OUGD601 - PROJECT STATEMENT

PROJECT STATEMENT

Within this module, I have been looking into the influence packaging design has on consumer purchase, researching into the different factors designers need to consider when designing packaging. The essay discusses various theories that can have an affect on consumer purchasing such as Ian Pavlov's classical conditioning theory, and more psychological elements that can effect how a consumer responds to a product, such as colour theory. Gaining a better knowledge of the theories behind consumer purchasing allowed me to discuss within the essay what really influences consumers and how they respond to certain things. Trends was one topic that I discussed, looking into how popular trends can have a large impact on the sales of particular items, and looking into how brands respond to these trends through their advertisement and branding.  Throughout the essay, I have evidenced various examples of packaging designs and analysing how consumers have responded to various types of packaging design. My main focus for the essay was to discover what design methods were the most impactful when it came to packaging design, looking into the aesthetics and practicality of numerous products on the market. Referring back to the theories and linking it with particular products and brands was an interesting insight into marketing and how brands use certain colours and typefaces for example to appeal to particular markets. One example within my essay focuses on gender stereotypes within design and how brands will design their packaging to appeal to their specific target audience, even if that means using stereotypical methods such as the use of harsh masculine typefaces for a protein brand. A main part of my research was looking into the bigger brands such as McVities and the power they have within the supermarkets, highlighting the importance of having a loyal customer base when it comes to highly competitive markets. The advertisement of food packaging is something that can have a huge impact on the way consumers perceive a product. Within my essay I have discussed various examples of good and bad advertisement and the effects these advertisements have had on these brands. Cadbury's Gorilla advert was my example of good use of advertisement, and Nestle's Yorkie bar as the bad. 

The practical piece I designed to work alongside my essay were inspired by the practical packaging methods that I had looked into, considering how a consumer would interact with particular products. The boxes I have designed focuses on portion control and how to avoid food wastage, relating back to my topic of sustainability and how that is a 'trend' that people are getting more involved with. The boxes both have guides that the user would use to accurately manage their portions as in my research I conducted I found that people struggled to make the perfect amount of spaghetti and rice. The boxes also include clear cooking instructions that the consumer would follow as it adds another way that they could interact with the packaging. An example within my essay was researching into the positive effect good packaging design can leave on a consumer, resulting in repeat purchases. My practical piece considers the aesthetics of the item and how it would stand out on a shelf amongst its competitors, whilst using a relatively simple design, I wanted the boxes to look good and in comparison to a lot of the items on the market, I believe I achieved this. 

I would have liked to experiment a little more with the shapes of my boxes, and also would have liked to do a test of functional packaging like what I designed, vs packaging design that focuses solely on the aesthetics. I also would have liked to look more into the other theories behind consumer purchasing, and looking more into the psychological aspects. I also think that I could have applied my knowledge of consumerism and potentially applied that within my essay, however I wanted to focus more on the design of the packaging rather than consumer behaviour. 

I believe that my essay and practical piece work well alongside each other, as I was able to apply research from my essay to my practical piece. I considered how consumers respond to packaging design, and I took techniques from successful packaging designs and applied it to my own designs.  

OUGD601 - FINAL OUTCOME

FINAL OUTCOME

Once I had finalised the designs for my final outcome, I printed them off and assembled the boxes, overall I am happy with how they turned out and they work well together as a set. In order to capture how the product would look in context, I decided to photograph them with the ingredients that they are supposed to be packaged for (rice and spaghetti). 

To show how the windows worked in the rice packaging, I filled up the box with the rice inside it and they worked very well and I am pleased with the outcome. 

 

 

OUGD601 - ESSAY FEEDBACK (2)

ESSAY FEEDBACK (2)

Intro: introduce the role of designer in intro

• Go back over the beginning section - apply same methods from second part  
• Analyse ideas with own voice and theory to back it up - beginning section
• Got all the points - support it with evidence 
• Explain why the gender things appeal to men/women
• Design examples of how other brands have done same thing as Cadbury - doesn’t need to be food design
• Different example for Pepsi that’s more relevant to the designers role 
• Go through the whole essay as the designers role - whenever possible bring your voice - ‘which could lead to people thinking’ ‘which could impact this..’
• Primary research 
• intro needs to include practical vs aesthetic
• Form follows function - modernist 
• Packaging does need to grab attention - but also just needs to be understood
• Functionality vs grabbing attention 
• Design boards for practical 

OUGD601 - PRIMARY RESEARCH - STUDIOS CONTACTED

STUDIOS CONTACTED

I contacted a few graphic design studios that specialise in packaging design in order to gain a better understanding of a designers approach towards packaging. 

