Text 9. The right design is the shortest way to success

A study at the University in Cologne has shown that packages should be designed in different ways depending on if they are aimed to men or women, young or elder people.

According to the study, women tend to be more active in the grocery store and are the ones who most often buy unknown brands whilst men stick to the well-known brands, preferably carton packages. The inquiry further shows that 75 percent of the whether or not to buy decisions are made in the store. Which means that the package is important. As an example, the surface of the carton package effects the customer’s perception of the product.

A well-designed package inspires confidence in the consumer regardless of his or her age. If a product is marketed in the right way, the consumer can develop a loyal life long relationship to it. Today’s children and young adults constitute one of the most important groups among all the potential customers. Unlike the previous generations, they have grown up with advertising and marketing and have consequently developed a sensitivity and awareness for certain products and brands. There is obviously a huge difference between what a four year old and a fourteen year old likes and priorities in a product. That’s why it is so important for the package design to communicate different messages according to the age group

being targeted.

Generally speaking, teenagers are a hard target group to please and to convince. Like many adults, teenagers are often drawn to healthy products. If the package design succeeds in communicating the right attitude and at the same time the product content is correct, its appeal is automatically doubled. A package design needs to attract the attention of children and young adults instantly. That is why colours, type-faces and pictures need to be combined in such a way as to instantly be recognised, understood and liked by the right age group. As well as allowing their package design decisions to be guided by what children and youngsters like, manufacturers also need to take the parent’s motives into consideration. It is still most common for the parents to actually buy the products. So, this means manufacturers and their designers have to perform a delicate balancing act between creating a package that is attractive and fun for the children, whilst persuading their parents that the product content is healthy. When designing a new package for elderly people, you need to think along these lines: clear colours, good contrast, simplicity and no unnecessary frills. If you succeed, your designs will appeal to a large and growing target group. The fastest growing sector of the population in Western Europe and United States is the over 55s. Attracting these important consumers can lead to success for a brand, and that is why it is so important to properly understand the aging process. By fully understanding how the target group sees the world around them, you can then use good design and graphics to compensate for the deteriorating functions of the older consumer’s body.

The design of the package must be adapted to elderly people’s physical conditions. The main effects of aging are that eyes become weaker and bodies suffer reduced mobility. A new style of design has to be created that takes these factors into account. For example, one simple way of adapting a package design to this target group is to increase the size of the graphics on the package. This naturally leads to a decrease in the amount of information you can show, since the size of the packaging remains the same. A good solution is therefore to remove all the unnecessary details and use the largest possible surface area for the main message, thus making sure it comes across clearly. However, there is always the risk of overdoing it; the trick is to use this method in a subtle way – to be clear but

not clumsy.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Ask ten questions on the text.

Exercise 2. Say whether these sentences are true or false and explain why.

1. Packages shouldn’t be designed in different ways for men and women.

2. Women never buy unknown brands.

3. While shopping men always prefer new brands.

4. 75 percent of the whether or not to buy decisions are made before going shopping.

5. The package can’t influence the choice of whether to buy or not.

6. The content but not the surface of the carton package effects the customer’s perception of the product.

7. Children and young adults are too young to be potential customers.

8. There is no difference between what a four year old and a fourteen year old likes.

9. Teenagers are very easy to please with a product.

10. Teenagers are not interested in healthy products.

11. If the package design is good the product content is not important.

12. A package design for children must be bright.

13. Children like to examine goods, that’s why a package design for children doesn’t need to attract their attention instantly.

Exercise 3. Insert the correct word from the line.

Design, consideration, compensate for, growing, instantly, package, success, target, attractive, aging, content, consumers, common.

1. Colours of a package for children need to … be recognized.

2. To launch a new package … one should know what children like.

3. To launch a new package design manufacturers need to take the parent’s motives into … .

4. It is … for the parents to buy the products for their children.

5. A package should be … both for the children and their parents.

6. The parents are more concerned about the product … then about its package.

7. When designing a new … for elderly people, you need to think about many things.

8. The fastest … sector of the population in Western Europe is the over 55s.

9. In the USA people over 55 are considered to be important … .

10. Attracting people over 55 can lead to … for a brand.

11. It is very important to properly understand the … process.

12. It is very important to know how the … group sees the world around them.

13. To … the deteriorating functions of the older consumer’s body designers can use bright colours and good graphics.

Exercise 4. Finish the sentences.

1. The design of the package must be adapted to …

2. One of the main effects of aging is …

3. One way of adapting a package design to elderly people is …

4. The increasing of the size of the graphics on the package leads to …

5. A good idea for elderly people’s design is to remove …

Exercise 5. Form comparative and superlative degrees of the adjectives.

Young, old, active, important, hard, healthy, correct, attractive, fun, new, clear, good, large, weak, simple, unnecessary.