Basic instinct
PRODUCT: You could call it the Apple Principle. That
Apple iMac brand’s explosive sales of iMacs taught
computer makers that we like simple graph-
BIG IDEA: Keep it ics for complex electronics. The principle
simple—or at least has guided Apple’s renaissance, with iconic
make it look simple.
products like the iPod and iPhone.
From hiring a design firm to the final
creation may take six weeks to nine
months, at the least. You’d think drawing
board time is most vital, but pros focus
more on analyzing a brand’s history,
competition, intended message and
target audience.
“Context is essential,” says Matt
Cave, a principal of Crave Inc., a Boca
Raton, Fla., package design firm. “You
want to stand out and be unique, not be
a freak.”
Such efforts are worth every penny.
For each $1 invested, a container can deliver $415 of boosted sales, reports Design
Management Review.
“The return on investment is by far
one of the most efficient marketing
tools,” says David Becker, president of
San Francisco’s Philippe Becker Design
Inc., which has dressed up Safeway’s O
Organics. “Without its own look, what’s
to differentiate the greatest product in
the world from its competitors? Often,
the package is the only ad a product will
have—and it’s the one ad you take home
with you.”
A new label also can restore vitality
to a tired product and spur new buzz
while increasing sales as much as 30
percent, reports the trade’s Institute of
Packaging Professionals.
With so much at stake, labels appeal
to your eyes and your emotions. They
startle, amuse, comfort and energize
you, or stroke your ego. “We’re overloaded with information from all
fronts, so packaging has to touch us
personally,” Cave says. “You like it or
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