I looked up studios based in Leeds and Manchester, along with one studio based in London. 

Robot Food:

Elmwood Design:

Big Fish Design:

Unfortunately the only studio to contact me back was Big Fish and they gave me an additional email to which I should send my questions to, however I am still waiting on a response from him. 

OUGD601 - PRIMARY RESEARCH

PRIMARY RESEARCH 

In order to gain a better understanding behind the packaging of products, I wanted to get some insider knowledge from packaging designers. I wrote a list of questions to send to some packaging designers so that I could compare it with the research I had found for my essay. This was my list of questions:

(1) Do you research heavily into the brand you're designing when designing something new?
(2) What do you class as successful packaging design and why?
(3) Do you ever consider the theories related to design (colour theory, psychological etc) when designing, or is it just mainly focused on aesthetics?
(4) How much do you compare / copy similar brands? Do you try to stand out or stick with the norms?
(5) What has been your favourite product to work on and why?

I contacted four different studios that I had found who design food and other packaging. I contacted Anna Lamburn from Butterfly Cannon based in London, BigFish studios, Robot Food and Elmwood. BigFish studios contacted me back giving me an email for one of their designers, however I am yet to hear back from him, and Robot Food and Elmwood I have sadly not heard back from. 

Anna Lamburn from Butterfly Cannon did respond and gave me some useful information responding to my questions.


Hi Beth,

- Do you research heavily into the brand you're designing when designing something new?

Yes. We ask the client to provide as much information as possible. We want to know the history of the brand, brand stories, past designs they've done, where the brand is headed over the next few years, competitors, future aims, where it will be sold, how much it costs etc. We need to know the full picture to help us position our design well.

- What do you class as successful packaging design and why?

Successful packaging design should be meaningful, memorable and beautiful (in that order). Every design choice you make has to have a relevant meaning behind it because it helps consumers connect to the brand in an emotional way. Without meaning the brand feels empty and consumers don't tend to gravitate towards it as much. It's the reason some brands are coveted and talked about constantly, like Veuve Cliquot for example (that's a really good reference for an excellent brand strategy).

- Do you ever consider the theories related to design (colour theory, psychological etc) when designing it, or is it just mainly focused on aesthetics?

Hmm, yes I suppose so. We all have good knowledge of typography and the meaning behind certain typefaces, and we also think about semiotics in our designs and logos too. If we can design a logo that has hidden meaning or something to discover then that's great. For example, we recently designed a star logo for a brand and the star is made up of the letter 'J' because the brand name begins with a 'J'. It helps their icon feel ownable to them and not just another generic star. We'd also think about what the colours mean for our brand, but it tends to be a mix of what looks good and feels right, vs. what it means on a deeper level.

- How much do you compare / copy similar brands? Do you try to stand out or stick with the norms?

You never try and copy other brands, it's important to really try and think of original ideas as far as possible. But yes, being realistic, to some extent I suppose we're always influenced by what other brands are out there.

Most brands tend to want to 'stand out but fit in'. It sounds like it doesn't make sense but what they mean is that they want to sit comfortably in their category, but they also want to stand out from the competition. So for example, whisky brands have to be careful when choosing a bottle shape because they want to be instantly recognisable as a whisky to consumers. If you put it in a wide, short curved bottle people often think it's a cognac. Equally you'd probably never put neon pink on a whisky because it would totally alienate the typical whisky drinker. But you might push the boundaries a bit more than usual and put it in a navy and copper bottle like Haig Club. It challenges the norms and stands out from the competition, but it doesn't totally alienate people and lose credibility.

- What has been your favourite product to work on and why?

My favourite product to work on recently is a new skincare brand for teenagers that hasn't launched yet. They're trying to go against the grain on instagram perfect, filtered, flawless faces and offer something a lot more real and honest for teens growing up. (Essentially it's going to be the Glossier for tweens instead of millennials). The reason I love it is because they're trying to shake up the category and they have very good ethics as a company. We're looking at fully recycled plastic going into their bottles and soya inks, vegan formulas etc. We're trying to create packaging formats that feel desirable and meaningful (i.e. something like glossier cloud paint tubes. Blushers that come in tubes that look like gouache paint). It's really interesting to create something with good morals and smile in the mind ideas, it's not just about selling people stuff.

