Isn't It Itonic & The Power of The Box

1. To what extent is packaging important in marketing a product? Give an example of how a package influenced your decision to buy (or not buy) something.
Packaging is very important in marketing a product. It can make or break a sale. If a product is in a really cool or mysterious package in bold colors, a customer will want to buy it just to see what's inside. For example, there are many hair products that have the same purpose and function, yet I am drawn to those products that have bold color combinations, like purple and green, and that are in interesting looking bottles.
When I go to my neighborhood grocery store, I go to the Asian section because of the cool packaging on some of the products. The fact that I can't understand what the writing on the package means, also adds to my curiosity of what is inside the package. There is this type of soda that I buy. It isn't anything exquisite. These sodas are fruit flavored. What influences my decision to buy these sodas is the packaging. It comes in a skinny glass bottle. Where the hole is on the top of the bottle where the liquid pours through, is a marble ball. In order to drink the soda, one must use the plastic object taped on top of the marble to pop the ball down to the middle of the bottle where it nests.

2. What other products have iconic packaging?
Goldfish is an example of iconic packaging. Like Q-tips and Tide, everyone knows the colors are orange and white and that the crackers typically come in a paper bag. McDonalds' cheeseburgers are another example of iconic packaging. Everyone knows they are wrapped in yellow paper. Lays are in a soft yellow plastic bag, while Cheetos are in a fiery orange plastic bag with a cheetah wearing glasses. Heinz ketchup and A1 steak sauce are also examples of iconic packaging.
Yes all of these examples are about food!

3. What usability issues exist for packaging? Give examples of particularly good or bad packaging from a usability perspective.
The designer must find the balance between making a product look intricate, unique, and mysterious, and making the product simple and easy to learn to use.
Sometimes the packaging can be deceiving. The package could be a certain size, when in reality the product itself is much smaller than the packaging. For example, it bugs me when I buy candy at Walgreens and it is half or 2/3 the size of what the packaging tells you it will be. So this is an example of bad packaging!