Imagery in Package Design

At the onset of each package design project, armed with digital cameras and note pads, we visit retail environments and observe product packaging in its natural habitat. We then purchase a selection of examples and bring them back for closer study. The packages are analyzed in search of common design threads and patterns of opportunity throughout the category. Following is an overview of some considerations for market positioning using imagery and color in packaging design. Although we chose the category “coffee” it represents the analysis method common to all categories.

Coffee

The character of a coffee is often determined by its place of origin. Whether it’s the mountains of Colombia or exotic tropical highlands, a unique sense of place reinforces the experiential qualities of the product. A generalized sense of place such as “mountain grown” is common to big name brands seeking the widest audience; whereas focusing on a more specific locale like the bistro-esque café may be more appropriate for smaller specialty brands. Then there’s the image of coffee’s warming, aromatic qualities.

Illustration

Custom illustration is a common approach in the whole bean and specialty coffees. New England Coffee adopts a style similar to 19th century New England folk art. JavaNa employs a whimsical French bistro style first popularized by Starbucks. And Green Mountain Coffee uses a style similar to post-impressionist Paul Gauguin to evoke a sense of tropical paradise.

Illustration not only evokes the product experience, it implies a sense of craftsmanship. It lends a one-of-a-kind aura to the product, prompting the customer to care that much more about it.

Packaging design is a prime opportunity to use “painted and drawn” illustration and we've taken total advantage of that. Check out our comments in “Refresh Your Message with Imagery”.

Product Photography

If it isn’t a picture of beans, it’s probably a picture of a cup of coffee with steam rising. This product depiction can go a long way toward appetite appeal. Without product representation on the package the customer has no understanding of the product within. When showing a cup of coffee, the choice of cup (a classical gold-rimmed tea cup versus a casual diner mug, for example) can provide subtle cues about the positioning of the product.

Endorsements

There are many different forms of endorsement across the category — from the New York-ish “I Love Café Bustelo” to Maxwell House’s ever-famous “Good to the Last Drop.” Products that adhere to fair trade standards such as Green Mountain Coffee proudly display a stamp of certification, while others rely on a simple gold ribbon for added confidence about quality and taste. The best endorsements are those that come from unbiased sources or, as is the case with Maxwell House, offered up unsolicited by a former President of the United States (Roosevelt).

Color

Color is definitely the number one factor in package design. Color sends subliminal messages to people and most of us react basically the same to some colors as noted in our article “Seeing Red-the Color”

The Darker the Color, the Darker the Roast

Roast level is an important purchasing consideration. Color value can help the customer quickly understand how light or dark the coffee is compared to other varieties in the line. Almost without exception, the darker the color, the darker or richer the roast. Folgers and Chock Full o’ Nuts even provide a color key on the package so customers can understand the roast level at a glance.

Owning Color

Whatever the category, recognizing the competing brands’ “owning” colors is critical to choosing colors in package design. In the coffee category, Folgers dominates the red spectrum of mass-market brands with several others nearby. Chock Full o’ Nuts owns yellow while other brands exist as price-conscious options or use gold to communicate premium. Maxwell House owns blue along with other mass market and specialty brands. The lone entrant in the orange spectrum is Sanka. This opens the opportunity to compete alongside it.

Care should be taken when considering green because the color typically identifies decaf. However, many Italian coffees use green as part of their brand because of its presence in the Italian flag — an indispensable ingredient in Italian equity. Likewise, a few specialty products use green as an indication of the natural or organic aspects of the product.

Brand Color Spectrum

Mapping brand color along a continuous spectrum reveals gaps and/or over-saturated areas. While many other factors come into play, this tool provides a visual understanding of the category colors at a glance. Potential color opportunities become instantly apparent with this method.

Other color associations.

Red, as noted in our article “Seeing Red — The Color,” is used to grab the consumer’s attention. Coca-Cola, the world’s most recognizable brand, has long been associated with red.

Yellow is known as being one of the most visible packaging colors. It also has the ability to make products appear larger on the shelf.

White is associated with purity and freshness so is often used on bathroom and kitchen packaging to suggest a “clean” feeling. It is also used for dairy products.

Black projects luxury and premium quality. It is used to convey top quality, sophistication.

Green is used on product banners to bring attention to the no-fat, low-fat labeling. As mentioned earlier, green is associated with no-caffeine coffee and eco-friendly products.

Blue is a soothing color associated with water and sky.

Gold, long linked to royalty and luxury, is now thought to be associated with “cheap” in the shopper’s mind. It is often used on inexpensive or imitation generic packaging. A soft gold, however, is used often on children’s products because it is considered a happy, sunny color.