Packaging Design Essentials

With only seven seconds to impress a potential buyer, your product packing is essential. You may have a top-notch product, but if your packaging design and functionality is lacking, prospects may never know how great your product is.

To help you get started on creating custom product packaging, we’re going over four characteristics every package design should include, as well as a 10 essentials for your packaging design.

Effective product packaging should have the following characteristics as non-negotiables.

1. Functionality. The packaging should be able to protect your product during transportation, from environmental elements, how it’s displayed on the shelf and more.
2. Attraction. The packaging should entice prospects to select and purchase your product amongst the various others on the shelves or online.
3. Differentiation. It’s important to ensure your packaging stands out amongst your competition. Uniqueness will help customers easily identify your product.
4. Promotion. Your packaging needs to provide relevant information about your product, such as ingredients, directions, source, etc. This will help customers decide whether or not to buy.

With these four points in mind, here are 10 essentials as it relates to your packaging design.

1. Keep it simple. Sometimes the most effective product packaging is about influencing the prospect's decision-making process by making it as simple as possible. Your packaging should be easily identifiable, and the product, product’s name, brand name, description and package should be easy for the eyes, encouraging customers to choose your product and purchase it.
2. Avoid inconvenience. Be sure to test your packaging. If a customer finds your product to be difficult to open, chances are they will find it inconvenient and will explore other options next time around. Don’t go for a packaging design that will require customers to learn a special skill or use a special tool in order to use the product.
3. Target your specific audience. Make sure your packaging plays into the specific audience you’re trying to target. If your product is not universal, your packaging shouldn’t be either. Audience-specific packaging helps ease the decision-making process.
4. Use high-quality materials. Packaging can oftentimes be expensive, especially because using high-quality materials cannot be overemphasized. Using high-quality materials will make a strong first impression on the prospect.
5. Stand out from the competition. Researching your competition’s packaging is really important. Before launching your product, make sure you’re aware of what’s out there in your industry and how your packaging can be different and unique.
6. Improve customer convenience. Some products need to have packaging that takes into concern how the product is used — for example, a lotion bottle. You don’t want to develop packaging that makes your lotion end up all over the place. Make the packaging design useful and easy to access for the consumer.
7. Consider future product expansions. Even if you may not have the intent to expand your current product line, it’s important to consider how any future products could extend with your current packaging. You never know how the success of your business could impact your future goals and decisions.
8. Vet packaging designs. Before you set your sights on a specific design, try surveying your target audience first to seek their opinion on all options. Present different packaging design options for evaluation, and ask them what they think is best for your product. Their feedback may provide you with some insights you may have overlooked.
9. Make text legible. Aside from the product name itself, any text on the packaging should be clearly legible. The prospect should be able to scan through your product’s descriptions on its front and back. This can be crucial for decision-making. Legibility includes font type, size, color and overall packaging color scheme.
10. Include unique attributes. Be sure the description on your packaging accurately describes all of your product's unique attributes. Again, this will help the customer when comparing your product to the competition.

When creating your packaging design, it’s best to think about the future and how it can translate moving forward. Very few products retain their original packaging designs. Even though the product itself may not change, you should periodically consider freshening up your creative packaging, either through logo creation, functionality or design. This will keep your product current and may result in attracting new customers.

If you’re looking for more tips and information related to design and marketing efforts, check out Bizee’s blog. You’ll find a ton of information to help set up your small business for success.