Primary Research: Plan

The first chapter of my dissertation will be on market research. I already had a basic understanding of different types of research but it was useful to revisit it in more depth as well as in the context of packaging design. It was clear pretty early on how important market research is when it comes to packaging design especially when it comes to designing for a set target market. It is important for me to undertake my own research before creating a practical outcome so that I can use the research as a base/starting point. I want to have everything ready to carry out the research as soon as possible so that it gives people longer to respond to the questions as well as hopefully getting more responses, it will also give me more time to carry out further in-depth research later on if appropriate.

I want to figure out what I want to know and what would be beneficial so that I get the most out of the research. There are two main reasons for researching, firstly it would be interesting to find out people's awareness of packaging design and its effectiveness. Secondly part of the research should be focused specifically on the outcome I want to produce, if I am going to design a package for soap then I need to ask questions that are relevant to it.

What do I want to find out?
• If people think their product choices are affected by the packaging design.
• What do people consider when buying a product? (cost, design, ingredients)
• Brand loyalty - are people loyal to certain brands even with so much choice, and if so then why?
• Do consumers have an emotional connection to the products they buy.
• Do they buy stuff for the way it makes them feel or perhaps because of the way the product looks?
• What do people associate to brands?

• What soap they use.
• Why they use that soap/ Why they chose it.
• What characteristics do you look for when choosing a soap?/ What affects your decision to pick it.
• First words/images that come to mind when I say soap.
• Range of different soap packages - ask them which one they would choose and why it appeals to them the most.

Types of Research

There are a few different types of research that I believe would be beneficial for me to carry out in order to get a range of research.

Questionnaires 
Questionnaires would be the best way at getting a large amount of responses. It will be especially useful in defining target markets and getting a general understanding of the publics perceptions towards brands. The questionnaire would mainly have a quantitative structure - closed ended questions means they are quick to do, meaning that people are more willing to do it as they are not put off by writing a long paragraphed answer. The questions have to be worded in a non-bias and easy to understand format; if they are complicated or set the respondent up to answer in a particular way then it will distort the research results.

The questionnaires would be sent out online on a device such as Survey Monkey, I am aware that using this alone would not produce a range of answers from different target markets since its main way of being distributed would be over social media such as Facebook. This means that although I may get a lot of responses, it would be from a similar group of people. The focus of my dissertation is on designing for different target markets, for this reason it is important for me to go out into the general public and ask them the same questions; this way I can approach a diverse range of people and get an equally diverse range of research. The questionnaire would be read out to the respondent and then I could write down their response, this would keep it moving quickly and wouldn't rely on them correctly interpreting the question as I would be able to explain. This structure of research would work best with questions that are quick and easy to answer so that people are more likely to stop and answer them, especially if it only takes 30 seconds.

In-depth Interviews
In-depth interviews would be useful before I begin designing as it would help to explain what people are attracted to within a design, what they think/ feel towards current designs as well as the associations they have made towards products/brands. One on one interviews would give the respondent control of the conversation and let them express how they feel without the influence of anyone else or time constraints. In-depth interviews could also be carried out after a few designs or mockups had been created, it would be a good point to get feedback and honest opinions from potential users. At the bottom of the quantitative questionnaire it could ask the respondent if they would be interested in taking part in further in-depth research or whether they mind being contacted. I would expect the majority of respondents to say no, but the few that say yes would be able to provide a deeper insight into packaging design especially if I could interview them before and after the practical side of CoP is designed.

Retail Environment
It is also important to visit the types of places the product would hypothetically be sold. Supermarkets will have a very different way of presenting the products compared to Boutique/Specialist shops. Supermarkets are presenting a range of different brands and products all competing and all promising to do the same thing, the design for the context of a supermarket would need to take this into consideration. However a specialist shop won't have this level of competition especially if it only sells one brand, this means that the design can be more subtle and imbue luxury. Environmental factors should be considered such as the lighting of the shop and shelf space, both of these will affect the design whether it is the shape or the material used.

