You may not give much thought to your product packaging. However, behind the scenes lies a huge industry of graphic designers and psychologists who carefully design much of the packaging that you can see in stores.
If you are looking to start your own product line and need ideas for your packaging, there are a few basics you should look at to ensure the success of your product.
There are some well-established traditions regarding the type of packaging for certain goods, such as those presented here https://www.boxcoop.com/boxes-by-industry/. However, you don’t have to fall into any of these categories if you are creative and adventurous enough.
However, consider these helpful tips:
Keep simple
There may have been a time when people were impressed by how many pictures and words you could put on a package. However, people nowadays value simplicity. Minimalism is the most common design choice from the early 21st century and you should really learn to incorporate it into your designs.
That doesn’t mean that you have to withhold information about your product; far from it. What’s important is finding a balance between the information you provide and minimalist visual appeal.
You can use a simple rule of thumb – the most important information is what the product is and who made it. If your packaging effectively addresses both of these, you have a successful packaging option.
Keep in mind that your product will never be on the shelf alone. That is, it needs to tell the story of your product in seconds. Failing that, it’s likely to be skipped for something more visually appealing.
Leave it Open to Variations and Additions
If you offer a single product, you can create very specific packaging for that product, like a box of medicinal cannabis and containers that are sufficiently limited by consumer expectations as well as by the products packaged in them.
However, if you decide to broaden your offering, suddenly, your established packaging may no longer be suitable for the new product. That’s why it’s important to keep your packaging a little fuzzy, and able to improve and add on.
Additionally, it makes it possible to create custom packaging for holidays or other types of special promotions without losing brand recognition.
Practical Is Always Good
If you have an idea how to make your packaging more practical, you may have an idea that wins customers over. Many companies don’t want to stray too far from the tried and proven packaging options for their own industry.
On the one hand, that makes sense, as customers might expect it to, but on the other hand, your new packaging options might attract new, curious customers in your direction.
Don’t Let Your Packaging Mislead Customers
While it may be visually appealing to see a heavily edited and improved version of your product on the packaging, if the reality doesn’t match the image, customers may be tricked into buying your product once.
And just once; disappointment when a product doesn’t look like the picture on the packaging suggests can quickly turn to anger and resentment and never buying another product again, the opposite of what you wanted.
Creating the perfect packaging may not be as easy as you think, but if you just follow these basic ideas, you can get close to it. And who’s to say you can’t change it if you come up with a better idea.
