Have you ever wandered the aisles of your favorite grocery store on a fresh morning of your day off? You’re feeling good, well-rested. Families are shopping, things are busy in that leisurely way that weekends offer many people. You have your grocery list in hand but you can’t help but let your eye wander to new selections. Why do people browse in stores if they already know what they need? A shopping trip should be a get in get out affair, yet it seldom is. The answer is: because you’re seeking something appealing. The only question, will you find it?
Is Package Design Important?
Yes.
Okay, problem solved! Seriously though, everyone knows package design is important. How important, though? The world has seen many brilliant products and companies that despite their incredible value, were forgotten or swept under the current in favor of better-marketed products. Package design is an artistic extension of marketing. It’s the thing that is sensed before it is spoken of. Customers may not initially comment on how well designed a package or box is, but it is something that is felt.
Contrast that to designs that are…not so great.
It is something that is apparent when looking at the box. As the saying goes, we only notice when things are amiss, not when everything is going smoothly.
The opposite happens sometimes too. Sometimes a design is so appealing that we want to identify with the brand or share it with others. That’s a package designer’s dream and certainly, what we aspire to do with every project we undertake at Ron Hansen Brand & Label Design Co—and if these testimonials are anything to go by…we do okay.
What Makes an Appealing Package Design?
All design is art, and art is ultimately subjective.
Still, when one brand is moving product fast and another sit stagnant on a shelf, you’d be hard-pressed to believe it’s totally subjective.
Art itself is totally subjective, but what people want to see out of say…a box of cookies may not be so subjective after all. There’s plenty of room for creativity, but what is it that sells one box of cookies over another? Let’s run with the cookie example.
Say there’s two boxes of chocolate chip cookies. Both of them have unique designs but box 2 sells more than box 1. For the sake of the experiment, let’s rule out the taste of the product too and assume both of them are tasty. Box 1 is a classic design. It’s relatively smooth and well done—a high-quality picture of a cartoonish baker and an inoffensive typeface that does well enough. It’s fancy without being elaborate.
If you’ve ever seen mockups for a product or a logo before, there’s tons of professional work that looks impressive. There are undoubtedly many talented artists out there. However, when it comes to a winning design, the total must be greater than the sum of its parts.
Imagine if box 2 had a creamy, indulgent color—something that would make you think of a sweet treat. The typeface is elegant but has some flair to it at as well. The mascot for the package is a wolf dressed in grandma’s clothes (grandma’s cookies). The depiction of the wolf is neither too realistic nor too cartoonish, he has a sly, mischievous look about him. Cookies are an indulgent treat, we tend to feel a little naughty for eating them. There’s also the concept of stealing cookies from the cookie jar. These are all associations people have in the backs of their minds which they inherit from popular culture.
Box 2 wins, not because the basic qualities were better. It’s how those things are put together that determines a great design from a good design.
When you cohesively blend all of these elements of label design, as well as logo and branding into the package design with a professional designer’s hand, you get a product that is, in fact, greater than the sum of its parts. The package tells a story just by looking at it, one that’s fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Professional Package Designers
Ron Hansen Brand & Label Design Co are your go-to experts for food and beverage label design, package design, as well as branding and logos! We look forward to the challenge every one of our clients brings us whether they’re a big company with over a dozen products on shelves or a small startup with a great product that needs to make sure it gets some love from store shelves or ecommerce sites.
Contact us to get started today on reimagining your brand or kickstarting a new product that you just know will kick some butt if it has a good look to go along with it!