It’s a no-brainer that a well-designed product package promotes product sales. Think about the time you stood doe-eyed gazing down an aisle of like products determining which one to buy. Did you grab the one with the unclear messaging and chaotic look, or did you reach for the smart looking box with clean design that spoke directly to your needs? Effective package design sells more products.
No matter how good a product is, poor packaging can keep it from selling. In some occurrences, your product packaging may be a consumer’s first awareness that your product even exists and your well-designed package may persuade them to purchase even though they don’t actually know the product or brand.
Understanding the essence of a product
A key first step in any packaging process is to really understand the essence of a product. Although there can be much discovery needed to achieve this, some of the key things to identify and articulate are:
- What’s the product for?
- How is it different?
- Who buys it?
- What’s the brand behind it?
Successful team collaboration, research, and an ability to lead an effective design process that uncovers this core information is essential in getting the package messaging and design right. To test this out, check out some packages the next time you shop to see how hard it is to find answers to these essential questions. I often see packaging that offers dozens of benefits with no clear brand name and boxes that look great on the outside but don’t tell you what’s in the box or why it’s unique. A thoughtful process will help you avoid this and figuratively leap off the shelf right into the arms of your target audience.
Make sure to check back next week, as we’ll be sharing a helpful checklist of 10 questions to ask yourself before launching your packaging design project.
Here are a few of our recent packages:
