Today’s consumers across the globe are more visually focused than ever before. With the continuing rise of e-commerce and the importance of imagery, building a strong product presence becomes a necessity to the success of a brand and its product, where an impactful first impression could be the difference between a product succeeding or failing in the market. For good or for bad, that first consumer impression always comes from the packaging.
So, what does your packaging communicate about your product?
The Type of Packaging: The type of packaging that you select for your product influences the way it’s going to look either on the shelf or online. The material, shape and size of your packaging impacts on how consumers see and interact with your product. For example, consumers’ perception of a product packed in recyclable packaging such as the humble corrugated cardboard box is very positive. Consumers see the product in such packaging as more sustainable and eco-friendlier, especially since the boxes can be folded back up and stored away for later use. In line with this, a number of studies suggest that about 90% of consumers reuse product packaging boxes after their initial purchase, whereas shrink wrap packaging is considered as unnecessary and disposable waste.
Packaging Colours: Here the colour theory can be extremely helpful when influencing a consumer’s first impression. Do you want a cool tone for a more calming, relaxed, hip image? Or do you want to stand out amongst the shelves with a more vibrant and bolder colour? Consumers react very strongly to colour, and the palette you use can alter how your brand is perceived incredibly quickly. Corrugated cardboard is a great medium for printing; combined with digital or flexographic print, it becomes a superior combination with amazing results. However, always be careful to choose a coherent colour scheme. Using too many clashing colours can be overwhelming and can look too busy, while not using enough can leave your product looking boring next to your competition.
Font Choice: Many brands look to convey information about the type of product they’re selling through their font choice. While this can be a useful tool for creating a profound first impression, be careful; fonts used on packaging should be clear and easy to read. You want your consumer to remember the name of your brand, and they won’t be able to do that as easily if they’re struggling to read the name of the brand in the first place.
Want to see your product packaging before it hits the shelves, digitally or otherwise? Wondering where to get a full mock-up or a mock prototype? Garthwest team can provide you with excellent packaging mock-ups for your products, just get in touch!
