Effective packaging design is key to effective sales. But there are many ways to interpret the idea of effective design so lets explore this concept further.
When we think of effective design, in terms of the packaging industry, we think of a design that does a good job at attracting customers and encourages them to buy the product. Your product has only seconds to make a first impression. As a customer walks down the aisle they scan the labels of competing products and if there is something that catches their eye they may further investigate and pick up the product. But what are the key elements that make up this effective packaging design? Or how does a retail display or a simple cardboard display get the attention of a customer?
Making an effective first impression for your retail packaging or your retail display does not have to be difficult. But one way to making a first impression is not by doing something fancy or having an outrageous design. One easy way to get a customers’ attention is by examining the competition. Look at competing products and think of ways your packaging design can differ. Think about designs that will stand out and grab the attention of a customer. Line up the competing products on a shelf and place your packaging design prototypes next to the competition and see how attention grabbing your packaging can be. Now take it a step further and figure out font and copy. You want the copy to be unique or funny. You do not want a product name or use a font that’s safe and standard.
When we talk about copy what do we mean? Effective copy when it comes to any type of packaging, whether it’s retail packaging or an in store display is important to quickly and succinctly explain what the product is. Packaging copy should not be overlooked. Three or four words to describe a product can be challenging however. Many products contain copy that tries to be overly clever or fancy. For the packaging designer this might make sense but for a consumer seeing the product for the first time there are too many dots for them to connect. Simple, clear and concise copy is always preferred. The largest and the boldest part of the copy should tell the consumer what this product is. Below this you can list off some benefits or value propositions. What make this particular product better than the competitions?
Again look at the competition and try and figure out how you can stand out in both your packaging design and more specifically how can you stand out in term of your copy.
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