Published On:Thursday, January 21, 2010

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n today's competitive market, it is harder than ever to attract a consumer's attention. It is estimated that the average consumer spends less than a second scanning shelves and, in that time, will make a decision on whether or not to purchase any given product.

If you are that product's manufacturer, you want to make sure that in that critical timeframe the consumer will be drawn to your merchandise, have a desire to select, inspect and make a decision to buy it right away. Really? Absolutely. The discipline of package design focuses on producing a container that will get noticed immediately.

By skillfully teaming colourful graphics, a unique shape or any other eye-arresting method, the package designer is a key player in any company's marketing effort. No matter how beneficial the product inside the container may be, unless a consumer decides to pick it up, that product will never get tested.

Retailers are not allowing things to remain on the shelves very long unless they sell. Because of packaging and product competition, you've got to do more to attract a buyer to your product.

Simply defined, package design is the discipline of creating the container, graphics and visible outer presence of a product, which may range from a simple bottle and label to an elaborate box or system of boxes and inner packaging.

Although graphic designers and others might dabble in it, the three-dimensional nature of package design separates it from other creative disciplines. In addition to the visual element, other considerations such as the material to make the package and the manufacturing capabilities come into play.

To the uninitiated, the practice of package design may seem simple. As far as I know, no one has ever died of poor package design, but I think some products have failed because of this.

While there is an esthetic element involved, package design is first and foremost an important component in creating sales. Repeat sales and follow-up business require the product inside the package to meet the expectations that the package sets up.

Whatever communication the product sets up with the consumer, it has to follow through and the product has to match that visual representation.

Indeed, there's more to package design than creating an interesting looking box. When a package designer is hired for a job, they usually receive a 'design brief' from the client, which provides basic information about the product, its target audience and its uses, as well as container-specific information such as the volume it needs to hold and how it will be packed and displayed. Budget information will also provide the designer with parameters needed to determine the necessary materials and manufacturing process for the package.

The skills required for package design go beyond a good sense of design. To do a proper job, a package designer needs to combine the knowledge of a structural engineer with the esthetic sense of a graphic designer.

Packaging design is not just about looking good, it is technically oriented and requires a fairly in-depth knowledge of printing and production as well. I believe it is beneficial if the designer is involved in a project from the early stages. When the designer is involved early on, we can give a full range of ideas and ensure that each design solution is appropriate for that audience. So in order not to disturb the integrity of the package, we strongly recommend that the job is supervised all the way through production by the designer.

When a product goes global, package designers are faced with a new set of parameters. Not only might the product be sold in a place where English is not spoken but, more than likely, the western alphabet is not used either. The truth of the matter is: You've got to do a lot more homework in that environment to design packaging that's appropriate and communicates to the consumer what's inside that packaging.

From wherever the design work originates, companies are more aware of the need to have the right sort of packaging to make a visual impact in the fraction of a second the consumer's eye meets the product on a shelf. Research has shown that the greater percentages of products that are being packaged and put out there for the 'first time' don't usually succeed.

In this critical instant, the success or failure of a product rests on the skill, knowledge and talent of the package designer. As I noted earlier, there is an esthetic element involved. Thus 'package design' is first and foremost an important component in creating sales.

Nonetheless, it is wise for distributors or manufacturers to research the entire fundamentals of packaging, team up with a good designer, tap the market to feel the competition and randomly scan the labelling on some shelve-items to see if certain product packaging actually catches the eyes at first glance. Even so, it is known in this industry that package design can either sink the product, or make it fly.

Have fun and stay on top your game.

The author can be contacted at either:

deedee2111@hotmail.com or deedeemb@gmail.com