How to design better packages
Perfect packaging is ideally done in such a way that the customer wants to take a picture of it and share their excitement with the rest of the world. But how do you turn a grey box into an unboxing experience? You’ll find the answer in this post.
It still exists: the shapeless, boring package in a brown box. Excited about unpacking this? Nope. You’d rather just get it over with and throw the brown stuff in the recycling. But there is another way, as e-commerce companies and producers who give their product and shipping packaging that certain something prove. In this case, the unboxing becomes an experience for the customer that makes their heart beat faster – thus also strengthening the brand. One can purposefully create unboxing moments. How does it work? Read on!
In this blog post, you will learn
- how packaging strengthens your brand image,
- what the key to perfect packaging is, and
- how you can design your packaging better.
How does packaging contribute to business success?
To perfect the design of a package, one must understand how packaging makes a positive contribution to brand image and business success. Packages realise their full potential in two stages:
The first impression
The package is the first thing the client holds in their hands. Many studies show that a decision is made in the first seven seconds: Happy or unhappy. This first impression is very difficult to change through later impressions and experiences.
The unboxing moment
The heart throbs, the excitement is palpable – your customer opens the box. Seconds of elation that can quickly turn into bitter disappointment. A balancing act that can make your brand unforgettable.
Did you know?
Many customers record their unboxing in little videos that they share on social media. Some unboxing videos have millions of views on YouTube. An unstoppable trend that highlights how important extraordinary packaging is.
What makes the perfect package?
The key to optimal packaging is neuromarketing. This involves the interplay of three methods that bestow that wow effect upon your customers during the unboxing.
Multisensory experience
Speak to multiple senses: for example with pleasant feel, sophisticated optics or maybe even a pleasant scent. The result is a tenfold increase of the effect your package has on the customer.
Storytelling
Tell a story with your packaging. A story creates images in one’s mind and arouses emotions. You can inspire a gut feeling in the customer with storytelling. It’s also easier and quicker to create brand and product engagement in this way.
Framing
The way a product is perceived depends on the frame in which it is presented. Packaging is an example of such a frame. With an exceptionally luxurious package design, standard products can be subjectively perceived to be exclusive ones.
Quick explanation
Neuromarketing is an area of marketing that uses insights from brain research and psychology to optimise advertising. Research is done on the processes going on in the consumers’ brains during purchase decision-making.
Tips for better packaging
Ensure good packaging and protect your goods. They are easy to handle and above all no problem to open. That should be the basic tenet of any packaging. So far so good. Now for the cure: The package design.
Think multisensory
Create a package design that speaks to many senses at once. Pick a high-quality carton, which doesn’t only protect but also caresses the hands. Even imparting your package with pleasant smells is no longer a rarity and should be considered for your product.
Besides smell and feel, optics are also central for packages. Colour, form, images and fonts should unite to create a total work of art, which grabs one’s attention, lends brand recognition and tells a story (see above).
Tell stories 
Besides the address and required labelling, try to tell a story that reaches your customer’s heart. Text and graphics must speak a single language. Astonish your customers with phrases like “Surprise! I’m here.” on the top of your package. Or “Today’s your lucky day!” Add an arrow with the note: “Open me here.”
A picture is worth a thousand words: for instance, a corporate design that tells your brand story. The package design for red wine can have the wooden feel of vines or play with the fruitiness of grapes, for example. Or you can hint at the wine-making region with a map.
Product presentation
Unboxed. Now what? Ideally, the next stage of the packaging mise-en-scène begins now. Print the interior of your box to match the outside. Use inlays that present your product ideally inside the box while protecting the product from shocks. Have you ever considered a little greeting card to thank the customer for their purchase?
Don’t forget, depending on the size of the package, a catalogue, image brochure or flyer can be included. This printed material rounds off the unboxing experience. By the way: Whenever possible, abstain from using fill material like styrofoam beads, bubble wrap or cardboard that the customer has to dig through to find the product. You want to secure the packaging with tape. Then print your company name and logo on the tape.
Package design: Here we go!
Get packing and apply the knowledge you just gained. You can find many shipping and gift packages in the FLYERALARM Online Shop, which can be printed to suit your needs.
