One of the most crucial parts of branding is packaging design. After all, it gives your customers an emotional connection to your product, and serves as a bridge that can make or break your business when it comes to new customers and their purchasing decisions.
But how do you knock your packaging design out of the ballpark? Once you hire the right packaging designer for the job, you can give them all the details necessary to create a great end product.
Well, it all starts with asking the right questions.
Below are several questions you should give some thought to when it comes time to design your product packaging.
Why Does Package Design Matter?
Now that you know the importance of packaging design, let’s take a closer look at why it matters.
You’ve heard the saying that first impressions are everything, and true even with product packaging.
That’s why you need to ensure your design is high-quality, as it’s critical to convey your product and branding effectively to potential customers.
Now let’s take a look at the questions you need to be asking to execute your product design flawlessly.
What Are Your Product’s Essential Features?
All great product packaging designs effectively showcase the product’s main features. Consider this the starting point for your concept and design work. Make sure to highlight your product’s key points to the buyer. Show what exactly it offers that would benefit them! Create a list of your products’ top three to five essential features and write them out, along with both what the feature is, and the benefits it offers potential customers. This can be a great asset to pass along to your packaging designer.
Who Is Your Target Audience?
Identifying your target audience is essential to early success. Will you have a demanding audience who will spend more to own an exclusive product? Or will you have a price-conscious audience trying to save money?
Choosing a packaging type will depend on several factors, but it can be especially informed by your target audience’s characteristics in both their purchasing habits and the decisions they make in life. Try to consider where your product fits in with your customers lifestyle choices by asking yourself what other brands would they regularly purchase? Consider this answer then look to those companies for inspiration in your packaging design.
What Are the Proper Materials to Work With?
It’s best to be working closely with your packaging designers when it comes to choosing the right materials for your packaging. Plastic, aluminum, glass, and paperboard are the most common materials. Yet, there have been significant developments in eco-friendly packaging materials in recent years, and the consumers have started to take notice of companies that practice sustainability in their packaging, which can be an influencing factor in their purchase decision.
Who Are Your Competitors?
As part of your research, you should have an in-depth look at your competition and see what they are doing well. Take note on how they position themselves in the marketplace.
While you’re doing so, you should be identifying areas where you can make improvements. Look for a gap in the market and capitalize on any missed opportunities.
For example: In the tech industry, preference lies with colors such as black, white, blue, and red. Red gives the impression of excitement and innovation. Blue implies reliability and professionalism.
Why not challenge this unwritten rule? You could consider a more unusual color palette or a series of interesting graphics as a way to attract potential customers’ attention!
Will the Actual Step of Packing the Product Be Automatic or Manual?
If you plan to use automated plants to package the product, request a copy of the machinery guidelines, as you’ll need to design the packaging accordingly.
This will give you a better understanding of the packing process, along with its limitations, which can be invaluable when choosing a final design, especially as automated designs aren’t always customizable.
However, if you’re going to package the products by hand, you will have greater design freedom in the packaging’s final design. This can also be an exceptional way to market products to niche markets that care a lot about small details, so be sure to know that each product was “hand-packed with care”, if that fits in your company’s branding.
Conclusion
Remember, first impressions matter. By asking yourself the questions we listed above, you will come up with a solid packaging design, one that showcases the unique features your product has to offer and the benefits your customers get from their purchase.
Never assume the product is good enough to sell itself, while you might know how excellent your product is, it’s your responsibility to show that off to your customers, and one great way to do that is through your product packaging!
