Have you ever walked into a store with the intent of heading straight to a certain aisle, but then stopped on your way because a certain creative packaging design or box caught your attention?
Or have you ever purchased something out of impulse -- not because you felt like doing some retail therapy -- but because the packaging design was so creative and impressive that you just couldn’t help but get it?
We understand; people always say never to judge a book by its cover but sometimes, the cover’s just too good to resist.
If you’re a business owner selling a particular product, take it from us: maximise the potential of your physical product in every way possible.
Not sure how to do so? Read on for some of our best tips for experimenting with different types of packaging design.
Image source: Giovani Flores
Essentially, don’t be afraid to be bold. Let’s say you’re selling milk, for example. Would you want to blend in with the rest of your boxed up competitors in the dairy aisle?
While it’s good to stay recognisable, sometimes the only edge you have over the hundreds of other brands out there is how you package your product. Take a leaf out of the concept created by Giovani Flores (pictured above) and make sure your product not only grabs attention but also holds it.
Here’s another example of soap bar packaging, which would give you an idea of how you should think out of the box -- quite literally -- when it comes to presenting your product.
Image source: Lanna Spa
Image source: Dezeen
After point number 1, you might think it’s best to go all out in terms of colour, but sometimes, simplicity is key too. Depending on what kind of product you’re selling, it might do you good to research on how your competitors display their product -- and then do the exact opposite, even if it means going for a simple packaging design.
For example, when thinking of classic chocolate packaging design, we may have the same idea:
Image source: Medium
So for a change, why not go for something drastically different that it would definitely guarantee some eyeballs on your product?
Image: NYC Spaghetti
One of the most important things in the world of business and retail is this: it’s all about the customer experience. The customer journey. The process and the progress. The conversion from interest to intent.
With this in mind, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and think about what would help you make the decision between putting something back on the shelf or into your shopping cart.
Image source: Smirnoff
The first step of capturing your audience’s attention is, of course, through their sense of sight. But what would even be better is if you capture their sense of touch too.
What if you could entice them enough to make them want to touch or even peel back the layers of your product? If you manage to do that then your product is already an absolute winner.
Image source: Polly
When it comes to selling or offering something, it’s important that all the information is displayed clearly so as to not confuse the customer. Then again, a little teaser may do the trick and can even win hearts and attention.
Image source: Creative Boom
Another thing you can do is also be playful or cheeky in your packaging design. The idea here is to intrigue your customers to look and come closer, eventually pick your product and decide that it is worth their time and money.
Image source: Famous Amos
If you’re a fan of Famous Amos, you might notice that the packaging, although simple and straightforward, tells a story on the back:
Image source: Famous Amos
Just by reading this, you’d know that Wally Amos used to bake cookies for his loved ones and perfected the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe in 1975. Almost immediately, the customer will get the impression that the brand is warm and genuine.
If your brand has a heartwarming story to tell or has roots that will instantly capture attention, it is worth displaying it somewhere that your customers will see and read. And where else would that be? Your packaging, of course!
What comes to mind when you see the word “Frosties”? Naturally, you’d think of cereals. But you’d also happen to think of one particular thing -- or character, rather:
Image source: The Fact Site
Did we get it right? Almost all of us will definitely think of Tony the tiger, the age-old mascot for Kellogg’s Frosties or Frosted Flakes. Throughout the years, he has become the face of that cereal to the point where you don’t even need to see the brand name to recognise the packaging.
Image source: Flickr
So, if you have a product whose target audiences are children or families with little ones, why not explore the possibility of creating a character to sell the product for you? As the wise words by Tony the tiger goes, it’s GRRR-eat!
Image source: Awesome Inventions
If you’re going to put so much effort into how amazing your packaging looks, you best extend the same attention to the inside -- or the unboxing experience -- too. This is where your actual product will be housed.
This is a good time to showcase your brand colours, or even its complementary colours, as it would help with brand recall and the “wow” factor. Remember to constantly put yourself in your customer’s shoes, and think about every step of the unboxing to make sure that not even one part of your packaging would be a letdown.
Image source: Samsung
Our society is one that’s rapidly becoming very eco- and waste-conscious -- which is a good thing. What would also be a good thing is if your brand supported this movement and made the conscious effort to give your packaging another purpose aside from storing your product.
Not only will this make a good impression, but you’d also be doing the planet a favour. Plus, you’d also be providing your customers with an extra fun experience of upcycling your packaging.
Image source: Samsung
Image source: Kleenex
There is a time and place for simple packaging, but not the point where it doesn’t grow from just being “that brown box”. You may argue that the product you’re selling is boring or has no room for creative fun, but Kleenex (pictured above) can certainly say otherwise.
Packaging is no longer just a mode of transport or storage for your product. It has now become a creative marketing piece and with the right ideas, design and execution, your product will have amazing and unforgettable packaging.
Create the perfect creative package with Brandripe
Here at Brandripe, we believe that every type of product has room for creativity and design. We also believe that your brand has the potential to market itself through its packaging design alone -- not that your product isn’t exceptional.
But here’s the thing, the Dotcom Distribution Packaging Report 2015 showed that 60% of all respondents revealed that they would share the product image on social media if they thought it looked nice.
That’s a huge opportunity to not only increase your customer and fan base but also convince other social media passers-by to check out your brand.
Here are a couple of takeaways from that report:
And we want to help you get there with the best packaging design. We want your product to shine, get shared across social media and basically sell itself.
At Brandripe, we have an experienced team of professionals who can transform your conventional brown box into a creative masterpiece. All you need is to tell us what you have in mind and we can work together to build the packaging of your -- and your customer’s -- dreams.
Once that’s out of the way, the only thing left to do is to send it for printing. We highly recommend Gogoprint, one of the biggest online printing companies in Singapore and Southeast Asia, to do the job for you.
Aside from being one of the most reliable printing partners in the market, Gogoprint offers great customer service and support and makes online printing easy, affordable and convenient for everyone. Of course, there are other benefits that you should take note of, such as:
Have additional questions? Visit Gogoprint’s website today for more information, or hop on a 15-min VIP Demo call with the Brandripe team whenever you feel like it and we’d be happy to answer all your questions regarding both design and printing.
If you’d much rather drop us a line, please feel free to do so at hi@brandripe or say hello via the chat toggle on our website and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
