How I Design Packaging for my products

Every product is really making a big appeal in the market only because of the exterior packaging, what it has. Whether you believe it or not, Apple is really successful. Certain brands are really making their mark only because of the packaging design inside the product. Yeah, that's also important. But this is the very first appeal which makes and sells the product. Do you want to know how I design my products and what is the considerations I make? Jump into this podcast, know about it why Packaging design is very, very vital. So we've been talking about this and a lot of people know this is important. First, product design is very important when it comes to packaging the whole product how it is. See, there are two types of packaging. One is internally component, internally packaging. The components technicality, engineering wise and functionality wise. Second is exterior packaging, which I call it as a box.

Okay?

Typically to understand, I'm giving this example. When it comes to physical product or when it comes to any kind of a brochure or materials or user manuals or some kind of a secondary package, primary package, tertiary package, starting from manufacturer and how it reaches your home, including the Amazon packaging, everything really matters a lot when it comes to delivering the full experience. The very first important information you have to consider is functionality. We'll have to ensure our packaging really protects the product and it's easy to use. Right? That's the major thing. Let's say if your product is fragile, if breaking and your package doesn't support that, there is no point in talking about user experience at all. Second is I'll take consideration of the brand. Like what is the real brand alignment? Like, let's say if your brand color suggest is orange, if it's yellow, if it's tint of green, if it requires a graphics, if it requires a logo to be placed, make sure you align with that. Third is eco friendliness. This is very, very vital. Guys, people don't understand this because your product is going into a big scale, going into thousands and millions and millions of people. Right? So the kind of material, what you use should be sustainable and eco friendly.

Okay?

And the fourth important aspect is cost. How do you balance this aesthetics and functionality within your budget constraint? See, you cannot design something of extraordinary, beautiful and high costly package which is more than the product cost. That should not be the case. Right. It should be very meager, very minimal, scalable, productionable and also cost efficient for the company. What you're, what you're serving for. And the fifth important thing I consider is regulatory compliance. Particularly I work for medical products and I work for high impactful Safety critical products which requires the regulatory complaints to be adhered. Safety standards should be understood by you when you're designing a package. Okay? Don't just design some dupas and release it in the market. Even if you're doing any freelancing project, a small project or big project, make sure it has a very safety critical compliance and you're adhering to that. Okay, so I'm going to give you five important strategies now. So what is the strategies which I take consideration when I'm doing a particular packaging design? Okay, the very important strategy I would say is storytelling. First, connect the audience through your emotions and values of your design. What you really wanted to say. Okay, so Patagonia uses recycled materials and tells stories of environmental activism on their packaging. You can read about it. Patagonia. Okay, I'll paste the link in the description as well. You can read about it. And you know what, that's a very important thing because people will not connect with your product if your story is not clear. If your story is not there at all. Lot of people just design some dubas and leave it. That's not the point. Your product, your emotion, your brand value should be inherently imbibed in your packaging to tell the story for it.

Okay?

The second important strategy which I'll tell you is minimalism. Focus on only the essential elements and make the packaging very, very simple. Clear, precise communication and it should be really impactful. That's where you'll have to royal really do lot of concepts, iterations, explorations. And the best case study is Apple. They use white packaging. Very minimal. Only the product, one picture will be there in the box. Not multiple graphics, multiple logo. This, that, that's not the point. Right? So it's very, very vital to use this minimalism trend. It's already there. Design is really clear and simple and very powerful when you keep it minimal. Dito Rams always says less is more. Okay, the fourth, the third important element, which I'll tell you which is a very, very important strategy for a packaging design is functionality. You'll have to make sure it should be openable, it should be storable, it should be retrievable easily. It should be thrown away carefully so that it doesn't have any harmful effect for the user while he is handling it. Right? So it should exactly store the product, it should exactly be used when it is required and it should be openable. So all these things should be taken care. You can read the case study of Hanes, okay? They redesigned the ketchup bottles. It's a Very, very famous brand. He I n is, everybody in the world would have seen that package. You can see that ketchup bottle, how squeezable pouches are designed in order to make it very easier for use and less waste, right? See you, you lot, you use, you waste a lot of ketchups in the initial bottle design of Hanes. But right now it's a squeezable pouch. It's sustainable, it's low cost, it's usable, it's functionality, it's less wastage. This is the point, guys. Functionality is a third point. Fourth important thing is very, very, very vital, which lot of designers don't consider sensory appeal. Make sure how it looks like, okay? See guys, nature always works in two ways, okay? One is the exterior aesthetic part and second is the core part, core part of the functionality of your product, which is not there in this, which I'm not talking in this podcast, but that should be taken care already.

Okay?

Sensory part is what? Something which is really appealing. You know what nature really keeps the fruit or flowers or a kind of in a way so that it appeals beautifully. Then and only the reproduction and the sexual reproduction and the asexual reproduction happens in the nature, right? See, we all mate sexually, but plants mate asexually. All these things happens. It's only because of the exterior and aesthetic is really good. If it is not there, probably the reproduction rate will be different. The world would have been in a different way. Even nature tells that sensory appeal is very, very vital. And that's what I'm telling you in our design. Also we need to keep that case and I'm very conscious and I'm mindful when I'm designing my package out of it.

Ok?

Engage in multiple senses, Create textures, create colors, create even perfume smells. You can able to create some kind of a smell in your product which is making the five senses activated for a person who is opening the package. You know what? Have you seen the Dow package? How have you seen the textured packaging and the calming colors? They really evoke a sense of luxury and rare. If you go to any sophisticated car brands like Rolls Royce and BMW, you will see all the senses touching you. The color, the visual, the texture, the smell, everything really. The sound. Everything matters, guys. Because only when you touch the senses of the people, your packaging will be celebrated.

Okay?

The fifth important thing is transparency. So use a very clear, partially transparent material to showcase the product. Don't just completely make a transclusion design, completely make a packed design. That's not the point. People don't really understand this. Keep transparency and you know what a honesty design is. A minimal design will showcase the real ingredients of a product and people will love to use it. Guys, let me tell you 72% of the consumer says sustainable packaging influences their purchasing decision. So communicate it clearly. It's a Statistics by Cone Communications packaging accounts for 30% of the landfill waste in US it's a report by EPA so take consideration of a sustainability eye catching packaging design can increase the sales by 40 percentage. It's a report by Paper Mart 83% of the consumers wants to buy a brand in order to help to live more sustainably. IBM statistics so understand the importance of it. It's not only the aesthetic, it's not only the functionality. It's about how you really make that impact in your real time packaging design. What you do According to a Nielsen Group study, 64% of the consumers try a new product because of new packaging design. See 72% of the consumers reported that packaging design influences their purchasing decision. It's a Stat by West Roc Global Packaging Trend Strategy so understand the importance guys 2022 survey by Global Data revealed that 39% of the consumers consider environmentally friendly package as a key factor influencing their purchase decision. So what does it really say? Packaging is damn important and people are buying because of the packaging design. What you make I've told you the five important strategies what you can follow. And I've told you what are the important strategies which I have really followed when I'm designing my package. Like let's say storytelling, minimalism and functionality, sensory appeal and keeping it transparent. And if you're able to do it, your packaging design will be celebrated across your design community, across your customer, across your product business portfolio. Everything Guys okay. Thank you so much. We'll see in another episode. If you find this podcast useful, give me a Best star rating in Apple and Spotify and watch out for my further episodes. Get notified and if you need my mentorship support, you can subscribe to this description in the email which is given dfcdesignforchangemail.com thank you so much. Take care. All the best. Bye bye.