Hope that helps!

Anna :)

OUGD601 - FINAL DESIGN DECISIONS

FINAL DESIGN DECISIONS 

Once I had printed off my final designs, I put together the boxes and when showing a group my designs, one comment was made on how the rice box would be used. There was confusion in the portions for the rice as they suggested that it would be easier to produce a box that showed the inside of the box and you would pour out the rice down to each hole for each portion. This made a lot more sense, rather than poking through each individual hole. This meant that I would need to include some acetate on the inside of the box so that the holes acted as windows that the consumer could refer to when portioning their rice. 

I made a mock up of this and I liked the look of the box, however the holes were roughly cut out and needed to be cut by a laser cutter in order to look more professional. 

Overall I am happy with the designs as they consider the consumers needs and look professional, without being over complicated. The idea behind my designs were to produce something that was practical whilst still looking good in order to be able to compete with the other items on the market. In my research I found that with rice packaging especially, that most packets are dull and plain, so I thought that I would design something that would entice the customer, whilst providing a way that consumers could interact with the packaging more.

Throughout my essay I have shown research into packaging design and how consumers like it when they are able to interact with the item as it leaves the consumer with a more positive response and more likely to repurchase the product. An idea for primary research would be to put this item on the shelf amongst the rest of the items to see if consumers would choose this product over their normal choice, however this depends on whether the design will be printed and ready by then.  

OUGD601 - DESIGN DEVELOPMENT (2)

DESIGN DEVELOPMENT (2)

A suggestion was made to me that I should experiment with different shapes for my box to see which worked best for the design. To respond to this I decided to test out a carton-style box (square). Straight away I preferred the layout for this as it seemed more appropriate for the style I was designing, I adjusted the design to work with the square format and printed it out to make a mock up. 

When I made up the box however, I realised that the additional side which did not feature anything else was not needed so thought I would test out the design as a triangular box, similar to that of a Toblerone. This design worked well and I got rid of that side. 

Once this was printed and mocked up, I thought of another box that could be made in a similar style to manage portion control. Spaghetti pasta is another ingredient that people struggle with when it comes to portions, so I thought I would design a box in the same style for spaghetti. This design was easy as I followed the same format and it meant that I had two outcomes at the end of the process. 

These were my final designs that I had and were ready to be printed properly:

 

OUGD601 - INITIAL DESIGNS

INITIAL DESIGNS

To start the design process, I began with using small illustrations of rice grains and started to randomly place them on a brown background to give me an idea as to what it may look like once printed. I decided that I wanted to take inspiration from one of my images from my moodboard and use a white design on brown paper as I liked the simplicity and effectiveness of the packaging.

After experimenting with various sizes for the grain of rice, I decided to keep one consistent size and randomly place them to create a pattern. I then began to experiment with the type face I wanted to use. I knew that I wanted a bold sans-serif typeface that would be eye catching, but not overly complex. The typeface needed to go with the rice illustrations so I tested various typefaces next to this to see which worked best.

I tested:
Bureau Grot
Azo Sans
Nobel
Vinyl OT

   
I found that I preferred the look of Nobel the most, and when I showed a small focus group these different typefaces, the vote was unanimous and Nobel was voted the favourite.

I then tested the various weights of Nobel and again presented these to the same group to see which they thought was best. Bold Condensed was the favourite here so I began to test this typeface alongside the rest of my design. 

The next thing I tested was the layout of the packaging, I decided that I wanted to have a circular tube as my packaging, so needed to consider this when designing to see which layout would work best.

  

Considering this was going to be stuck onto a circular tube, I thought that having the type rotated down the side would look better, as it may have gotten distorted if it was landscape. Part of this design was to have portions for the rice so that people would avoid food wastage when portioning their rice. Originally, the box was going to include sections within the box with perforated holes down the side that was one portion. When the consumer needed one portion they simply poked the hole through and poured out the rice. So the next thing I designed on the box was the holes and whether to use perforated holes, or numbered holes. The perforated looked far more aesthetically pleasing and worked better with the rest of the design so I went for this option. 

