The power of packaging design
Packaging on a supermarket shelf has less than three seconds to grab the attention of a consumer.
Those three seconds are exceedingly important when you consider that more than 70% of purchasing decisions are made at the shelf. Add to this the fact that supermarkets can contain on average 40,000 packs to choose from, then that pack has got to work hard.
Packaging’s role is threefold:
- To sell the product
- To protect the product
- To facilitate the use of the product
Designing packaging graphics
Designers have two key tools to grab the consumers’ attention, graphics and structure.
Packaging graphics must do more than simply look pretty. They must work to cut through the white noise that is the crowded supermarket shelf, and attract a potential buyer. Once they attract a buyer's attention, packs don't stop working. Designers have to make sure they convey information, about how much they and their contents cost to buy, the ingredients they contain, and whether or not they can be recycled.
Packaging is also the medium many businesses exploit to convey their brand.
Illustration
When designing pictures onto a piece of packaging, the feel and tone of illustration and photography should be clearly outlined in the brief from the brand.
Practical considerations like the printing process and substrate onto which the image is going to be printed will also affect how illustrations or photographs are designed onto a pack.
Creating the structure and shape of a packaging
Designers have two key tools to grab the consumers’ attention, graphics and structure.
The structure of a pack can serve multiple purposes:
- To create shelf standout and sell the product
- To protect the product
- To prolong the life of the product
- To facilitate the use of the product
- To reassure customers that it's part of a familiar range
Designers create innovative and enticing packaging shapes using computer modelling and CAD visuals before they make mock ups to show how a pack might look and feel. While designing the structure of pack they will think about:
Creating standout
Some products are instantly recognisable simply from the silhouette of their pack.
Protecting the product
The rigours of the supply chain are an often overlooked factor influencing packaging design. Whether it’s biscuits or perfume, packaging’s role is to ensure the product gets to the customer in the intended state. Therefore it is important to run trials to see how the pack performs in the supply chain. There’s no point rolling out a pack if it’s not going to make it to the supermarket shelf.
Making the product easier to use
A quick way to put consumers off a product is to make it totally impractical to use. Packaging design must incorporate functional aspects that allow the consumer to easily use what they buy. Take your average milk bottle, for example. First the consumer must be able to grip the bottle, then unscrew the cap before pouring the milk without it glugging and spilling everywhere. Without packaging designers continually improving on what we've got, this isn't always possible. Remember the trials of trying to prize open a tetrapak carton of milk or the frustration you felt at not being able to reseal the glass bottle once you'd popped off the foil top?
Some of the most popular packs are the simplest. Fairy Liquid has celebrated its fiftieth year this year. While it has since moved away from its original pack, people still have a strong affection for it – not least because of its connections to children’s TV programme Blue Peter. Ultimately, it is a simple pack with a flip-top cap and dimple grips, but it is fundamentally functional and therefore very appealing to the consumer.
Usability is even more important when you consider the pharmaceutical sector. In many case, packs must both be impenetrable by children and yet still be opened easily by older people or people with limited ability.
Making packaging sustainable via design
The packaging industry has been vilified over the years, not least on the subject of plastic bags. Yet brands have always been looking for ways to reduce materials and maximise packaging for both environmental and financial reasons.
Designers have helped product makers and retailers improve the environmental impact of the packaging they use by:
- designing packs to me made from sustainable materials. For instance using cardboard from FSC forests instead of unknown sources.
- redesigning without material combinations so that packaging can be easily recycled. For instance making bottle lids from the same plastic as the body.
- changing the way packaging functions so that it improves the sustainability of the whole system it is part of. For instance, designing shelf ready packaging that means less materials are used in transit and at point of sale.
Carbon Labels
Carbon footprint labels are designed as a metric outlining the carbon emissions of a product. Debate has arisen surrounding the issue of where the measurement starts and stops. In many cases the energy required to use a product, for example shampoo, produces a bigger carbon emission than that produced from the manufacture of the packaging. It has also been questioned whether consumers understand what the labels mean. Only a handful of brands and retailers have put the carbon footprint on their packs to date, Walkers crisps and Tesco being the most prominent.
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