Remember back in the day when packaging had no other purpose than to protect and preserve products? Of course not, because that would mean you’re more than 150 years old! With each passing day, more is expected of product packaging and the people who design it. Packaging design today must be a real sales booster, attracting the increasingly busy consumer’s attention and reeling them in as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Is your packaging design failing to hit the mark in the sales department? Discover our tips to make it more eye-catching, memorable and in line with today’s trends!
1. Add a fun factor
Humor sells. Remember what we said about neuromarketing? If your packaging design manages to make consumers smile, they will subconsciously attribute that positive emotion to the product and brand you’re designing for.
2. Think out of the box
Ah, the element of surprise! Nothing captures the consumer’s attention more than a packaging that seems completely out of place (yet remains practical). Why should shoes, for example, always come in a box? Who said shampoo must always come in a bottle?
3. Make it reusable
If consumers purchase a product for the packaging you designed rather than for the product itself, you know you’ve got a good thing going! Don’t overdo it, though. A simple yet beautiful tin box often suffices.
4. Keep your eye on the future
Arguably the biggest challenge of designing sales-boosting packaging is striking the fine balance between innovation and recognizability. Make sure to design something you can easily extend so you don’t have to start from scratch whenever a new product is added to the range or whenever seasonal editions are called for.
5. Don’t take the artsy-fartsy route
Speaking of overdoing it: dare to be creative – you’re a designer! – but don’t go overboard with the frills. Millennial consumers prefer minimalist packaging and clean labels.
6. Stay in touch with today’s packaging design trends
Other packaging design trends Millennials just can’t seem to let go of are transparency (think peekaboo windows and realistic images of the product printed onto the packaging), single-serve packaging, interactive packaging and sustainability. Inspired by Brand Packaging