 

OUGD601 - PRACTICAL RESEARCH

PRACTICAL RESEARCH

Existing rice packets are generally quite dull unless they are microwavable packets which usually have a more interesting pattern on them. I found that the generic packaging for rice was a clear bag   with a  small label telling the consumer what it was.
The idea of having a package that has pre-made portions inside appealed to the group of people that I presented the idea to, all stating that they prefer to buy microwaveable rice or 'boil in a bag' rice as they have the portions measured out, meaning there was less food wastage.

In order for the product to stand out on a shelf amongst other rice packets, the product needs to be aesthetic and look different to the generic packets, whilst remaining functional.

Existing microwavable rice:



Existing regular basmati rice:

OUGD601 - YORKIE BAR RESEARCH

YORKIE BAR RESEARCH

- famous in the uk for its former tag line "its not for girls". 

- the bar has always been targeted at men ever since its inception

-original idea was called 'rations' which would have tasted a lot like todays yorkie

- 'rations' was meant for men. it was 'to be eaten as a sustaining food, in the context of vigorous open-air activity'

- Rowntree's named the bar after its location Yorkshire

- in 2002 Nestle owned yorkie launched the aggressively macho campaign: "its not for girls"

- with tag lines such as 'not available in pink'

- the "its not for girls' line and the no women sign were removed from the packaging in 2012 and replaced with the slogan: "Man fuel for man stuff"

http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-the-yorkie-chocolate-bar-2016-3/#however-rations-was-eventually-abandoned-due-to-its-association-with-wartime-austerity-6 

- Yorkie first launched "its not for girls" in 2002 in an effort to better target male consumers.

- Sampling activity around the campaign was banned in cities such as Birmingham and Liverpool after being deemed 'sexist'. 

OUGD601 - PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS

PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS

Having discussed with my group and with my tutor what I should do for my practical piece, I thought I had decided that I would do two different packaging designs, one that focuses more on the aesthetics and one that focuses on the practicality of the packaging. 
I have done some research into practical / sustainable packaging and lots of it isn't extremely aesthetic, so instead I have decided to design some packaging that is practical and has considered how the consumer would use the particular product, but also that looks aesthetic so that it would appeal to a consumer in a supermarket. 

I have looked into what product I could focus my design on, and how I could make it practical for a consumer. I looked into resealable items which has been done before, but not always very well, but I also thought about how some food items are packaged with no portion guidelines such as pasta and rice. I saw one clever pasta packaging design for spaghetti that included a portion guide when pouring the pasta out of the package, this inspired me to think of how I could apply a similar tool to a different product. 

Rice is one food that is difficult to get right when it comes to portion control, also how to cook rice properly. I thought of creating a rice package that had portion guidelines within the design and also clear instructions how to cook rice as it is a daily food most households use. 

The initial idea for this would to perhaps design a tube or box that had portion sections which would organise the product into the correct portion amounts so that there is less food wastage at the end. I have made a moodboard with images that I have imagined my packaging to look like, along with existing alternative rice packages.

OUGD601 - GROUP CRIT 22/11/18

GROUP CRIT

Within this crit, we presented our practical idea that will be produced alongside our extended essay. I was unsure as to what I wanted to produce for my practical as my initial idea was a little hazy and I was not feeling extremely enthused by the idea. I told my group what I intended on designing and then we discussed what would be the best option for me to do.

My initial idea was to design two different food packages using different techniques/styles for the same product to see which one people would choose, but after discussing this with my group, I realised that I wasn't actually achieving anything from this test as it all comes down to personal preference. I then told them my other suggestion of doing two different packaging designs, one that focuses on the aesthetics of the design and the other that focuses on the practicality of the design. My group much preferred this idea and said that this fitted better with my essay question.

Suggestions:
- Find an existing product that is ugly, but practical and compare it with aesthetic products
- The unboxing experience - how practical is that - add this into the essay
- Still use the idea of a window within the packaging to see the product inside as that is a practical and aesthetic element

OUGD601 - ESSAY STRUCTURE / PLAN

ESSAY STRUCTURE / PLAN 

Intro:
- Introduce the question and topics to be covered. This essay will look into the influence food and drink packaging has on consumer purchase considering the various factors that affect it such as ... (topics), the aim is to gain a better understanding of ...

