If you have a product that you want to sell, there are many things you need to take into account, including marketing, financing, purchasing, selling, and a whole slew of other issues that need attention. Designing a packaging for your product may be the furthest thing from your mind, but it is one which is fairly important.
The first thing your potential customers see from your product is going to be the packaging. That’s why it is important that the packaging can accurately and effectively get the message across – what your product is and why they should buy it. There are some general preferences of certain industries for certain packaging styles, which you can find here https://www.boxcoop.com/boxes-by-industry/ but you should not be limited by what others are doing. Still, try to follow these handy tips.
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Is It Practical?
When designing a box for your product, you should have practicality in mind. Think about your product. What is the best way to package it? Is a big, sturdy box necessary? Or can you achieve the same effect with a more flexible and practical tuck end box?
Another aspect of the practicality argument is how easy it is to carry. If the product is heavy, there should be some sort of an aid for carrying, like handles or holes for easier handling. Consider the possibility of reusing and repurposing the packaging as well.
What Is the Price?
Depending on the price of your product, you will have various options. High end products like consumer electronics typically come with a very sturdy packaging and a sleek, minimalist design. This is because the price point of the product justifies the effort that goes into the design, as well as the cost of the packaging material.
On the other hand, simpler, cheaper items like frozen pizza require a lot less investment in packaging and design. The product’s price doesn’t exactly cover the expensive packaging material, nor is it expected to be kept and needed ever again.
Does It Tell Your Story?
You are selling your product because you believe that it has value and that people will want it. However, your customers don’t know it until they have bought it. The only indication they have of your product is the packaging.
Make sure that the box displays all the vital information that you want the prospective buyers to know right from the start. Focus on the benefit that your product will give your customer and you will strike gold.
Does It Catch The Eye?
The reality of the market is that your product will probably never be alone on the shelf. It will be surrounded by similar products, all vying for the customers’ attention. For that reason, you need to consider the customer’s side of the story.
Put yourself in their shoes. While passing through an aisle of similar products, what kind of design would catch their attention? How big or small should the packaging be? What color scheme works best? Which font to use? You have many options, and coming up with a solution is not easy.
Consider hiring several designers to design a packaging for your product. Once they are done, compare them to each other and see which one catches your eye the most. That is probably the one you should use.
Make Sure It Protects the Product
Even though your main focus when designing your packaging’s appearance is the marketing of the said product, you should not neglect the primary purpose of the packaging – protecting the product. Your packaging needs to be sturdy enough to protect the inside, as well as having other necessary properties.
For instance, legal cannabis market in California is really taking off, but packaging a cannabis product requires special features, such as protection from moisture which would essentially ruin the product inside. Other products may require additional protection against breakage, which requires inner compartments to keep the product in place, and so on.
Make It Scalable
If you sell more than one product, make sure that your design gives you the opportunity to use the same or similar design for other products as well. Even if you are currently only making one product, keep your options open for a potential future expansion.
What this means, in essence, is not to make your packaging too specific to the product you are selling so that you could use the recognition of the first product and its packaging to make it easier for your new product to breach the market.
Know Who You Are Advertising To
Certain groups of people have certain preferences when it comes to the packaging. If you are making a toy for children, putting it in a drab beige packaging won’t go over too well. On the other hand, if you use bright colors, interesting fonts and a picture of the product, you are bound to catch their attention.
Think about who your primary demographics are, and try to model your packaging to their preferences. If you do so, you will give yourself and your product a good head start. After that, your product should do all the talking.