Spending time in the products environment will allow me to see similar elements throughout the competing brands as well as recognising the differences - what stands out and why does it stand out? Does it make it better than its competitors or does it stand out because is it not an appropriate design? For the practical element I want to pick an every day essential that everyone uses, something like soap would allow me to design for a range of different people but ultimately the product would be the same. I want to visit and study a range of different environments from soap sold in the supermarket to more expensive places like Yorkshire Soap, this would allow me to compare the differences between how the products have been designed with the target market in mind as well as the context in which the soap will be sold.

I would also like to conduct some form of Ethnographic research. This would be extremely useful as it would show the person's decision making process and what they look at. It would be best if I could ask them after why they have picked what they have picked to provide some context. However I am not too sure how I can carry out this research without appearing creepy. It would have to be covert because if I asked someone to pick out a soap or explained what I was doing they would become extremely conscious of everything they were doing rather than acting naturally, this would provide incorrect results and may even skew the research.

Emailing Professionals
Another type of research which I feel would be beneficial is emailing professionals. I want to create a few concise questions which I could email to different packaging design studios, this would provide an insight into what designers think who already work in the industry and have experience.


Questionnaire Potential Questions

I would need to find out some basic information about the respondents so that it would give context to who thinks what. It would be hard to find correlations between answers if no demographic information is given. The kind of information I would need would be whether they are male or female, their age category and occupation - this would give an insight into salary. Below is a list of potential questions that could be used in the survey:

Do you buy supermarket own brands? Why?

Are you loyal to any brands, i.e only drinking coca-cola or only using heinz ketchup opposed to other brands?

What about the brand makes you loyal? / Why is it the best?

Do you think the design of a package affects people's perceptions of the brand?

Do you judge a product based on its design?

What supermarket do you shop at?

----

What soap do you use?

Why did you choose it?/ What attracted you to it?

What words/images come to mind when you think of soap?


(I will continue to revisit this and add more questions)

Dissertation: Plan

A design can be beautiful but if it is not aimed at a target market then it won't sell. My dissertation will be an explorative study into packaging design with the focus being on the target market. Packaging design's purpose is to sell a product, having an understanding of the target market gives you an understanding of who you are designing for.

Chapters: 1. Market Research

Market research seems like the obvious starting point. It will highlight the importance of conducting market research, the different types and the benefits it offers to packaging design.

2. Understanding the Influences and Motivations of the Target Market 

This chapter will explore the subconscious influences over the target market such as culture, emotional drives/reasons for buying, shopper personality and self image. 

3. The Retail Environment

Since 70% of purchases are decided in the shop it is important to consider the context the design will be seen in and any accompanying limitations.  

4. Design Elements

This will look at colour, type, image etc... all the design elements that make up the visual appearance of the packaging. It will look at the affects that different elements have on the audience and will explore how whats appropriate for one target market is not appropriate for another.

5. Evolution/ Revolution

This will look at the constant updating that is needed to maintain brand values and keep the design fresh and exciting. Evolution will cover the more established brands, showing how tweaks and minor changes can be enough to rejuvenate the packaging. Revolution will look at the packaging that no longer works and has gone under a complete make over to make it appropriate for the target market.

The Practical Supporting Design

For the practical element I want to take an everyday commodity that everyone would use regardless of age, gender or social class. The packaging would then be designed for the item but it would be designed four different times for four different target markets. Four different designs seems like a good number because it perfectly supports my dissertation by showing a range of distinctive outcomes for the same product. The aim of this would be to illustrate how packages are designed to attract a certain target market; even when the product is the same inside different people are attracted to different designs.

I am aware that I am limited in both resources and time. Designing packaging for a bar of soap means I would have access to materials such as card, compared to designing anything that would involve plastic as it is outside of my resources. Equally I don't want to set myself so much work that it becomes unachievable or isn't finished to a high quality. For those reasons I think it would be best to design four separate soap packages in reinforce the points that will be raised in the dissertation.

