Today well-designed and professionally made packaging is like a weapon that allows the product to clear its way to the customers’ heart. It should be no small surprise, then, that preparing for a new product launch takes a lot of time and involves a team of specialists.

Packaging as a design process

This is a complex process that involves multiple stages and is directly related to the development of the product concept. It comprises two stages:

• in-house stage, completed within the company (a designated team, based on an analysis of the market and a variety of data, and specifies the basic design specifications and priorities);
• external stage, where the specifications are submitted to a design studio and result in the final packaging design, developed in close cooperation between the two units.

In-house stage – design specifications

The need to prepare new packaging may result from launching a new item on the market, the desire to refresh the product image or the need to adjust the packaging to the expectations of a new target group. The creation strategy is a vital component in the design process as it ensures the final product has the features desired by consumers from the target group.

A well planned design process should start by defining the initial specifications. This requires a thorough analysis of the data, including market research results. All of this should take full advantage of the precious few seconds the average consumer spends selecting a product, influencing the consumer’s purchase decisions (75% of which are made at the shelf). Of course, the product itself is analysed at the same time (technical parameters, trends, etc.), and all the in-house activities result in defining a set of guidelines (on technical and communication requirements), which in turn provide a solid foundation for building the overall product image in the subsequent stages.

Continuous pursuit of excellence

Today’s consumer is demanding, fussy and unwilling to accept half-measures. Creating a perfect product to address his or her needs is a very challenging task. Before a company decides to launch the production of a new product or refresh the image of an item from its portfolio, a well-planned strategy must be prepared: one that globally specifies the needs of the target group and enables the creation of a perfect product with accompanying packaging that presents the proposed value and inspires the potential buyer to purchase the product.