Everyday we are exposed to visual designs ranging from beautifully executed pieces to the not so appealing. What makes a packaging design successful is the aesthetics and if the product has the potential to ‘sell’. Pricing is not always a factor for an individual’s demand for a product. If the package looks good then people are willing to buy it regardless of the value.

Here are examples of products that I have came across which were successful. Some of the products state the obvious but are still very successful until now.

The unsuccessful packaging designs were brutal and I could not help but nitpick at these products. All of these items lacked creativity and the design could have done a better job as well.  These products even if it were to be a no name brand have the potential to compete with popular brands.

Here are some examples that were unsuccessful.

In conclusion, I thought that the Imagery wine bottle was the most successful and the hair gel to be most unsuccessful. The wine bottle design was clean, simple and from the illustration, the message was easily clarified that the people have passion in making this product. The design was not text-heavy at all, none of the details were fighting with one another but instead, the elements together were complimentary. Also, this was a good use of space within the design as well. As for the hair gel, the design is dull and has no outstanding personality. On a positive note, this product is straight-forward about the contents and what its objective. Besides that, it could have been designed a little better even starting with something simple such as the readability of the text.

Good

The Absolute Brooklyn bottle to me is an example of a good package design.  When I first saw it I immediately wanted to buy it.  I think most of the absolute vodka bottles are well design, but this one especially.  The company has started to make certain vodkas that were inspired by certain areas of the country and the designs are trying to represent that area.  Through back image of a stoop is magnified through the clear vodka and gives it a more fish eye view.  On each step in a different nickname for the borough of Brooklyn. The color palate chosen is a good one as well, the greens and browns go nicely together.

Bad

Raw Meal, which I’m guessing is some sort of protein powder of some sort is a package design that I do not find appealing.  The package itself is too busy.  There are a lot of colors and background images and seals around the package it took me a minute to even realize what it was.  I also do no like the lockup they have for the word raw meal, the triangle in a different color confuses me.  My biggest concern with the package is that I don’t know where my eyes are supposed to go.  I see the raw meal then I jump seal to seal and finally to the bottom where the description is where I finally figured out what the product was.

Out of these 5 packages, the package for the Apple iPhone 4S is the most successful. Most of Apple’s package designs are similar – a simple white box showing the product with a few details around the package. It’s clear and to the point, and it presents the product clearly. Even if the consumer knows what the product is, it lets them know that that box is holding that product. I personally like it because it’s not cluttered and cramped. By having an uncluttered package, it makes the product look better and more desirable. As a business, that’s how I would want my product to be presented.

The most unsuccessful package out of these 5 is the Sobe Lifewater bottles. It’s just unappealing and there’s too much going on. The shape of the bottle doesn’t work, the colors are not appealing, and the design is cluttered. The idea of having their mascot wrap around the bottle is pretty clever, however, it wasn’t executed well. It just clutters up the bottle and makes it unappealing. Also, having the lizard on top of the bottle again seems a little repetitive. The colors they chose for the bottles are also unappealing, especially that green/yellow bottle. They had some pretty good ideas for the design, but it seems like they tried to include all of them. However, these ideas don’t work well together. If I was Sobe, I would not have let that bottle hit the shelves.

The Successful:

Crealto (Espresso cups)

Arta (Tea Leaf Infuser)

 Mrs. Meyers

Tea Forte

Urbanears

My favorite packaging all year is Urbanears headphones. I love the attention to design for the box itself. The box has a very smooth texture – especially, compared to a heavy cardboard-like box. Also, the texture is the same smooth texture as the phone, earpiece, texture. I like how the front and back show the actual size of the headphone and how the left follows the right side. Also, every single box color matches the color of the headphones. Even the inside packaging is so nicely designed. You open it up and you see how the headphone can be folded up. All of the design of the brochures on the inside also go with the aesthetic of the company and the packaging. Urbanears clearly thought the packaging through very thoroughly.

The Unsuccessful

Sur La Table Spices

Sagaform tea design by Camila Engdahl

Sparkling Concord Grape juice

 Jewelmint

5 Hour Energy

For a company that is on the rise, 5 Hour Energy really needs to redesign and rebrand their packaging and image. Above is two different types of items they provide. First, the font and logo is bad. Second of all, there is almost no design involved in this. It looks similar to a design that would be on a TV infomercial. The color used was not used creatively. And the box design is so simple. Even the image of the ‘berry’ looks like clip art.  It baffles me how this product even became popular.

Simple, yet pretty and effective label design for this honey from France.

The packaging above are example of successful ones, the packaging clearly shows the product purpose, the shape of the package is also easy to handle and store.

I find this bottle to be a very successful packaging design. I like the way the bottle includes all information the consumer needs to know, yet it displays this in a clear and organized manner. The package design looks clean. I love the way the bottle displays a open zipper with fruit pouring out. This automatically makes the drink stand out amongst the rest. Each of the different bottle easily shows what flavor it is just by the look of the image as well as the corresponding color difference. The lean bottle design makes it easy to carry.

I believe this chocolate packaging is unsuccessful. The shiny packaging does not make the product attractive. There is nothing on the package that makes the product stand out or at least lets the consumers know what that product is. To me, the package looks plain and empty, despite the amount of space used for the name. Simply looking at the package design, one is not able to tell that it is a food product.

Becky Shum

Successful Packaging:

Unsuccessful Packaging:

Successful: I love the tea bags. If I would to see this in a store, it would grab my attention right away. The design is cute, clever and fun. I love the fact that the tea bags are in the shape of shirts on hangers and I also love how part of the packaging is a mini “closet” for the tea bag hangers. The fact that it can function well as a tea bag by hanging off the side of the cup is genius in my opinion.

Unsuccessful: This bottle would catch my attention but for the wrong reasons. The Dial packaging is a complete FAIL. putting the word “yogurt” as a part of their hierarchy wasn’t a smart idea because when I looked at this I thought “Oh cool. Dial is making yogurt now?” But that isn’t the case. It is really a body wash with yogurt with vanilla and honey. This can confuse many people looking at this bottle. I think that putting the word yogurt into a fancy font and making it big isn’t a good idea since it can lead to confusion even though if you look below it it says “refreshes thirsty skin”.

— Kylesha Kea

#1-5: Unsuccessful Packaging

#6-10: Successful Packaging

#1 This is a packaging for a peanut butter jar made by the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. I think this is an example of an unsuccessful packaging because of its imbalanced use of typefaces and layout. First, the three different typefaces used on the front are clashing and do not seem to have a well-balanced hierarchy. Some words even have drop shadows which makes the design look too complicated. Also, the colored circle behind the writing is not an effective background, but rather a distraction. The gradation in the center of the circle and the combination with the striped background make it even worse. Overall, this packaging seems not to have a clear concept and provides the customer with an overload of design elements.

#6 This packaging from AmericanApparel is an example of a successful one. It is simple, clean, and straightforward. The graphic on the outside helps consumers see exactly what the product looks like and therefore allows them to know what to expect from the purchase. The typeface suits the product image and follows the brand identity. This packaging concept is used throughout the store and is successfully capturing the customers’ attention.