Dissertation: Examples to Use

Lucozade
Lucozade was originally called Glucozade and was invented to provide a source of energy for the sick. The original packaging design was a glass bottle with a yellow cellophane wrap and the slogan to accompany it was 'Lucozade aids recovery'. The product was rebranded in 1983 and the target market was shifted from the ill to the healthy and active. Lucozade changed its slogan to 'Lucozade replaces lost energy' and with this change became an energy drink aimed at the exercising population. 

The original adverts feature a young girl smiling up at her mother who is giving her a glass of lucozade. The advert includes a review from exclaiming how incredible Lucozade is and how her daughter has "improved more than words can express" The focus of the advert is fully promoting Lucozade as a medicinal drink; making its target audience the ill or those purchasing on behalf of the ill. 

The new design is stronger, fiercer and powerful. The bold capitalised type stands out making the message clear. The short one word sentences add to the punchiness of the message. The slick design of the curved in bottle makes it easier to hold, carry and drink from. The choice of plastic over glass for the products packaging reduces the bottles weight making it easier to carry on the go. This aided in the switch of target market by removing the preconception of a glass medical bottle 

They understood their new target market needed something they could drink whilst they were exercising. Exercising normally involves being out and active, the packaging design has taken this into consideration and consequently is equipped to suit the needs of the target market. The light weight material does not weigh down the consumer but instead makes it easy to carry whilst exercising. The flip up lid makes the Lucozade easily and quickly accessible, meaning the consumer doesn't need to stop to unscrew or rescrew the bottle lid. This easy to open and close top makes it ideal for drinking on the go.

A clear colour palette has been established for Lucozade to help cement the purpose of its product and its target market. The blue is associated with open spaces by both representing the sea and the sky. Yellow is an optimistic colour, it has an enthusiasm which implies an energetic energy. The freedom of the blue combined with the energy and positivity of the yellow perfectly communicates the purpose of the product to the new target market.

In the course of sport events Lucozade has sponsored applicable events this has helped to promote and clarify their target market by directly advertising to the market they are aimed at; people who play sports. If the target market is carefully considered for the product then adverts can be aimed directly at the people that will buy your product. Clarifying the target market not only allows you to directly advertise at the people who will buy your product but all allows you to design for them in mind.

After the rebranding, between 1984 and 1989 UK sales tripled to almost £75 million.

Bite the Wax Tadpole

Shows language not translating well between cultures.

Translating text and sounds can also pose a few problems. One urban legend involving Coca-Cola is a great example. When Coca-Cola started its expansion into China, they were looking for Chinese symbols that would sound exactly like their brand name. However, if you looked at the meaning of the signs, people could actually read “Bite the Wax Tadpole”.

However, Coca-Cola didn’t release these signs themselves. Local shopkeepers started looking for a way to promote Coca-Cola on their own accord and created several combinations of symbols that sounded similar to the brand’s name without considering their meaning. So Coca-Cola was in fact advertised as “Bite the Wax Tadpole”.

The signs representing Coca-Cola in China can be translated by “to permit mouth to be able to rejoice”, which is, of course, a lot more relevant to Coca-Cola.

http://blog.esko.com/packaging-design/cultural-packaging-differences/

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/history/2008/03/bite-the-wax-ta.html

Y Water

A perfect example of understanding the target market - Both parent and child/buyer consumer.

plastic-lined tetrahedron-shaped packages

Aimed at getting kids to drink healthier alternatives to fizzy drinks. Started by a dad who didn’t want his kids drinking lots of fizzy drinks. Its design has carefully considered the needs of both the buyer and the end consumer. Parents are concerned with the health aspects and how it will affect their child. Whilst the children enjoy the bright colours and unique shape. The bottle shape allows different bottles to be connected creating a fun game for the children and keeping their interest in the product. The bottles shape distinctly looks like a Y and plays on a common response asked by children “Why?” encouraging the inquisitive and explorative nature of children.

