Comments on: On the effectiveness of packaging design

By: Dom

Dom — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:28:29 +0000

I think if Barbie sported Leather Face then your purchase might well be offset by thousands of young girls running screaming from the shop

I think packaging is a catchall phrase that will change over time. Ultimately it’s about making the product stand out and that will always be essential. It may not end up being printed but even if it’s reduced to an icon in an App Store then that will be the packaging and the design is vital.

Thanks for your kind comments re: our new website.

By: Tony Soprano

Tony Soprano — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:59:22 +0000

Good packaging will always matter, because it is the exterior/packing which first catches peoples eye, regardless of whether it is a superior/inferior product.
If i see a Resident Evil game packaged in a pink case covered in flowers, im not gonna buy it. But if i see Barbie Goes to the Races with Leather Face on the front, im gonna buy it.
of course with digital downloads becoming more and more popular, packaging isnt used, but everyone said that the same would happen with CDs, and yes, downloads are extremely popular, but CDs are still sold and always will be.
There is too much money in marketing for it not be used/needed.

WWDDD

By: Jen

Jen — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:27:37 +0000

I think good design on packaging matters. You might have a good product but it is very slack to assume that everyone who walks past it on the shelf will know that. Especially with games. A gamer may buy a game they want as soon as it is released, but what about the rest of the games on the shelves? What if they are just browsing?

Packaging is there to let the customer know what the game is about and to make it look more exciting than the rest of the games surrounding it. If it is a shoot-’em up, an rpg, a sandbox game, a racing game or a puzzle game you should be able to see which type of game it is immediately from the packaging. Then it has to look better than the rest of the games in that genre. Some game inlays have so little work put into them that it makes the game itself look dire – that isn’t the sort of message you want to send out. Good design on packaging indicates a superior product inside (whether that is true or not!).

Of course, this is just what I think!

By: carl

carl — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:39:19 +0000

If in the future all video games become digital downloads (without packaging) could all products compete equally at point of purchase without the added value that is built into some packaging? I guess the value and edge would come down to additional content provided by the publisher to tempt consumers. Will there still be room for good creative and design within this structure?