What Is Packaging Design & Why Is It Important

All of you folks out there wondering what packaging design is, here’s the one-word answer: it’s the face, period. The face of what? Well, you, your brand, and your product. It is one of the essential things that sets you apart from, well, everyone.

Now, as the name suggests, the packaging is the material that contains your product. Packaging design includes the concept, brand communication, and typography cohesively and coherently that best reflects the product. There are three types of packaging:

Primary – the one that holds the product, perhaps a bottle of medicine.
Secondary – the outer packaging on display to protect the product and on-shelf storage, like a box with a phone inside.
Tertiary – multiple packaging for storage purposes, like when storing in a warehouse or shipping.

The brand packaging – primary and secondary – defines your brand and product. As much as the packaging must be appealing, it must also convey product information. For example, any food packaging design should have ingredients and nutritional information.

Now, let’s get to why packaging design matters; here’s a list of 5 reasons packaging design is essential:

Uniqueness

Packaging design defines shelf throw, i.e., how attractive your product is compared to other competitors’ products. The tonality, color scheme, and shape all hold critical value when it comes to having an edge over competitors.

Communication

The packaging design should aptly convey the brand communication and product information. For example, ready-to-eat FMCG products will always have a ‘How To Use’ section with nutritional information and ingredients in their packaging design.

Protection & Preservation

One of the main functions of a packaging design is protecting and preserving the product.
Under no circumstances should the product spill or get damaged in transit. This is crucial with the booming e-commerce and logistics industry becoming more prominent. The packaging design must be intact and durable enough to withstand wear and tear. And when it comes to perishable items, it is all the more important to create a design that can keep the product in place.

Brand Awareness

Think of your packaging design as an advertising tool. It is a means of creating brand awareness and connotes brand identity in every way possible. It has to become so evident that the packaging/colour should immediately reflect back to your brand. For example, think of yellow, and Maggi would pop up. Think chocolate and Cadbury’s on everyone’s minds.