Coca-Cola Turner and Duckworth Redesign

Example of well established brands still being recognisable once reduced to their most basic qualities. Shows memorable and successful design as consumers (even those not in the target market) can recognise the brand without seeing it fully. 

Less is more

He has taken all the recognisable design elements of coke and reduced them to their most essential parts. It shows that people recognise and are familiar with the brand. It won the Pentawards 2012 (diamond award)

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing to remove, said St-Exupéry. Less is more, said Mies van der Rohe ... Nothing better than these two quotes to praise the Diamond Pentaward 2012.” (http://www.pentawards.org/winners/?p=11469)

Coca-Cola C2

Example of not using market research correctly and not making clear what the benefits were - it didn’t call out to a target market.

For its biggest launch since Diet Coke, Coca-Cola identified a new market: 20- to 40-year-old men who liked the taste of Coke (but not its calories and carbs) and liked the no-calorie aspect of Diet Coke (but not its taste or feminine image). C2, which had half the calories and carbs and all the taste of original Coke, was introduced in 2004 with a $50 million advertising campaign.

However, the budget couldn’t overcome the fact that C2’s benefits weren’t distinctive enough. Men rejected the hybrid drink; they wanted full flavor with no calories or carbs, not half the calories and carbs. And the low-carb trend turned out to be short-lived. (Positioning a product to leverage a fad is a common mistake.)

Why didn’t these issues come up before the launch? Sometimes market research is skewed by asking the wrong questions or rendered useless by failing to look objectively at the results. New products can take on a life of their own within an organization, becoming so hyped that there’s no turning back. Coca-Cola’s management ultimately deemed C2 a failure. Worldwide case volume for all three drinks grew by only 2% in 2004 (and growth in North America was flat), suggesting that C2’s few sales came mostly at the expense of Coke and Diet Coke. The company learned from its mistake, though: A year later it launched Coke Zero, a no-calorie, full-flavor product that can be found on shelves—and in men’s hands—today.

https://hbr.org/2011/04/why-most-product-launches-fail

Segway

‘build it and they will come’ has been disproved by Segway. This example shows what happens when the target market is not defined. They haven’t asked themselves who will buy this and at what price? 

The buzz spiralled out of control when news of a secret new product code-named Ginger and created by the renowned inventor Dean Kamen leaked to the press nearly 12 months before the product’s release. Kamen, it was said, was coming up with nothing less than an alternative to the automobile. When investors and the public learned that the invention was actually a technologically advanced motorized scooter, they were dumbfounded. Ads showing riders who looked like circus performers perching on weird-looking chariots didn’t help, nor did the price tag—$5,000. Instead of selling 10,000 machines a week, as Kamen had predicted, the Segway sold about 24,000 in its first five years. Now it sells for far less to police forces, urban tour guides, and warehouse companies, not the general public. If there was ever a product to disprove the axiom “If you build it, they will come,” it’s the Segway. 

Secret Weapon - Superdrug

Example of understanding the target market and using research to influence the design.

“Research had identified the need for a range of toiletries and cosmetics that would actively appeal to 13-18 year old girls, but not their mothers, In particular, it was important to use physical packaging that was totally different to the packs bought by their mothers. Hence the use of blood bags to contain the bath soaks - cool to this age group, but slightly off putting to their mothers” - Bruce Duckworth (page 72 Demographics) They fully understood the target audience not only their demographics but also understood their habits. The age group are in an experimentation period where they are trying to find themselves and define who they are as a person. A result of this is that they change their cosmetics on a regular basis - from the colour of eye shadow to their fragrance. Turner Duckworth made sure to use research to inform each stage of the design process; using qualitative research allowed them to gage the likes and dislikes of competing products currently on the market. Focus groups were used throughout to validate the brand proposition, gain insight into the brands identity and confirm the packaging design. The focus and attention to the target market paid off as the products strongly resonated with the 13-18 year olds as they felt the product was ‘for them’. The product range bought in £3 million in the first year alone; double the initial target sales!

Barbie

Example of updating designs to fit in with the current times.