P1: Branding  
- What is a brand?
- Marketing strategy?
- Customer types
- Big brands and their power in supermarkets

P2: Theoretical Approaches:
- Introduce Ian Pavlov 
- Consumerism - Edward Bernays / Kant
- Validation of purchase

P3: Aesthetics Pt1
- Packaging designs + Competition in supermarket
- Gü - Innovative packaging

P3: Psychological Theories (1)
- Colour Theory

P4: Aesthetics pt2
- Masculine vs feminine design - relate to colours

P5: Psychological Theories (2)
- Nostalgia / emotional factors in purchasing

P6: Advertisement and their influence on consumer purchase
-Successful - Cadburys (relate to nostalgia factor)
- Unsuccessful - Pepsi - tarnished the brand?

P7: Trends
- Current trends and their influence, healthy vs unhealthy
- Sustainable
- Practical packaging vs aesthetic (relate to sustainability?)

Conclusion:
- What have I discovered?
- Heaviest influence / factor?

OUGD601 - COP TUTORIAL 15/11/18

TUTORIAL 15/11/18

After submitting what I had began writing for my extended essay, I needed to get some feedback in order to know what to add/remove from the essay, and what I need to focus on in order to make sure that I am on track with it and that I am answering my question.

Feedback:
- Make sure to break down the large paragraphs into points you want to make and back it up with examples.
- Too much information on branding, either need to break it apart or add more design-relevant information into it so that it remains relevant to the question
- Keep referring back to the essay question and after every point that is made, make sure to question whether it is answering / debating the question and not going off on a tangent.
- Start to gather primary research so that you can back up your points. Ask packaging designers their opinion and their process:
What do they consider when designing something?
Do they research the brand when designing something new so that it ties in with their existing audience, or do they just focus on the product they are designing for?
Are they aware of the theories (classical conditioning etc) and is it something they consider when designing, or is it all design lead?
Can packaging change the audiences perception of the brand?
-BIGFISH is a studio to contact
- Look into other packaging studios / designers and contact them with a list of questions to help back up your points.
- Make sure that the essay is not split up into mini essays, make sure that it all flows together - don't just have a section on branding and then theory etc, mix it together and use all the research to back up.
- EXAMPLES EXAMPLES EXAMPLES

From my chat with my tutor it has helped me to look at the essay differently, I was intending to rearrange the essay regardless, however it was just a case of getting the information down first, then adjusting it to a more suitable format. I will remove some of the sections that are not very relevant to design and make sure to find examples where I can back up any points that I am making.

 

OUGD601 - PRACTICAL BRIEF

Practical Brief

Brief Title:

Food Packaging

The Brief:

To design appropriate food packaging that responds to consumer needs, considering how the consumer would interact with the item enhancing their experience with the product.

Background considerations:

Consider how the item would look in a supermarket against its competitors.

Consider how the item would be packaged and what features it would include in order to appeal to consumers. 

Target Audience – Regular Supermarket shoppers

Consider the materials of the product and how it would stand alone and amongst a range of items.

Mandatory Requirements:

The product should be neutral, appealing to a large consumer base.

Should stand out against existing products. 

Deliverables:

Packaging outcomes

Module Deadline:

14/12/18

OUGD601 - PRACTICAL MOODBOARDS

PRACTICAL MOODBOARDS

After thinking about what I would like to produce for my practical, I have decided that I am going to design two different food packaging designs for the same food product. My aim is to have these designs done so that I can use them as primary research towards my written piece. My research question is trying to find out the influence the packaging can have on consumer purchase, therefore  I want to design two different styles of packaging, for the same food product to test to see which one consumers would more likely choose. 

I was planning to do two different styled designs, one which is very minimal and simplistic, and the other which is more illustrative and intricate. I will be using the same product in the packaging,  so it is just the packaging that the consumer will be making their decision on. 

I have made two mood boards for the styles of packaging that I intend to design:

OUGD601 - PACKAGING THE BRAND - GAVIN AMBROSE, PAUL HARRIS - NOTES

PACKAGING THE BRAND - GRAVIN AMBROSE, PAUL HARRIS.

