If you are anything like me, you are probably not a stranger to meandering down aisles and aisles of wine bottles in search of that single wine bottle adorning the most fantastic design or sketch. You most likely are also one of "those" people who have been known to look for flawless cereal boxes. While the contents inside are not damaged, the box is not exactly what one would depict as the picture of perfection either. Perhaps all of these quirks are personal vexations (and not those of a tenured wine connoisseur), but one would have to agree that purchasing products based solely on design ingenuity is one of highest drivers in retail selling today!
If you are not one of those consumers swayed by packaging designs - and are of the conviction that the product should sell itself apart from its vessel, may I persuade you to take a moment to consider the following? Packaging Digest relates that brand recognition starts as early as six months old. That's correct. Six months old. Consequently, the study goes on to divulge that children develop brand loyalty by age 2! Parents, beware! The products you bring home today are training the generation of the future! The study further relates that 25% of brand preferences persist from childhood to adulthood. Those are some pretty hefty shoes to fill if you ask me. It is not surprising that leading players in brand recognition such as Pepsi waited 17 years to roll out a major bottle redesign!
Packaging designs as related to the consumer
Packaging designs not only train brand recognition and loyalty but they also take into account the consumer. Images of a person struggling to open the plastic package of their favorite electronic device are quite pervasive of the media, but if one takes the time to think, such struggles are actually better than the alternative.
On the other hand, if a product arrives damaged, the chances that the customer purchases from that company again are greatly diminished, according to Packaging World. The success of a properly packaged product comes in defining functionality - be it on a retail shelf designed for eye-catching first impressions, or distributed in bulk.
Packaging solutions need to be cost efficient. While it is important to ensure that a package is secure, the proper steps should be taken to test and prove the use of most appropriate and cost-effective materials. A number of automated packaging machines can help with this process as they use precise measurements from one product vessel to the next.
Accounting for sustainable packaging designs
Trending across the country is sustainable packaging and sustainable packaging designs. Sustainability in packaging is being driven by not only environmental awareness but also by rising health concerns, the "busyness" of the average consumer and the constant demand for advances in convenience. The increasing pull for decreased waste and increased efficiency is driving packaging leaders to dive into the market of recylced cardboards and as mentioned in Food and Beverage Packaging, new forms of packaging tapes replacing adhesives thus improving security and sustainability.
So whether you are six months old or a tenured consumer, packaging design is molding the world around us. It is encouraging package redesigns, building time-tested foundations on logos and diving into sustainable and health-conscious packaging. It is meeting consumer demand.
