Put Down the Beet Juice.

A True Confession from a Semi-remorseful Package Designer.

How can I put this? “Package design makes people buy stuff and not buy other stuff.” There I said it. The secret is out. Think about it…..how many times have you been swayed by a beautiful wine label design or even a frozen pizza box. If it looks good, if it makes you feel good, chances are you’re going to buy it. That’s not to say that you’re going to buy a bag of brussel sprouts if the sheer mention of the evil little veggies makes you gag. Package design isn’t magic. But it is pretty darn close.

Come on, admit it. You’ve been the victim of great package design haven’t you? I know I have. Every time I walk in to a grocery store, I choose to buy this brand over that one because of how it looks and how it makes me feel — and we design food and beverage packaging for a living. But it doesn’t matter. We’re all rendered helpless by the allure of  beautiful, engaging package design. Resistance is futile. Sometimes I just wish they’d put warning labels on crappy products with gorgeous labels:

I have a whole shelf of empty wine bottles, labels, boxes and bags that had my number the minute I walked by the grocery shelf. Some tasted great, others… not so much. But they did their job didn’t they? They practically jumped into my cart, while I stood there, dazed by their beauty. I don’t keep these empty packaging carcasses around as a reminder not to fall under their spell again. No, my makeshift shrine of uber cool, mind warping package design serves as inspiration to design better, to design smarter, to design packages with but one purpose — make people buy it.

Am I ashamed of working our design mojo to make people buy our clients products? Heck no. First of all, our clients aren’t schlepping subpar, crappy stuff. If they did, then they wouldn’t be a client. But is our client’s coffee that much better than the next guy’s. We think so, but the customer doesn’t know that until they try it. So all is fair in love and package design.

So here comes the confession part. My interest in package design started as a young boy. Once I figured out I wasn’t going to be a fireman and discovered that break dancing probably wouldn’t be the most lucrative career choice, I discovered the power of package design while watching an episode of Bewitched. (Weird, right? But that’s not the confession). In 1993, I got my dream job designing food packaging. I started designing apple bags and I worked my up to big brands like Idaho potatoes and Domino sugar. Things were going just peachy.Then one day, I was asked to design a bag for something I’m still not proud — brussel sprouts*

Did I panic? Oh, you bet. But after three days of putting it off and a number of involuntary gag reflexes, I mustered up the strength to design what I considered a pretty darn compelling bag design for awful tasting mini cabbages. That’s right. I probably convinced hundreds if not of thousands of people into thinking, “mmm, that look good. I wonder what it tastes like”. If I wrongly convinced any of you to try brussel sprouts, I am truly sorry. Back then, I didn’t know the power that package design had over unsuspecting shoppers. Today, it’s a power I don’t take lightly.

Gerardot & Co. is a branding and package design firm specializing in packaging for food and beverage brands. See our package design portfolio »