There are some categories that allow a little bit of mystery but if the consumer fails to identify the product in terms of usage, content, or brand identity, it needs to be revamped. Be clear about what you are selling. Do not complicate it in any manner.
2. Be honest:
A lot of brands try to depict the product in the most perfect way one can imagine. The packaging shows something about the product which is not real at all. When you try to depict a product ten times better than it actually is, you end up misleading the consumer and eventually disappointing him. This only leads to poor sales performance and builds a very bad brand image. Honesty plays a crucial role here. A lot of consumers like simplicity, they want to know what is the product is about and how it will serve them. You can do face lifting to a small extent but not where the product is something totally different. You need to show the product in the finest manner possible and ensure you show all honesty in it. Remember that the consumers need to be treated in an appropriate manner at all times.
3. Be authentic:
Character and originality need to be at the core of great brands and excellent packaging designs. There are numerous products in the market and every product is competing for the attention of the consumer. If you want to set yourself apart, you will have to be very authentic. Product packaging is a matter of creativity and it is not possible to create a fake impression based on the design only to sell the product. People have a number of brands to choose from, they have different appeals and looks to try. You need to remain authentic in your product design in order to ensure that your product design is memorable. Do not get on with a genetic-looking design. Look for strong visual standards and an uncommon style to appeal to the consumers. If you notice that most brands have a contemporary product design, opt for something retro. Be creative and always look for different options for your product. With more customers looking for eco-friendly options, Brad Zaikov from Jansy (https://www.jansypkg.com/) says that businesses that use biodegradable packaging will attract more customers.
4. Consider shelf impact:
If you look at a product from the view of a consumer, you will notice that no product is ever seen alone. It is also not seen in exceptional detail. All the products are organized in columns and rows and there are numerous patterns and designs you see. Until a particular design or pattern catches your eye, you are not going to take a better look of the product. The appeal of a product when it is placed on a shelf is known as shelf impact and it will make a huge difference to the sales of a product. You need to check shelf impact and explore the designs. Do this by copying the placement of the design on a shelf and then surrounding it with different products. It will sell better if it looks good.
5. Keep space for extensibility:
The idea of product packaging should leave space for the introduction of a new product or a new brand. There should be a possibility to make easy variations to the product without it losing its appeal. The initial design concept should not heavily rely on one product or one color. You might expand in the future or introduce a new product and you need to leave space in product designing for the same. Create a visual design that will allow for easy alterations in the visual of the packaging or will allow for easy addition or removal of information.
6. Practicality:
Last but not least, practice is important when designing the packaging of a product. It not only deals with the label but deals with the shape, functionality, and size of the product you are selling. To get higher sales, the product needs to be more practical. A lot of business owners tend to overlook the aspect of practicality in packaging design because they think consumers are simply going to pick the product off the shelf without any thought. Unfortunately, this does not happen and consumers are looking for innovation. Practicality merged with innovation can solve a number of packaging design challenges.
Product packaging is as important as product manufacturing. If you have an excellent and highly functional product to sell but if you do not spend enough time and effort on its packaging, you might never be able to reach out to the consumers. Packaging is your last opportunity to convince the consumer to purchase the product.
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