- Physical products require packaging to protect them from damage and to present both the product and its brand attractively to a target group of consumers.
- Packaging also works to convey the brands characteristics that will position it within the minds of consumers and that will ultimately differentiate it from its competitors.
- A brand cannot be positioned as a high quality or luxury product if its packaging is fragile and low quality.
- A piece of packaging is a story that conveys a narrative to an audience. It is more than a mere container adorned with graphics; it is a message, a medium, and a conversation between buyer and seller.
Is Packaging Branding?
- 'Packaging is branding' - Richard Gerstman
- A package and a brand are essentially inseparable - for example a can of Coca-cola: the can is a means to contain liquid, while Coca-Cola (the brand) represents a set of values related to the product. Can the two really be separated or are they inextricably linked?
- If you separate the brand from its packaging, you are left with the physical packaging (a metal container) and a set of fonts, colours and graphics that constitute its branding. But together they magically form a 'packaged brand', and the product thus gains value.
- Branded packaging design can take this a step further by creating unique packaging for a brand.
- 'Packaging and branding are different' - Darrel Rhea.
- To create truly effective packaged brands, designers need to consider how both packaging and the brand can be dovetailed together in a way that mutually and effectively serves both the packaging and branding goals of a product.
- Some would argue that packaging is branding; that packaging represents the manifestation of the brand and the brand lives through and is enlivened by the packaging.
- The marketing mix, a collection of activities to maximise product awareness and sales: 'four P's' - Product, price, promotion, place.
- Product is the combination of physical characteristics and service elements that will meet a customers needs.
- Price is how much people will pay for the product.
- Promotion is the effort made to raise awareness of a product or service through various activities such as advertising and sales promotions.
- Place is the location where a product will be presented to a consumer.
- Packaging is the visual face of the product.
- The 'four C's' has been put in place of the 'four P's' as it was seen as out of date by some marketers - the four C's consist of Convenience, Cost, Communication and Customer needs.

Branding and Rebranding
- Branding and packaging have a lifecycle, which means there is a need for regular evaluation and alteration in order to maintain a brand, its attributes and personality. When a brand no longer resonates with its target consumers, it is often time to undertake a rebranding of the product or line to correct this.
- The first step when undertaking a brand review is to identify and focus on the attributes that are really important. Once this has been decided you can review where the brand sits against its competition. An existing brand will be known fin the marketplace and may have both good and bad associations for buyers.

Audience and sectors
- The first step to a successful packaging design is to identify the main audience that the design will appeal to.
- 5 types of shoppers:
1) Loyal customers: who represent no more than 20% of the customer base, but account for more than 50% of sales.
2) Discount customers: who shop frequently but make decisions based on the size of markdowns.
3) Impulse customers: who don't have buying a particular item at the top of their 'to do' list but who purchase what seems good at the time.
4) Needs-based customers: who go out with a specific intention to buy a particular type of item.
5) Wandering customers: who have no specific need or desire in mind, but who rather hope to gain a sense of experience and/or community.
Sectors
- There are sector cues that a designer needs to become familiar with, which define or suggest where the parameters of audience expectations lie in relation to a particular product category.
- These cues are made up of the conventions and shared visual language that have become established about a given product over time, and their presence partly explains why packaging for products within any one sector often look similar.
- The existence and power of sector cues frequently results in shared aesthetics being adopted within the same product categories, which then become a common visual currency for the presentation of competing products within the marketplace. Therefore, innovative packaging design often has to strike a balance between fitting in and standing out from the generally accepted norms and cues present in a given product sector.

Purpose and intent
- Purpose concerns what the packaging is physically required to do in order to protect and present a product. Packaging is designed to contain a specific volume or measure of a product, to store it without contamination throughout the transportation process and during its in-store display, to preserve product qualities for a defines period of time and to ensure that it is protected against numerous forms of damage, such as moisture, heat, bumps and the impact of being dropped.
- Intent  of branded packaging is altogether different from its purpose and is concerned with captivating an audience. Within retail environments, a package needs to grab the attention of potential buyers and rapidly communicate various brand values.

