by James D. Roumeliotis with contribution by Thomas C. Mylonas (Creative Entrepreneur & CEO of Dot Kite Design-Branding)
Packaging for renowned chef Enrique Olvera by Ponxo Design (Mexico/Spain)
Beauty and design in all things is artistic, engaging, stimulating and creates a sense of comfort. It’s also a very personal thing. Creativity is beauty in art form. It starts from nothing, utilizes mind exploitation, imagination then something awe inspiring is produced which stimulates the mind and senses. Apple comes to mind, first and foremost as it has successfully created not merely electronic entertainment consumer merchandise, but products of desire which are visually appealing, user friendly and ergonomically designed through a minimalistic approach. Tesla Motors has not only created an environmentally friendly car but taken the mundane automobile to greater heights in design, functionality and gratification with the driving experience.
Done well, minimalism is highly nuanced and widely engaging as it’s a catalytic blend of functional essence and aesthetic elegance. Equally impressive in the design aspect was putting plenty of thought into getting its packaging right. The shape, details and texture of each package is just perfect and a unique work of art in its own right. It is quite evident that Apple and Tesla, amongst others, went above and beyond to get the overall product experience above and beyond customer expectations.
Innovation perception
What is design? In the simplest form, it is creating an aesthetically appealing and functional solution to a problem. Innovation has the same concept without necessarily having the creative appeal. Problems that design and innovation resolve vary from a product or service that functions poorly to not having enough market share. In that case, you innovate and design a new solution. Design and innovation are related at another level. If your company is designed in the right way, then it will stimulate innovation. This can be done by designing your processes so that:
- Employees have the time to work on their own projects;
- People are motivated to generate new ideas;
- Others outside of the company can contribute (outsourcing);
- You have time to listen to new ideas;
- Experimentation and risks may be taken.
Investing time and money into new ideas may be the most difficult barrier to generating tangible solutions that can be executed. This is because most companies are averse to taking risks, especially large companies. However, once the processes in a company are designed so that new ideas can be followed up on, more ideas will follow.
Even though design is not so easily categorized, there are two main types of innovation; radical and incremental. One can also say that a new design is radical or incremental. An incremental innovation is basically an adjustment to an existing product or process while a radical innovation shakes up the entire product or process so that you will have something distinctive.
You cannot say that one form of innovation is better than another. It all depends on the market and how you communicate your new design. So, will a new design or innovation have a positive impact on your bottom line? No one will know from beforehand, but the most innovative and design conscious companies are doing well, even during an economic downturn.
Clever design significantly increases sales and improves brand performance
There are many ways of seeing the value of design. For instance, you can measure sales and relative value as an output of changes in design. Design can also improve your standing amongst rivals and give you a competitive advantage. The Design Council published a report where facts and statistics concerning the value of design are highlighted. One interesting statistic is that design conscious businesses can expect a return on their internal design investments as high as 125%. That’s quite an impressive return compared to other types of investments made in a business.
What may be obvious is that if you have high quality design, you do not need to compete with your competitors on price. If you design your product and/or service well, then customers will enjoy what you have to offer and continue to be loyal to your company – even if the price is higher than the nearest competitor. That’s because you offer something unique and of a higher standard/value.
If you would like to increase your market share, then being a design savvy business is a wise option. Businesses that did so increased their market share by 6.3% through design. This could be due to several factors, such as those mentioned above concerning the increased value of the product or the notion that you will set yourself apart from the competition.
Furthermore, companies that grow rapidly are almost six times more likely to see design as an integral part of their business compared to those companies that remained static. The effects of design are hard to see, but these hard facts prove the value of design.
Cutting into consumer indecision amongst the competition
When you head to the grocery store to pick up a product such as cereal, do you purchase the same one each and every time or, like many consumers, are you comparing and contemplating about which one to grab?
When presented with a large range of choices to fulfill a need, it is in human nature to become confused, thus the inability to quickly make a choice. When we spend too much time comparing the plethora of options we are presented with, the functional differences between each of them soon become blurry. Once the functional differences lose importance, the peripheral aspects take precedence. This means that whichever product’s ad, spokesperson, or packaging color stands out favorably in our minds will most likely influence our product purchase.
What does this signify for those responsible for branding and communications for such low-involvement products? The peripheral aspects must stand out for products in categories where the number of substitutes is vast enough to cause customer confusion close to the point of purchase. Axe, a brand of male grooming products owned by the British-Dutch company Unilever is a good example of this. Their marketing messages are well known and hold a great amount of recall. They are likely to be quite popular in the deodorant and body spray isle where men are faced with more brands than they can count. The functional superiority or inferiority takes a back seat in such a situation.
Those factors differ for high-involvement goods, such as in cars, watches and so on, where the customer is not likely to make a grab-and-go purchase. In these cases, functionality, brand values and associations begin to play a key role.
Form and function
Product designers work on new products with two aspects in mind: functionality and aesthetics. Through their work, designers connect the industry with consumers by translating a concept into something that adds extra value to consumers.
A competent design team should have an excellent understanding of people, culture, and societies. This knowledge is applied to its deep knowledge about design and includes, but is not limited to:
– Materials
– Components
– Production techniques
– Practical experience
– Financial insight
In this way, products are developed that not only have an appealing design and bring out emotion, but are also practical and of high quality. The products will have the right combination of feel, detailing and ease of usage. Pricing will then determine the value equation. Here are sample ingenious packaging designs in the consumer goods sector http://bit.ly/1clAHSN.