Barbie is supposed to reflect the times by the clothes she wears, the car she drives and her pursuits. However the packaging hadn’t been updated since the 1970’s which left it looking dated and out of fashion. Parham Santana, New York, redesigned the packaging to bring it up to date making the new packaging modern. The design didn’t call for major changes just alterations to bring it back to life. 

KFC -Japan

Example of understanding different cultural needs and standards and then changing the design to fit accordingly.

Shin Ohkawara, former president and CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan, had to fight to break from many of KFC’s standard American practices. Ohkawara adapted to the local culture that expects higher standards of quality and presentation even from fried foods. Nation’s Restaurant News reported in 1988 that, instead of dumping chicken into buckets, KFCJ neatly arranges chicken in a single layer, in wide boxes with ribbed, plastic bottoms to minimize grease absorption. This simple packaging change had a huge positive impact on customer perception and sales.

"Compared with the United States, packaging costs us more than twice as much, but we are doing it," explained Ohkawara. Naturally, U.S. management resisted, but Ohkawara prevailed. He insisted on additional quality improvements and made the franchise a success in Japan.

"Kentucky (Fried Chicken) would never have been successful here by following American advice," commented the chief editor of one of Japan’s leading restaurant industry publications.

Jones Soda 

Example of making the brand/products more personal for the consumer.

“Your Photo, Your Soda, Your Brand”

An excellent example of customisation is the Jones Soda brand. Its soul lies in the personalised, capricious imagery used for different flavours. By allowing consumers to submit their own photographs to be used on labels, the packaging design of this brand literally reflects the individuality of its products and its consumers. This fresh design approach breaks apart the consumers’ preconceived notion of a national beverage brand and hits the markin projecting a unique and customised brand personality that’s always about the consumer (page 49 Packaging Design)

makes people feel involved - keeps them interested

excitement of having your picture on a bottle 

loyalty

Colgate

Considering packaging material and considering the receiving target market.

Colgate, for instance, chose to differentiate its products in China by using a packaging material that was scarcely used by competitors when the company entered the Chinese market in 1992. Back then, the majority of domestic toothpaste manufacturers used aluminium tubes. Colgate, instead, adopted the plastic tube that is now commonly used by almost all toothpaste brands as this is more convenient, durable, and safe for the user. The new packaging material helped Colgate seize about one third of the market share over the years.

Help Remedies 

Simplifying the design to the essentials, focusing on customer experience and design rather than whats in the product.

Created by Little Fury, it is an over the counter healthcare products with the aim to make healthcare issues simple. The designs have stripped back the complicated jargon and have used a straightforward and friendly tone of voice to show exactly what the product does by having the problem written out. A range has been created and using different colours for different problems, the designs are clear and work well as a range. This design has simplified the product down to its essentials, people are caring less about how it works but more about how it makes us feel. As an article in the today’s NY Times’ Bits column, written by Nick Bilton points out, we care less and less about the mysterious technology of the things we buy and more about the experience of using objects and yes their design. (https://richardshear.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-tail-end-of-technology-and-how-we-choose/) Shift from rational to emotional??

Absolut Unique 

Thinking outside the box to offer a unique one of a kind product quite literally. Evokes a feeling of individualism. 

Absolut Vodka created a range of 4 million bottles each with a unique design. The colourful designs are created randomly by the machines in the decoration process. The machines were altered so instead of producing accurate replicas it produced random bursts of colour. This combined with each bottles personal number it makes the new product exciting, individualistic and one of a kind. Customers can find a bottle with a design that they like or appreciate and can feel happy that they are the only one in the world with that bottle. It makes the consumer feel special to own a limited edition product and brings back a feeling, like with hand made items, of an extra ordinary and exclusive item. “The production used splash guns, 38 colours, 51 pattern types and computerised pattern algorithms to ensure complete randomness.” (http://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2012/09/absolut-creates-4-million-uniquely-designed-bottles/)

The company estimates that it would take 94 quintillion bottles before two similar ones are created.