Retail environment
- Packaging is often designed for a retail environment, such as in a supermarket, where it will represent one item amongst many thousands displayed on generic shelving. Retail environments can also be created that are sympathetic to packaging needs, such as in a boutique store, where greater control can be exercised over the retail experience.
- Generic retail - Packaging does not need to be loud and garish, but it must communicate quickly and clearly to the target audience for which it is intended.
- Impulse purchases - Over 70 percent of purchase decisions are made at the point of purchase; therefore, obtaining prime locations on shelving is both very competitive an often a privilege that manufacturers are prepared to pay for, in order to display their products where they will be most seen.
The dual functions of branding and packaging
- Branded packaging has a dualistic nature due to the need for its purpose and its intent to function in both the pre- and post-purchase environments. Branded packaging has to stand out and communicate its qualities to consumers more successfully than its competitors.
- In order for brand loyalty to grow, branded packaging also has to make a successful transition to the consumers home or wherever the product will be used or kept.
- An outlandish intent may persuade a consumer to buy a product once, but if it looks ridiculous once home, it will reduce the chance of a consumers repeat purchase.
Boutique retail
- In a boutique store, consumers are an essentially captive audience of the manufacturers brand message, with no environmental competition from other manufacturers messages present.
- These controlled and sympathetic environments allow branded packaging to focus on things other than merely grabbing buyers' attention.
- The retailer can take and extend the brand characteristics and attributes presented in the packaging design to fill part of or even the entire retail space, if desired.

Bespoke to Global
- Packaging and branding has to connect with the particular aspirations and expectations of the target market, and this will vary from one geographic location to another.
- Appropriateness: There is a great difference between designing packaging for a regional or national market and designing for an international or global market. For a local product it might be important to stress the use of locally sourced materials, or that the product meets a particular local need. Humour also varies according to region and nation, so using it within design may not be totally appropriate for a global product due to the possible lack of translation or transferability.
- The more international a product is, the less specific the cultural references need to be.
- Bespoke: a bespoke industry is one of small-scale production that is typically performed in a home or small premises by the owner and/or their family using their own equipment and resources.
- Packaging at this level may focus on the fact that a product is handmade or made with traditional methods and that it has artisanal qualities due to the use of traditional or natural materials.
- Regional products - Many food products use such regional strategies, particularly when they benefit from 'protected designation of origin' status, such was cheddar cheese, champagne and certain beers.

Proprietary and own brands
- A main distinction that can be made between brand is between proprietary brands, and those which are own brands - that is, those manufactured by one company to be sold by a retailer, or which are made and sold by the same retailer or outlet.
- Proprietary - standalone brand that competes with all other brands in the marketplace. Manufacturers like Persil, Pepsi, and Heinz make products that operate in direct competition with other brands.
- Own brand - Developed by supermarkets and other retailers, particularly in the areas of food and home products, to offer a broader, more generic appeal to consumers that is firmly tied into the brand of the store itself.

Luxury and value:
- Packaging design often associate itself with the qualities of luxury or value. Both seek to enhance the appeal of a product to consumers, but by focusing on very different concerns and lifestyles. Designing for the luxury markets tend to add to the volume of product packaging, while designing for value products often reduces product packaging.
Luxury:
Luxury products convey prestige, and this quality is often projected in packaging through the use of high quality or exclusive materials and by presenting a sense of refined aesthetic values.
Value:
Value in this context, is a state of mind whereby a person feels that the rewards or benefits that they receive from something are equal to or greater than the effort or expense incurred to obtain it.
Value is relative to the individual

Examples:
- Waitrose:
Less Moberly adopted a new approach to generic branding for a basic range of cooking ingredients for Waitrose supermarket in the UK. The labelling was created for over 60 products sold in generic packages that simple state what the product is, with a light hearted introduction expressing a suggested measurement for use. The labels create a sense of strong branding due to their consistent and visually arresting typographic presentation. Formality has been replaced by friendly conversation and ongoing dialogue - giving the user a sense that someone is in the kitchen cooking with them.

'You have two goblets before you. One is of solid gold, wrought in the most exquisite patterns. The other is of crystal-clear glass, thin as a bubble, and as transparent. Pour and drink; and according to your choice of goblet, I shall know whether or not you are a connoisseur of wine. For if you have no feelings about wine one way or the other, you will want the sensation of drinking the stuff out of a vessel tat may have cost thousands of pounds; but if you are a member of that vanishing tribe, the amateurs of fine vintages, you will choose the crystal, because everything about it is calculated to reveal rather than to hide the beautiful thing which it was meant to contain.' - Beatrice Warde, 1932.