A Slice Of - Packaging Design

When it comes to launching a brand, getting your brand name right can be the difference between success or failure? In today's competitive marketplace, effective brand naming is a crucial element of successful product marketing and brand strategy. A well-crafted brand name can significantly impact consumer perception, product recognition, and overall brand success. This article explores the best p...

When it comes to packaging design, what does sustainability or being sustainable actually mean? So, what exactly does 'sustainability' or to 'be sustainable' actually mean when it comes to packaging for consumer goods? Is it about the carbon footprint? Is it about the energy consumed at manufacture? Is it about how the products are packaging, recycled and disposed of, or is a mixtu...

Why you should see your back of pack as an integral part of the packaging design system. (No. 41) The back of pack is an often underused and unloved part of the pack. The fact is, it is an important part of the design system. With consumers becoming increasingly discerning and seeking more information to aid their purchasing decisions, the back of the pack has emerged as a crucial element in the b...

Why is it important to establish a brand, rather than just solely focusing on aesthetically pleasing packaging? Why do I need a brand? This is something we get asked a lot, especially from Startups who don’t fully understand the benefit of having one. A brand isn’t a logo, it’s not the colours you decide to use, it’s not what you call a product, it’s not how the product looks, it’s how your produc...

The importance of creating a robust pack architecture in branding & packaging design Getting your hierarchy right on pack can be the difference between standing out or disappearing on shelf. Implementing a clear, cohesive brand architecture across core and extended products is imperative both for shelf standout and to aid consumer navigation. This architecture provides familiarity while introd...

The importance of colour choice in branding & packaging design Colour is one of the most important elements of packaging design. Research shows that 52% of consumers first notice the colour on packaging before anything else. The right use of colour in packaging can instantly guide consumers to a brand and convey key product qualities. When used strategically and consistently, colour is an impa...

When should I change or update my branding & packaging design? Most brand owners have been there and asked themselves this question. It’s really easy to get complacent and refuse the need for a change to your branding and packaging design because you’re either currently doing ok, or there is no budget. But when is the right time – when you are on the upwards slope or when you are sliding down?...

Why brands should never ask their packaging design agency to pitch for free. If you ask a design agency to pitch creative ideas for free, are you approaching the project in the right way and are you going to get the best agency work back? To free pitch or not, is something each design agency needs to decide based on the return for their initial creative investment. If the win for the agency is a c...

Why Consumer Brands Should Consider Sonic Branding. What Does Your Brand Sound Like? In an era of visual overload and shrinking attention spans, brands are constantly searching for new ways to cut through the noise and clutter. While many have a brand logo, tone of voice and robust graphical design system, a powerful tool is often overlooked: sound . Sonic branding, also known as audio branding is...

The importance of creating robust brand guidelines in packaging design. In order to be consistent, a brand needs to have a precise set of rules in place that dictate how it should be realised in any eventuality. That is where brand guidelines come in. Brands that can successfully manage consistency have been proven to perform better and have higher recall from consumers. Consistency and repetition...

How AI can't replace the role of the packaging design agency. This morning, on LinkedIn, I came across a post that genuinely made me pause. It was from a reputable marketer, someone with significant industry clout and a track record of pretty solid thinking. They’d recently discovered a new AI-driven image creation platform and were clearly impressed. Fair enough, these tools are impressive. B...

How to not just be the best, but be the only brand for consumers. Branding, is all about storytelling. It’s how you make an emotional connection with your consumer. Great stories, resonate and provide powerful recall that if crafted uniquely, can span generations. Consumers will always buy a product because of how it makes them feel rather than based on simply what it does, or what it is. "Do...

How to brief your packaging design agency to get the best results. We’ve all heard the stories of agencies and designers being briefed on the back of a fag packet or post-it notes. Briefings take many shapes and forms. Some are very thorough, others are very top line and need a lot of digging around work out the objectives. You can only do a great piece of work if you get a great brief. By a great...

The role of the branding & packaging design agency is changing & agencies need to adapt. This episode is an offshoot to the normal podcast. Instead of critiquing specific brands we going to look at more general advice for brand owners looking to make their brands stand out. I plan to do one of these each month as an extension to the usual podcast. In this episode we look at how the role of...

This episode is an offshoot to the normal podcast. Instead of critiquing specific brands we going to look at more general advice for brand owners looking to make their brands stand out. I plan to do one of these each month as an extension to the usual podcast. In this episode we look at how to choose a packaging design agency to best suit your brand. If you are responsible for a brand, you have pr...

Branding & packaging design for Amazon Savers & the need for private label products to have personality. In today’s podcast, we delve into one of the most competitive spaces in retail – private label grocery essentials. In light of rising living costs, consumers are looking for ways to stretch their cash without compromising on quality. Amazon, the global e-commerce giant, has entered this...

Branding & packaging design for Radox Shower Gel & the need for packs to look good in the home environment. Each week, ‘a slice of’, will take a look at a supermarket brand and critique the pack design to find out what works, or doesn’t. What makes you desire them, or even hate them?  Importantly what makes us put them in our shopping basket! I plan to keep the podcast to around five minut...

Branding & packaging design for Danone GetPRO & the issues of borrowing assets from other brands. Today we'll be discussing the importance of creating unique brand assets and the potential pitfalls of borrowing from other brands. I'm going to use Danone's latest brand launch GetPro protein drink as a case study and explore best practices and important watch-outs in the industry...

Branding & packaging design for Yakult & the benefits of using core assets consistently. There are lots of brands that consumers associate with a recognisable delivery format. The Coca-Cola bottle or the Tic Tac box for example. All of these formats have capitalised on this type of iconic packaging to create a strong brand identity and visual shortcut to the brand and help differentiate th...

Branding & packaging design for Coca Cola Lemon & managing pack architecture with FMCG brands. If your brand makes up a large chunk of Warren Buffett portfolio, chances are you’re doing something very right. Coca-Cola is undoubtably the most recognised brand on planet Earth so if you launch a new flavour or make a change people are going to notice. It wasn’t that long ago That the portfoli...

Branding & packaging design for Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup and managing heritage with FMCG brands. Every month, there is a rebrand posted on LinkedIn, that creates quite a lot of furore. This week, that brand in question was Tate & Lyles Golden Syrup. This rebrand is stripped back much of the instantly recognisable heritage, and the big question is does it work? Each week, ‘a slice of’,...

Branding & packaging design for Tiffany & the importance of colour for FMCG brands. The right use of colour in packaging can instantly guide consumers to a brand and convey key product qualities. When used strategically and consistently, colour is an impactful visual shortcut that builds brand recognition. In this podcast, we look at Tiffany and possibly the most efficient visual shortcut...

Branding and packaging design for plant-based desserts and the issues faced by FMCG brands extending into new sectors. The world of plant-based foods has taken a bit of a pounding over the last couple of months. Sales and consumer interest have both waned in the face of increased prices and market saturation of products. Has the time come to take a slightly different approach with plant-based offe...

Packaging design and advertising are two very different media.  Clearly both have to be singing from the same brand hymn sheet with regards the tone of voice and visual aspect that are used. As I’ve discussed before it’s incredibly important for brands to ensure consistency across all consumer touchpoints, but what happens when the pack design starts to mimic the behaviour of advertising or an ins...

Branding and packaging design for shelf ready trays and the issues faced by FMCG brands with creating design systems. This week I wanted to have a look at a common mistake many brands make when they bring their brand and pack design onto the shelf, so it’s less a look at a specific piece of packaging and more a comment on a particular format. Many products when stacked on the supermarket shelves a...