What does successful packaging design look like and why does it matter?
Research has found that when in a grocery store, people typically spend less than 10 seconds at each grocery category and fail to consider over 33% of the brands on show during this 10 second period. That means your effective packaging design has to work hard to capture your customers attention and make it into their trolley.
For your products pack design to be effective, it must break through the clutter and hold the customers attention long enough to implant a clear message about who you are as a brand and what your product offers that others don't. After years of experience refreshing hundreds of tired brands and bringing new ones to life, Engineroom Design has created a process for achieving effective Packaging Design for every client . Once we discovered this approach, all the complexities of packaging design fell away and everything became so much easier. We were able to take away all the emotion and variables and follow a clear process to see the product design through the shoppers’ eyes.
Want to know how it works? Read on!
Step 1: Discover
The first stage of any new Packaging Design project is the Discovery phase. This is where we dive in deep to understand all that we possibly can about your brand, your target consumer, competitors, and existing product. Then we define clear objectives for what our pack design needs to achieve. We conduct audits, covering: on the shelf, your current pack and your competitors packs to really understand the impact of your existing packaging on shelf and the category you are playing in. Then we translate these discoveries, and your business and marketing goals into clear design objectives.
Step 2: Design
From here we start creating the conceptual design of the packaging. You need to see the brand/product/design through shoppers eyes and create something that is relevant and engaging to your target consumer. It is important to be as creative as possible whilst understanding the decision-making process of your consumer. You need to consider:
- How impactful is the design?
- How is it differentiated from your competitors?
- Does the design have a strong visual architecture to ensure all elements are working together to correctly communicate your messages?
- Do you command attention on shelf?
Step 3: Communicate
Communication needs to be balanced with design to create an effective pack. These 2 elements go hand in hand to attract, engage and communicate on shelf.
Focus on what matters most and pay attention to the relationship between messages and combining like items to reduce on pack clutter.
It is also extremely important to understand and consider the legal standards related to your product category. Standards depend on: Type of product, Distribution & Retailing Needs, and the country’s it is sold in. This element is extremely important to get right, as you risk being refused placement on shelves if you don’t.
Step 4: Deliver
Print and production is the final essential step to successful packaging. Too often the production side of the process is overlooked or not given thought until the last minute.
This results in an inferior looking print result and in the consumers eyes, an inferior product.
Artwork set-up is a critical stage of packaging design. Unlike the printing of brochures, packaging is printed on large presses with limitations. Packaging Finished Artists understand:
- The way the presses work.
- How to talk the jargon with the printer.
- And how to set up your packaging artwork considering; press print limitations, available inks, press tolerances, die-lines, and substrates.
Testing the printing of your packaging is a vital step to ensure consistency across your brand. This has become even more critical with most printing now being done
offshore in China. You’re no longer able to physically complete a press check before proceeding. To achieve the best results its best to allow your designer to stay involved in the supervising process. Think of production and artwork as quality control.
At Engineroom Design we are problem solvers, positive thinkers and always have a can do attitude. We love what we do, and genuinely want to assist our clients reach their full potential.
Want to learn more?
See our latest work or get in contact with us.