Significance of Packaging Design

I once had an urge to have tea at night. I did not have milk at home and did not want to go out as I wasn’t sure if I’d find a “chai-wala” at that time. I decided to order tea online. I wasn’t sure if it was available because never had I looked for ‘tea’ on any of the food apps.
I did manage to find tea and what impressed me was not that I was able to purchase tea online but the way it was packed and delivered. That has stuck in my mind ever since and I haven’t paid more attention on packaging design before.

Packaging design is so crucial that it influences a person at the point of ‘purchase decision making’. Consumers judge a product by its cover and very often a first time consumer chooses to purchase a product by the packaging to which they are attracted to. They do not necessarily intend to make the purchase but end up doing so. Many at times we find ourselves in this situation where we give into the attractiveness of the packaging and unconsciously make a purchase. Why does this happen and why do we get distracted just before we head to the billing counter? Designers know that by glamorizing the product, they can lure customers into falling prey to this trap.

Packaging design is an important marketing strategy for consumer goods. Companies move their products to markets and want as much sales as possible. Multiple companies manufacture the same product and ultimately the bigger name in the market gets to see more sales happening. Some consumers choose to purchase from the brands they trust while some look into aspects of cost cutting in their expenses. The only way a customer gets drawn to a product without considering its brand or price is by the way the product is packed. Package designing is all about making the product stand out and the ultimate goal for the companies is to sell their product. Sometimes companies end up spending more on packaging than the actual cost of products itself. Creating an eye-catching packaging design that suits the product, make them stand out on crowded shelves, and doesn’t cost a fortune to produce is a real challenge.

The traditional meaning of packaging is ‘to wrap’. Packaging today means more than just wrapping. Packaging is not just done to contain, protect and preserve the product in its transport but also inform and sell the product to the consumer. Every company tries to outperform the other on packaging design for customers to choose their brand over others. Certain features of the package can trigger the mind of a customer to pick up a product. Package designers try to target a specific crowd and in catering to them they also benefit the others. The maximum time an average customer dedicates to any product on the shelf is about six to seven seconds. It is during this time frame that a company gets the customer to identify and select their product. The very basic questions a customer might ask is
“What is this product for?”
“What’s the brand behind it?”
“Why should I buy it?”
Designers who foresee the answers to these questions often get the consumer to pick up their package from the shelves of stores and supermarkets.

Packaging is something we’re bombarded with on a daily basis. How much thinking has been put into the packaging is something we don’t really think about. Next time we end up picking up a new product in a store, it’d be good exercise to analyse why we actually picked up that specific product.