When the packaging is part of the product itself

What happens when the packaging is part of the product itself?

Packaging performs different tasks:

• Presentation (keep forever) – expensive watch; jewellery
• Protective (discard immediately) – computer; bicycle; shoes
• Functioning (continuous use) – cling film; washing detergent

Each of these types has different requirements. Each creates a particular set of user expectations.

How to ruin a great product

As if creating a great product isn’t hard enough in the first place, there’s (at least) one way of completely ruining it: poorly-conceived or badly implemented packaging. I despair whenever I see examples of great products where poor packaging has completely taken the focus away from the product itself. And by that I don’t mean the artwork, labelling or other such cosmetic element. I mean the mechanics, the physical barrier between the consumer and the experience of actually getting at the product.

[Image courtesy of boldpost.leibold.com]