MISTAKE #52: There are no design principles guiding the look of your label
I’ve already shared 13 guidelines for designing packaging to survive on the store shelf. I could also publish an entire series on all the details to consider when designing the label that goes on your package.
Until I have time to do that, I want to share the guidelines I’ve found to consistently surface across categories I’ve worked on. While design principles are very category- and product-specific, I feel safe that most of the following guidelines will be applicable in some form for any product.
If you’ve done no professional design work, but your label is finalized and will not be revised, please at least hold your package up to these principles to see how many you may be violating. The more violations, the more challenging you should expect the next 12 months to be.
If you’re in the middle of design work, I’ll hope that you’ve got a shopper insights-based creative brief guiding design. These 13 guidelines should just be things not to overlook.
1. Your design is too minimalist and flat: Apple products and packaging have proven the broad appeal of minimalism. However, they accomplish this because people recognize the sophistication that goes into everything they do. They make their packaging and labels beautiful as well. Unfortunately, I see a lot of companies make a similar attempt only to create labels that look like they were created in Powerpoint and would be seen in a dollar store bin.
2. Fonts are too small or unclear: Multi-lingual requirements, the desire to communicate a lot of information, or having limited space are typically addressed by shrinking fonts, not reducing the amount of text. Legibility can be further complicated with stylized fonts that become a blur. This, of course, happens because the package is not designed at the actual size, those designing are probably younger people with better eyesight, and everyone working on the package starts to memorize what it is saying. At some point, they stop actually ready the revisions in actual size.
3. You look like every other package label on the shelf: Intentionally or unknowingly, the new packaging is often heavily influenced by existing packaging. This is why so many brands of laundry detergent look like they come from the same family. While other brands probably know something about how to design effective packaging, unnecessary imitation can easily get overlooked or lost in the sea of sameness.
4. You rely too much on the side and back panels to close the sale: This is a wonderful space to provide additional information and answer any final questions shoppers may have before buying. However, these panels do nothing to sell your product until someone has noticed it and picked it up off the shelf. Make sure you know how shoppers interact with packaging to determine what needs to be on the front panel and what is worth putting on the secondary panels.
5. The color palette is bland and dull: If you believe in the stop, hold and close theory of packaging, you realize that getting noticed is the necessary first step. While “yelling and selling” may not be the right approach, and you may be seeking equity that is more subtle or subdued, the package still needs to pop off the shelf.
6. You’re not saying enough: Packaging needs to answer the questions that exist between awareness and purchase. The package needs to tell shoppers your product will solve the need they have. It needs to reinforce desire and want. There is nothing more disheartening than hearing a shopper say “Oh, I didn’t realize that product could do X. Or had Y feature. If I had, I would have bought it.”
7. You’re trying to say too much: Almost always, packaging that tries to say too much do so because it doesn’t know what actually matters to shoppers. While taking the shotgun approach might capture some sales by providing ten different reasons to buy, it is probably as likely to be passed over by shoppers looking for a product more focused on their particular need, not a Swiss Army knife that might only do an okay job performing each job it promises to do.
8. You lack compelling claims: As I’ve mentioned before, different is a fact; better is opinion. That is unless you can quantify the improvement. Shoppers want to know if you’re hair care product delivers twice the volume (not just “more” volume), your food has half the fat (not just “less” fat), or your product is supported by a three-year guarantee (not just “more durable to last longer”). Numbers provide compelling motivation to believe and buy.
9. Core attributes are not clearly called out: Many categories have basic product segmentation which shoppers look for before they consider any other attributes. While not a point of differentiation, clear categorization is critical to remain in a shopper’s consideration set. For example, iced tea needs to immediately communicate whether it is sweet or unsweet. For some shoppers, shampoo should identify itself as clear or creamy. Making this categorization too difficult to determine, even if it just takes five more seconds of looking, can cause shoppers to give up and move on.
10. You’re not emphasizing the right features: Automobiles are a great example of a product that contains dozens of features with each one intentionally included for a specific reason. However, advertisements can call out just a few at a time so knowing which ones matter most is critical to capturing interest. You need to know what your prime prospects care most about because it probably might not be the biggest or most expensive element and could guide you to emphasize everything from the horsepower to the miles per gallon to the number of cup holders. While it is obvious in this example, you don’t sell sports cars based on the number of cup holders or minivans based on engine horsepower.
11. You’re too focused on features, not benefits: So your dog food has protein as the #1 ingredient or your diapers have three layers of absorbent protection. Congratulations. Unfortunately, what might be your key point of difference is what makes shoppers buy. They might be more concerned about ensuring their dog will be happy and healthy for a long time or their baby will be more likely to sleep through the night with less risk of blowouts. Getting beyond the feature and to the benefit it provides is almost always more likely to get shoppers to engage with your package.
12. You can’t see the actual product: Beyond theft, the most common reason product packaging gets damaged is that shoppers feel the need to get the package out of the way so they can see the actual product. This can be particularly true for highly tactile products or products bought primarily for their appearance. This is why many textile-based products attach a small swatch of the fabric to the outside of the package. it is why more ready-to-assemble furniture includes a cutout window in the box to see the wood or paint finish. And it is why toys (dolls or action figures in particular) have packaging that is designed to showcase the actual toy, often in use. If no one is doing this in your category, it could represent an interesting opportunity to explore.
13. You don’t value the negative or white space: The more you learn about great design, the more you are likely to notice and appreciate how negative space is used. You’ll see that the area around the subject or content reduces distraction and guides the shopper’s eyes to the message you want them to receive. Many creative package designs are centered on the incorporation of this space in conjunction with the smart use of text and imagery.
If your package was designed with little or no input from shoppers and you find that it might be guilty of contradicting several of these guidelines, I’d suggest you consider that a pretty big damn deal.
If I haven’t made my point clear, listen up:
It is unbelievably hard for a new product to be successful if doesn’t have exceptional packaging to close the sale on the shelf.
This should be one of the first and easiest assets to get right.
Your package label is one of few marketing materials that require a one-time investment but continue to attract shoppers and generate ongoing sales for your product.
We’d love to help you develop packaging design guidelines for your particular product in your particular category and we’d love to actually bring that package design to life.
But regardless of whether you ask to use our services, please make sure you’ve got kickass packaging to support all your other efforts. If you’re not willing to spend the time and make the investment in the best possible packaging, you’re probably also cutting way too many other corners to have any chance of being successful.