I think I’ve said this before, I’m all about the packaging. (Well, maybe not for everything but for most things). I’m a discerning customer and highly visual. If it doesn’t grab me right away and I can’t make a connection, I keep walking.

I have to give my hats off to the designers and teams that create powerful packaging and branding. The right packaging has enormous power over what we buy. When I look at a product and finally make the decision to purchase it…I am buying into the “brand promise”. That is, the promise of what that product and brand is going to do for me and what I wish for it to do for me. The branding and packaging has a lot to do with it.

I don’t think we give designers enough credit and at most times we don’t truly understand the complexity that comes with creating. Especially in today’s challenging economy, people may avoid Designers & Visual Merchandisers because they fear high costs. But in reality, a great and talented designer is money well spent. They can actually save a company money and time down the road.

So the next time you go shopping, take a good long hard look at the products all lined up on the shelves and maybe you’ll look at it with different eyes. Just think, the choice of color, the shape of the bottle, the straight line vs the curvy line, the choice of font, they way it’s sealed, going round vs sharp, going soft vs bold…every minuet detail is strategically thought out.

Sunny Shum, Your Industry Insider