The quality of design and execution of the packaging of your products is an important part of any marketing success. As the saying goes, ‘You never get a second chance for a first impression’. The packaging design of a product can influence and impact your target audience. The packaging provides one of the most important contact moments with your customer.
The 6th P in the World of Marketing
The packaging is seen as 1 of the 6 "P's" within the marketing mix. The traditional concept of the marketing mix consists of basic 4 P's: Product, Price, Place and Promotion. This mix was later expanded with, among other things, the "P" for Personnel and the "P" for Packaging.
Packaging plays a vital role in communication with the potential customer and audience. But how do you design an eye-catching packaging?
6 Packaging Design Tips
"All roads lead to Rome". This famous proverb can also apply to the design and manufacturing process that leads to the best packaging. Below are 6 creative tips that help showcase various parts of this process.
1. Know Your Target Audience
Understanding and connecting with your target audience is, straightforwardly, an important role in marketing. The packaging must be clear to whom the packaging is addressed and intended for.
2. Share the Necessities
Essentially, the design packaging ensures the transfer of basic information about the product. This includes information such as the contents of the package, a possible ingredient list, perhaps a user manual and a barcode. Depending on the products, serval things are required to include on the packaging. For example, mandatory information such as "expiration date", should stand out clearly.
3. Type of Packaging
The product influences the choice of packaging material and the types of packaging. Packaging material can range from glass, plastic, cardboard, paper to even a combination of. This choice naturally impacts the possibilities for the design. Below we share a few examples of some captivating designs we’ve come across.
4. The Design
Once the type of packaging and packaging material has been decided, the design of the packaging usually follows. This may mean that the entire package would need to be designed or that only part of the package must be designed. In the latter case, think of designing stickers, labels or shrink film labelling that is sealed around the products.
Packaging of the product fulfils different roles. The packaging helps attract (positive) attention towards the consuming market. When the product is offered via a webshop, there are also other fundamental factors involved. It is important that the photo or image of the package communicates sufficiently the purpose of the product. When the item is delivered/ received, the consumer expects that the packaging is giving correct information. Packaging can confirm this by providing relevant knowledge of the product with the appropriate packaging design.
The design needs to match the organization's brand style. This applies to the logo, brand colours and fonts, but also to the photography style and design language. This consistency of brand identity ensures recognition and trust; important aspects when building the relationship with the customer.
5. Explore and Inform
In the complete packaging process, it is helpful to explore how like-brands manages its packaging. What type do they use? How do you want to stand out apart from the rest? Receiving feedback from your customers can also be beneficial: What do they find important about the packaging?
Consider several variants/models in the initial phase and investigate which of these is preferred by the consumer.
6. Quality of Print
A completed design is one thing, but the quality of the design is another. The 1 +1 = 3 principle applies in such a case. Not only does this concern the quality of the print itself, but also the quality of the material on which it is printed. We advise on choosing a quality printer. A printer that can correctly convert the design into the physical packaging or packaging component (stickers or labels).
We hope you find these tips helpful, especially with tip #6. If you have any questions relating to labels or stickers for your product, get in touch with our customer services. We'd be happy to help!
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Picture references: www.designfaves.com and www.hongkiat.com