Designing product packaging is a vital task in the success of your business. First of all, it helps differentiate your brand from the others and helps separate your product from other similar items on the market. Second, the packaging can have an impact on the psychology of the buyer, thus sending subliminal messages that work in your favor. Third, it’s a pivotal marketing tool and can be used to raise brand awareness or brand recognition, depending on the quality of design and competence of your marketing team. Lastly, it impacts the bond between your business and the client. With that in mind, here are several things to keep in mind when designing product packaging.
1. The cost of the product
The first thing you need to consider when designing the packaging is the cost of the product. You see, the size and shape of the product usually reflect its price. In other words, if the packaging appears luxurious yet the price is fairly low, this discord alone is enough to drive some customers away. Both cheap and expensive are just traits (some people buy for quality, others for frugality) and the cost of the product is something that needs to be reflected by the packaging.
2. Brand markings
Perhaps the most important thing about designing product packaging is the fact that you need to incorporate all of your brand markings into each of your products. Each product needs to become a brand ambassador, a tiny billboard or, simply put, a piece of promotional material. While all of this may sound overwhelming, at times, bear in mind that your corporate colors and your logo aren’t that hard to implement. After all, Coca-Cola did it so seamlessly by combining these two elements alone, so why couldn’t you?
3. The minimalist approach
Sometimes, going for the minimalist approach is exactly what your brand needs. In some industries, however, this is more than welcome. For instance, if you’re selling home-made wine, beer or other artisan goods, it would be, by far, the smartest to find someone manufacturing and selling custom stickers to team up with. The same goes for arts and crafts products. On the one hand, you do some light branding for all your products but, at the same time, you maintain that aura of a small, local family business that earned you these customers, to begin with.
4. The branding and marketing
Another thing you need to understand is the fact that this product won’t appear only on the shelves of stores. When you start branding it online, it will be displayed on your website and its pictures will appear all over social media. Therefore, you also need to think about what your product will look like once the background changes. Due to the fact that these images and posts will be one of the primary tools for driving sales your way, it’s not wise to ignore them while designing your packaging. Other than this, it’s also worth your while to consider instances of showcasing your products during the planning stage.
5. The price of production
One last thing you need to bear in mind is the cost of packaging per unit. The choice of material, the quality of the design and its complexity may all affect the packaging cost. Needless to say, there is a certain point past which you may start losing money or drastically diminish the profit (which is a far more likely outcome). In other words, you should never look at the packaging as a stand-alone feature but instead, look at it as a product feature. With that in mind, cost-efficiency becomes your utmost concern.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that your product is the very reason why your customers need you in the first place. However, over the course of time, they might form a bond with your brand, which will make them return time after time. The packaging will serve as a constant reminder of your entire organization, unlike the product that will soon be associated with the function.
