Good packaging has the kind of aesthetics that is pleasing to the eye and sells without having to “sell”.  Essentially, what that means is having the appeal where why or how much does not count, the customer just buys the product.

In Pylones, a store dedicated to quirky items with design in mind, there is a wall dedicated to Add A Kid t-shirts.  I consider this design successful because it draws attention to the product.  The cardboard hanger/insert is a picture of a smiling, photogenic child “modeling” the product, a t-shirt for children.  Out of the corner of your eye it looks like there are laughing children gathered in the store.  In any other store a product as simple as a t-shirt would be placed on a rack on a simple/sterile hanger and left to die.  Rather than leave the imagination up the customer, Add A Kid gives the customer what they want to see- their child, happy in their new attire.

Surprisingly, I found an unsuccessful package in the MoMA store.  An inflatable toy elephant made by fatra was deflated and folded in a cellophane package with a nondescript label.  The one redeeming quality is an insert of a photograph of the elephant inflated.  The reason I was attracted to the package was the display of the product, otherwise, I would have completely looked over the package, without any idea of how awesome the product actually is.