In a shop, someone can explain why a product is worth considering. On a shelf, in a gift shortlist or in a phone thumbnail, the buyer has a different set of clues to work with.
When we work with founders, we agree on which buying situation matters most at this stage and what the customer needs to understand before choosing. The examples below help us study visual techniques and the meanings people may read into them.
On the shelf, what do shoppers recognise first?
Shoppers first identify the category, then look for a reason to consider one product over another. Geometric design offers a way to study how proportion, alignment and repetition direct attention. Set a hierarchy for the category, brand and selling point, then place the mock-up beside competing products and ask shoppers what they noticed first.
Geometric design · View full size
Playful pop graphics · View full size
When choosing a gift, whose reaction matters?
Gift buyers imagine how the recipient will read the gesture. An uneven hand-drawn mark can suggest craftsmanship, childhood or playfulness. It might belong on the outside of a box or on something revealed after opening. Its role depends on the buyer, the recipient and the occasion.
Bold portraiture · View full size
Retro-futurism · View full size
In an ecommerce thumbnail, what needs to read clearly?
Grain and soft focus can carry the mood of lighting and materials in a lifestyle image. In a product grid, the thumbnail still has to make the item and its difference recognisable. Put the images beside comparable products and ask what shoppers read first, then which version they would open.
Grain and soft focus · View full size
Glassmorphism · View full size
Liquid design · View full size
Photo illustration · View full size
AI fashion models · View full size
Test the design in the buying situation
Use orders, enquiries and channel feedback to choose a buying situation worth testing. Show mock-ups to people with recent experience of that purchase. Ask what they understood and which detail led them there. Their answers guide the next design decision and where the budget will have the most useful role.
Planning a retail launch, a gifting range or an ecommerce refresh? Bring a product photo, your intended sales channel and one problem you want to solve. Together we’ll decide what your customers need to understand and where your design budget should go first.
Let’s talk about your brand and packaging
Further reading · Orth & Malkewitz, Holistic Package Design and Consumer Brand Impressions (2008)
