Is Your Package Design 2016-worthy?

With so many products seeking to grab consumers’ attention, how do you make your product stand out? We’ve come up with five simple tricks to reinvent your packaging design and make it more attractive.

1. Don’t Over Explain
Not enough time or space to fit all your product’s uses on the package? Finding you don’t have the space to explain your idea? It’s important to keep things simple. Your package design is about the product and your brand, but it’s also about being conscientious of your target consumer’s time. People don’t have time to look at every product to figure out what it’s about. At a glance, your design should provide customers with the essentials of what they need to know: the name of the brand and product. Remember to keep things simple and don’t over think what your design should represent.

2. Be Honest
Whether your product is all natural, only made in the USA, or something else entirely, it is important for your packaging to use honesty as a component of your main strategy. While it may seem natural to position your product as the ideal solution to a consumer’s problem, this may be misleading and ultimately disappointing to the consumer.  Any claims or images should represent the product to the best of your ability. Think about what makes it unique and highlight those features. Instead of thinking about what customers may want from your product, think about what you’re selling and to whom. This way, you can market these unique, truthful aspects without disappointing customers with false claims.

3. Use Copy as Design Elements
As with overly explaining your packaging design, you don’t want to over-design either. One way is to show instead of tell. By using allegory, symbolism, metaphor, and other witty word tricks as a design element, you can get your audience thinking about why your brand exists. This can share your story and brand personality in a visual way. For example, when Garlic Jim launched their gluten-free pizzas, they placed thoughtful phrases on the front of their packages to peak the consumer’s interest and quickly convey the brand’s purpose. By using witty names like “Don’t Have a Cow Literally” for the veggie pizza, they were able to communicate their differences to customers in a humorous and interesting way.

4. Create Limited Editions
Why create limited editions when they require more designing? Limited editions create a sense of urgency, since they will only be available for a short amount of time. Limited edition packaging can be an effective way to revitalize a brand’s image, test out different market segments, connect with your audience, or show what your company cares about. Think about a charity or non-profit organization for which your business feels strongly. Donate some of the proceeds to a non-profit or co-brand with them for a limited time. You will not only be attracting new customers, but also helping out a good cause.

5. Keep it Consistent
If you plan to or already have multiple products, the package design should be consistent throughout all of your offers. This consistency is important because it increases your brand awareness. A uniform package design should make your brand easily recognizable to the consumer across all product variations. While consistency is important, another important element is flexibility. Your package design should allow for easy introduction if your company does decide to expand a line or differentiate. With each product addition you shouldn’t have to redesign your packaging to fit the new product. Your existing design should be brand-centered so there is allowance for small changes when new products are debuted.

Packaging is more than just what your product comes in. It’s about marketing your products to your ideal audience and finding ways to attract more consumers into your target group. These tricks will help create package design that accentuates your brand’s unique attributes, expresses your brand’s authenticity, and makes a more memorable impact. At Creative Juice, we will help your brand stand out among competitors. Contact us today to get started.