Being bold and innovative works wonders for your brand image. Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk have all reached their respective stratospheric heights by being vocal and fearless. Apple today ranks as the world’s most valuable brand, but in their early years were considered the outsiders and renegades. No one has ever become the life of the party by fading into the background and being a wallflower.
In today’s bricks-and-mortar retail reality, bold sells. First impressions matter huge. And that first impression starts with how your brand stands out on shelf. You could have the best product at the best price but if the packaging has a plain Jane personality, you may not even get invited to the dance.
Last month, we discussed the swing underway from minimalism to maximalism. Today, we want to look at some of the ways your packaging design can be loud, proud and stand out from the crowd.
Go all-in with colour choices
Consumers interpret colour choice emotionally. Red is the colour of love; it’s intense and passionate. Antithetically, blue is considered calming and symbolizes trust. Yellow is happy, a ray of sunshine no matter how your day is going. Orange is playful and youthful, while purple is rich and noble. Green has always implied healthy and natural, and the reason your classic tuxedo is black is because the colour has always stood for timeless elegance.
To be bold, why not pick an unexpected colour for your brand and create a brand promise to match. Better yet, use multiple colours contrasted against each other in unexpected ways. Or use them all. Get creative, even psychedelic and hypnotic. You’ll definitely stand out.
What’s your type?
The font you use is another way to stand out. In general, you have three font style choices: a serif font is one that has “feet” on the letters while a sans serif font does not. Then there are script fonts that borrow from the traditional cursive or handwritten style. A serif font says you’re elegant, traditional and trustworthy. A sans serif font says your brand is modern and approachable. A script font conveys honesty and creativity.
Want to be bold? Use them all. If you have a product line with six SKUs, use different fonts and font styles for each. Or use a different font for each word, or even each letter. Another way to be bold with your type is to be extra-bold; make each letter Michelin Man thick. Building off our analysis of colour above, you could also use different colours for each letter, or even multiple colours within each letter such as a varsity lettering approach.
Take it to another dimension
In the branding universe, packaging design is unique in that it’s three-dimensional. Your package has a tactile and experiential relationship with your consumers that simply cannot be communicated on a billboard, website or newspaper ad. Rather than simply appeal to the visual sense, why not attract purchases through touch as well. There are many ways to enhance the dimensionality of your packaging including embossing and debossing, a soft-touch coating that provides a luxurious cotton-smooth texture or process called flocking that contributes a velvety or suede-like look and feel that can be applied to specific areas of the package.
Cut from a different cloth
Another unique attribute to packaging design if that you have total control of the shape it takes. Why build a box when you can think outside of it and create a unique shape or die-cut that speaks to a product benefit. Our structural design team has enjoyed tremendous success in creating unique shapes and designs that automatically stand out on shelf or on a POS display while satisfying the real-world demands of bulk packing and logistics.
When it comes to packaging design, the sky really is the limit. There are so many ways to be creative and create additional buyer interest. Next time, take an educated risk with you next package design, be bold and be different. We’re here to consult with you on the many ways your product line can stand up, jump out and get noticed.
