When it comes to entrepreneurship, nothing is a matter of chance. Even what might seem insignificant can play an important role in the future results of your company. In our blog, we tell you about the different processes that must be followed to start a business, the importance of each one, the steps to take, and more, etc. Today we are going to focus on an element that, although many people tend to underestimate it, influences the success of a business and is becoming increasingly important: packaging and its design.
At La Lonja de la Innovación, Granada Barrero, mentor in Design Thinking and design, has her own study where they develop projects related to graphic design and packaging, product design and commercial interior design. Her work has been published in numerous magazines and recognized with various awards. With her extensive experience, she is well-equipped to help accelerated startups in this process.
But to help you too, today in this post we dive into the importance of packaging design. Don’t miss it!
What is packaging?
You may have been told that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but the truth is that we all tend to judge based on first impressions. In the case of a book or movie, it's the cover; in the case of a company’s product, it’s the packaging. This highlights the importance of this element and the need to dedicate time and effort to its design. When faced with the decision between two or more products, a customer is likely to choose the one that is most visually appealing.And wouldn’t you like your customers to be so attracted to your product’s packaging that they’d hesitate to part with it? This is proof that first impressions matter, a lot, and good packaging has become an integral part of the customer experience.
Packaging is a process within the marketing strategy that involves placing your product in a container to facilitate its distribution, protection, identification and promotion. But this shouldn’t be just any container; it needs to be well-designed to reap its benefits: brand recognition, visual appeal and social media impact.
Regarding this last benefit, social media impact, one trend that has gained popularity in the last years in platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, and that you surely have heard or even seen, is unboxing. This consists in taking a product that has been purchased and is still in its package, and removing it to show it off. Many people who are dedicated to this type of content, take the opportunity to show if the packaging is attractive and if it is easy to unpack, contributing to other people end up buying the product if they like it.
Characteristics of good packaging
Good packaging is just not the one that contains the product, but also the one that informs about it and attracts. To give you more information about how to do a good packaging, here we leave its characteristics:
- Labeling. It should include information about the product.
- Recognizable. It must match your brand image and be recognizable from your competitor, serving as a differentiating element of your brand.
- Easy opening. Depending on the product being sold it must be easy to open and close, or, on the other hand, resistant so that it cannot be manipulated.
- Durability. It must be resistant so it doesn’t break easily, ensuring it arrives at the customer without imperfections.
- Size. The size must be adjusted to the product, not too big or heavy, since this can also increase the shipping costs and customer dissatisfaction.
- Attractive. If we want the people to buy the product, the packaging must be attractive. For this reason, you must achieve a design with the ability of attracting the clients. Experiment and create different designs until you find the best one.
- Environmentally friendly. Good packaging is also eco-friendly, using sustainable and environmentally respectful materials.
In summary, good packaging not only protects and contains the product but also informs, attracts, and contributes to brand recognition. Therefore, don’t underestimate this process and allocate the necessary resources to make the difference between the success and failure of your products.