Packaging design and branding can impact the success of a company

Even with an amazing marketing campaign, if the product itself cannot speak to the company's story, vision, and values, it can become an overall challenge.

Marketing goes beyond designing a colorful, fun advertisement; it's about allowing the product to express itself through packaging design and branding.

What is Branding and Product Design ?

Branding is the key element in creating a name or brand logo that will make you stand out among other competitors. For example, Apple, has a unique identity with its simplistic and minimalist logo design which is carried through its products.

A great brand identity is also about the company core values, mission and customer loyalty. Another example is Nike, apart from its unique symbol it also holds a meaningful message "Just do it". This message helps it differentiate itself from competitors as it brings a value proposition and connects with its customers emotionally, adding loyalty.

The Evolution of Packaging Design and Branding

In an article by Forbes, they explain how, in recent years, there has been a significant shift in branding identity. This article gathers 20 different trends a variety of companies were able to identify how, what, and why there is a shift between branding and marketing. The strategy to be able to create authenticity, human connection and engagement has become an impact to shape and build lasting customer loyalty.

Overall, the importance of becoming a standout brand means highlighting itself to being more real, demonstrating core values and embracing vulnerability.

Packaging design and branding have also begun to evolve from technology to your everyday products. For the longest time, packaging materials were designed to be colorful, aesthetically pleasing, and to keep up with trends. However, most recently, the packaging design process has also shifted its visual in becoming more environmentally sustainable and easier to facilitate within a consumer's lifestyle.

This can be seen through makeup, skincare/haircare, travel, clothes/accessories, and technology.

Packaging Design and Branding

The CEO and founder of Cordee cases, Antonia Bremeyer, explains the advantages and importance to a functional product design. Phone cases are now more than just about protecting your phone but have also become another fashion accessory, consumer identity and a competitive realm.

Bremeyer interprets designing on real world usability, focusing more about how will the product affect a person in their everyday obstacles and environment. This will help founders stand apart from its competitors when the shift is made of balancing aesthetic and integrating functional design process, merging as one.

Rare Beauty is an example that has taken into consideration functional design and branding into their products. It has been able to build a strong brand recognition, apart from its founder being a star celebrity.

Rare Beauty value identity is about inclusivity, individuality, and community. In partnering up with a variety of different leading organizations, donating its sales to mental health foundations and partnering up with a research institute to hear about their customers' feedback.

These values are expressed throughout their makeup & fragrance product packaging design and branding. Rare Beauty has established a standard with identifying three key features: packaging that is easy to use, finishes that allow for a secure grip, and applicators that are comfortable to hold and maneuver.

BEIS Travel has also been able to create a sustainable packaging design standing against its competitors and even becoming a pioneer. They have focused on a creating the brand's image entirely on the go lifestyle, with a variety of luggage and essential bags, structured to make consumers lives easier.

Their famous Weekender bag is a structural packaging design with multiple compartments to separate essentials, easy access opening, and most importantly, their visual identity, a trolley sleeve, to place perfectly over your luggage handle. This packaging design strategy and branding feature has made BEIS stand out entirely making customers feel the item was made just for them.

Dyson is dominating the hair care industry with its innovative structural design of heat tools. Since its first hair product launch, the Dyson Supersonic, its success was instant, growing rapidly worldwide, and producing high demand among consumers despite its high price tag.

Their branding and product strategy are to design hair tools accessible for all hair types, simplifying hair styling and making consumers lives easier with sustainable materials for less heat damage.

As Celsius was opening a pathway to a new target market and creating a diverse range in the energy drink industry. Alani Nu took this opportunity to pioneer its branding and product design to a more direct consumer, women.

The packaging design strategy of Alani was to create packaging design geared towards women, making them feel included and seen in a male-centered industry. The graphic designs of bright, colorful and bold features has become Alani's brand visual identity standing among store shelves.

Impact of Package Design and Brand Strategy

The entrepreneurship of Rare Beauty has opened a conversation and identity to a community that others may not have been exposed to before. Using the brands message and creative process, like their founders, Selena Gomez's own personal experience about her everyday struggles has allowed Rare Beauty to stand out from other highly competitive and crowded marketplaces.

Becoming a successful beauty brand line estimating to be worth $2.7 billion in the year 2025, surpassing other celebrity brands like Kylie Cosmetics, Fenty Beauty, and Rhode.

BEIS Travel has similarly cultivated a new standard and innovation for traveling luggage and has also expanded its innovative design packaging into backpacks, totes, Duffles, and diaper bags. The brands unique packaging design features reaches an audience that makes them feel like their everyday struggles have been made easier.

Due to its innovative materials and essential elements, BEIS is not only just an online website; they have been able to partner up with Brick-and-Mortar retailers like Nordstrom, Revolve, and Bloomingdale's.

For almost 10 years now, Dyson has continued to develop new product designs from years of research and customer feedback. Dyson's brand essence to continue redesigning, structural engineers, and improving their products is shown through their customer loyalty; despite the price of a product, their success continues to rise.

Launching the Dyson Airwrap, Dyson Corrale, and many more, making each of them sell out immediately, and thousands of customers signing up on the waitlist.

Alanis unique visual elements and brand strategy has allowed them to thrive hugely. Making a new wave among women influencers in fitness and wellness by creating an emotional connection with their community. Within a year, they showed a high percentage sales increase and have been able to sell as a $1.8 billion company to Celsius.

All of these companies have been able to merge their packaging design and brand's personality into one. Through continuous market research and focusing on customer experience, strengthening essential design elements, and brand strategy. Their marketing strategy are also very similar, both use influencer marketing, major brand partnerships, and recently, the more trending are the Pop-ups.

Importance of Customer Results

Once you have developed a brand identity, the next important step is the lasting impression. How will your product be able to illustrate all of its power and quality to its target audience?

A customer has already purchased the item because of your creative marketing materials, but now is the real test to see if it lives up to the customer's expectations.

A consumer's engagement is spent the longest after they have completed the purchase and interact with the product on an everyday basis. The consumer has reached the end of the lifecycle with your product; they now must decide if they would to repurchase it or move forward with different brand.

The end goal of any company is more than just the initial interaction or purchase. It is also about driving up sales from customers repurchasing the product and sharing the item with family and friends.

In conclusion, understanding how packaging design and branding affect how consumers interact with your product can help packaging designers create better functional designs, standing out from competitors, and establish brand loyalty.

🪽 Written by Leidy Escalona