Packaging Design "Isn't it iconic" & "The Power of The Box"

1. A product's packaging is extremely important in marketing. A consumer receives his/her first impression of  a product through its packaging; considering that packaging is the shape, color, font, graphics and material of any given product used to protect the contents. A consumer new to a product may only have other people's reviews to judge a product and his/her own personal response when viewing a product's packaging. From this first impression, the consumer is  either drawn to the product, feels indifferent, or is appalled by it.

Packaging has influenced my decision when purchasing teas. I like the taste of mostly every tea, so I choose which tea I will buy based on the packaging. If I am attracted to the package's appearance  I am more likely to buy it.

2. The signature Tiffany's box is a product that I would consider to have iconic packaging. No matter the product purchased from Tiffany & Co., it always comes in a small Tiffany blue colored box, with a neatly tied bow wrapped around it. The company's packaging, especially through it's branding color separates Tiffany's from other jewelers today. Other products include Fiji water bottles, Coca-cola bottles (like the article "Isn't it Iconic" mentioned), certain food items like Kit Kat and Ramen Noodles.

3. Usability issues exist for packaging when it does not protect its contents and if the packaging is not reusable. In cases where a product fails to protect its contents we can look at a bag of flour, or a bag of chips. The packaging for a bag of flour is typically made of paper, which is easily ripped or torn. The same applies to the packaging of chips in foil bags; the bag does little to protect the chips from being crushed. When packaging is not reusable, we run into the problem that the packaging in not made with recyclable material, and that the package itself cannot be closed to store its original contents well, or that it cannot be used to serve some other purpose. I think an example of good packaging usability is the Whole Foods 365 bag of cane sugar. This bag has a ziploc opening which allows it to be closed easily. The bag is made of plastic which is sealed well, and can be used just like a ziploc bag when the sugar is all gone. An example of poor packaging usability, as previously mentioned, is a bag of flour. The packaging is usually paper which does not protect the contents and the flour cannot be easily stored with its original packaging.