Creative packaging leads to increased sales
Packaging is as important as product itself. The main objective of packaging design is attracting a buyer’s attention to the product. Along with making the product look amazing, it should prompt and influence the customer into buying the actual product as looks do matter. No matter how good the product is, if the packaging is dull and inferior looking it may compromise sales of its contents. Consequently, modern, creative and clever packaging design plays a major role in inspiring and selling any product. Packaging design should include labeling which expresses and communicates key information to the end-user such as benefits, product information, usage directions and perhaps a story.
Some consumer product companies are using a more educated market approach. For instance, to stand-out on the crowded supermarket shelves they introduce art in the printing of their packages and/or labels inviting the consumer to reach-out for the product to learn more about it.
A case in point, after more than two decades in the limelight, California’s Kenwood Vineyards‘ highly-acclaimed Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon reigns as a premier marriage of fine art and fine wine. The combination of the fine art of wine-making with the work of contemporary artists creates an elegant, easily identifiable package, while promoting beautiful artwork at the same time. Other brilliantly designed wine bottles can be viewed at this link: http://bzfd.it/1AubMIH
Saddlers Creek Naked Wines minimalist design
Food and water product branding via brilliant packaging
Taking bottled water to a whole different level for uniqueness and attractiveness requires broad imagination and creativity if one is to turn an essential daily commodity to a product with a premium or luxury cache. The most common approaches to differentiating water that the marketing professionals apply are:
- Fancy bottle and label packaging – shape/color/functionality
- Source and story telling
- Health qualities – promote fitness
- Flavor enhancements – better tasting than plain drinking water
- Ways to drink – creating a certain lifestyle
- Adding unusual and compact/practical sizes
- Limited price offers or bundling with other products
- Solid and extensive distribution channel with retailers and institutional clients
- Sponsorships for additional exposure and significant opportunities for distinct marketing
Here are several eye catching designs – some of which you may mistaken for premium vodka http://bit.ly/1HwA01J.
How about branding water and putting the world’s most expensive price tag on it predominantly by visual appeal and perception? That’s just what its founder and president, Kevin G. Boyd, did for Bling H2O which he labels it as “luxury” and charges about $44 per bottle. He has accomplished this through a clever marketing strategy such as:
– focusing on distribution of limited editions;
– creating a fancy glass water bottle to add cachet;
– conveying a glamorous story with his marketing messages;
– has celebrities sipping his water and as a result, gaining massive publicity.
Bling H20 bottle design
(Image processed by Code Carvings Piczard)
If that weren’t enough, Kevin Boyd introduced the Dubai Collection’s “The Ten Thousand” with a price tag of $2,600 per bottle. This item has over 10,000 hand applied Swarovski Crystals with each bottle custom made to order, numbered and comes with a pair of white handling gloves and an attractive case. There appears to be a market for it – albeit a very small one.
In food packaging, unique examples of standout and alluring packaging design with storytelling can be found with the following products:
- Premium Spanish olive oil: http://callegarioliveoil.com
- Gourmet frozen food packaging for a 3 Star Michelin rated international chef https://www.behance.net/gallery/Enrique-Olvera/2843755
- A healthy and organic snack line http://www.elementsnacks.com
- Artisan chocolate bars from the U.K. http://www.ameliarope.com
Stylish yet environmentally friendly
With the rise of consumer protests and a heightened concern for the environment, many modern companies are responding these days by making every effort to produce both “green” products and packaging that is biodegradable or, at the least, recyclable. This includes the reduction of the size of its packaging and demonstrates eco-friendliness which can bolster their image and attract additional new clients – especially those who are environmentally sensitive.
“While eco-friendly packaging is a recent phenomenon, it is already a large and rapidly growing trend,” observes Susan Selke, Ph.D., acting and associate director of the School of Packaging at Michigan State University, East Lansing.
Some of the companies with well-publicized use of sustainable product materials and packaging are Nike, Starbucks, Estee Lauder, Unilever, Dell and Hewlett-Packard to name a few.
The way forward in product and packaging design
The approach to creativity is the way an artist might stand before a new canvas, on which a beautiful painting can be crafted. Staffs who work in a creative environment should be given plenty of leeway to utilize their full potential – the freedom to flourish. Not doing so limits their artistic talent and deprives the company from taking a leap at the competition.
By having a good understanding about materials, production techniques and manufacturers, striking designs can be created that assure loyal partnerships between consumers and manufacturers. This saves marketing costs in the short term and creates more stability in the long term.
The primary goal of packaging design is to entice customers’ attention. For this purpose, package designs cannot simply inform the customers, but also provoke feelings and communicate emotions. An effective packaging looks attractive, impresses with its creativity and not simply appealing to have on the shelf. As a result, it stands out in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Product and packaging design should also clearly communicate a company’s brand identity. As such, the brand team should be asking: What is our product? What is its unique selling proposition (USP)? Who is our primary target client? What is our company’s mission and vision? Accordingly, the product and packaging design ought to be consistent with the brand identity, as they will help determine the size, shape, colors and materials used with the product and packaging.
Amongst other impressive statistics, stocks of design-led firms outperformed the FTSE 100 by 200%! That should be compelling enough to make product designs consumer appealing, along with practicality and quality built-in to them, precedence. If a manufacturer is to create and produce new products, as well as re-design/revitalize existing ones, why not put some creativeness into it, like industrial designer Philippe Starck, who turns mundane items into objects of desire or Apple who took personal electronic devices to an extraordinary level. It is the “wow” factor accompanied by emotionality in branding.
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Unconventional Business Wisdom for the refined entrepreneurial mindset - by James D. Roumeliotis 