"Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; Brown paper packages tied upwards with strings. These are a few of my favourite things," goes the always popular tune from the 1965 movie The Sound of Music.

Almost all of united states of america can find it easy to identify with sentiments of these lyrics. In our homes, on our desks, on the car dashboard and even in our pockets we have our favourite perfume bottles (even if empty), a pencil stand, a statuette or a cute keychain. Cell-phones learn a cult following while discarding the erstwhile phone, watch or pen is then hard. Dressing tables in virtually homes are often laden with empty packaging that's simply too proficient to throw away. Kitchens have re-used favourite tins of tea and confectionery. The prayer niche in homes is decorated with venerated idols and objects. Some people like me (I must confess) even collect shine pebble-stones, glittering feathers and twisted twigs that correspond the timeless dazzler of nature. What is universal about people and favourite things that packaging designers have learnt to exploit?

As Peter Drucker, the leading business thinker of the 20th century, has said, "all business organization has two functions – marketing and (design) innovation." All packaging blueprint begins with a Marketing Cursory. The production marketer identifies the basic need and defines the production or service to fulfill that need. It is the process of creating objects-of-need and placing them effectively in the market — at the right toll, the correct position and the right promotion (advice). Packaging design is tasked to decode the marketing brief in terms of the packaging format, on-pack graphics and the convenience features. At this betoken design can exploit insights about basic human being nature as well as acquire from the world of nature around united states of america, to lift the marketing brief from being just about creating an object-of-need to get an object-of-want. This is the X-factor of successful packaging blueprint that tin help to lift an average product to go a universal favourite.

We have seen this principle applied time and again not but to packaging merely even more to cars, gadgets, article of furniture, home appliances and other luxury products. What are the bones principles available to packaging designers to create more desirable products?

Add a little dissimilar touch on to the packaging

Sometimes a little actress touch — even at a higher cost — adds a difference to a pack that customers find hard to ignore. This could exist a neck-medallion for a liquor bottle or a coloured cloth over a pickle jar.

Focus attention to the pack blueprint

Try to make packaging the star instead of the product being packaged. Brand the pack look premium enough to be kept around the modernistic habitation, in the kitchen or Bathroom every bit a abode accompaniment instead of having to be hidden away in a closet.

Use hitting color combinations

Color is the 'trade apparel' in which the product appears on the shelf and stands against its competitors. It is critical to get the color combination right in order to gain a visual border. The success of the Pepsi blue and red, or the Colgate reddish, are obvious examples.

Extend available characterization space by the use of rear-console printing

A elementary way to give customers more data and non detract from the presentation of the package is to impress statutory information on the rear panel of a label. This can piece of work very well for the packaging of clear liquids in clear bottles. It allows more than space for the packaging graphics while all the regulatory information goes on the back of the label.

Add a metal shine

Labels do not always accept to be printed on white or articulate material. A metallic foil based label can be very striking when compared to a flat white look. Luxury products such equally perfumes, gourmet foods and liquor have learnt to use this option well.

Create a reusable package

This is non a new idea. In the 'good old days' almost all packaging was re-used. In the frenzy to create low-toll, employ-and-throw products it is a valuable concept that gets forgotten.

Develop target group based packaging

Pack design to resonate with the demographics of the target consumer grouping can add a great deal of appeal. For such reasons packaging for deodorants aimed to appeal to a younger consumer mimics the rugged, macho looks of gadgets and automotive products.

Endeavor to add an chemical element of fun

Engaging consumer interest with the help of humour or fun graphics on the pack demand not exist bars to kid'south or teenager products. All categories of products are capable of being presented in a 'fun way' — whether it is Hippo Fries or Kuch Nahi whisky.

Create surprise by merging packaging concepts

Many consumers react positively to the unexpected. Brands can exploit the element of surprise to create pack concepts that merge formats. For example the Flexican which looks and feels like a beverage can simply in reality is a laminate pouch. Similarly, the aluminum tin which is shaped like a glass bottle.

Borrow ideas freely from nature

Nature's packaging is commonly elegant and beautiful as well as efficient. Information technology offers some amazing examples of innovative packaging. Consider the banana, the peapod, the orange, the peanut or the pinecone — these are all examples of nature creating efficient packaging. These are the shapes, colours and even packaging concepts that tin can exist borrowed freely from nature'due south case.

Clearly, past applying many of these concepts to packaging, information technology is possible to create desire that can surpass mere need. Designers know this well and information technology is for such reasons that many products are intentionally made with 'sexy' curves or shapes. For cars, it even goes beyond shape and curves to adding 'muscle' and power. Taken to an extreme this love for objects — anthropomorphizing — can upshot in humans seeking emotional comfort and fulfillment from objects rather than other people. (Consider small children and dolls, for example.)

At a universal level, nonetheless, the love for favourite things is a basic instinct that works well for marketing.

"I simply recall my favourite things," the Sound of Music lyrics go on "and so I don't feel so bad."

This article was published in June 2012 in the impress outcome of Packaging Southward Asia.

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