Carative Factors in the Design of Packaging

The carative factor of empathy in packaging design is a signal to the consumer that the manufacturer understands their feelings about the problem the product solves. This understanding is important in today's wide range of online choices for consumers at their fingertips. Showing empathy helps a brand stand out and connect better with followers. Here are important points to know about embedding empathy in packaging design.

Tapping Into Human Emotions

Human emotions should be a top focus for packaging designers since consumers regularly fall in love with the packaging. There are various pathways toward empathy, which communicates sensitivity toward the values of end-users. Sometimes people don't know the answers to their problems until they see them presented in a nice package. In order to tap into the emotions of a specific market segment, the designer must research the values of the target market. What type of solutions trigger emotions of relief with this crowd?

From this understanding of how emotions connect consumers with products through the medium of packaging, it's possible to create prototypes for new solutions. In this sense, it's possible for innovative packaging culminating in closer emotional connections with products. Even though a new car doesn't come in a package, any vehicle itself is a package of features and parts that can be customized or modified. Modern features of an automotive package help trigger emotions of elation for staying ahead of the curve.

A loaf of bread comes in a soft package, which makes it easy for customers to squeeze to test the softness. Thanks to the texture and feel of the package, the customer feels emotions relating to softness. Hardness associates more with emotional strength, which helps sell toolboxes and items meant to repair or manipulate objects.

Why Empathy Plays a Role in Packaging

Empathy is a meaningful concern for packaging because it takes consumers to the tipping point of making decisions based on emotional response. Empathy encompasses thoughts, feelings, and experiences that are commonly shared among people. It's an essential ingredient of packaging that links to the source of consumer decision-making.

Since packaging is a major contributor to how a consumer perceives a product before they buy it, the packaging must inform the prospect of its emotional signal that encourages them to buy. Building empathy with a following through packaging can be achieved by meeting with a sample of the target market and listening to their concerns. Observing, taking notes, and looking for patterns help shape a clear understanding of people's values and emotions.

Sending the Right Emotional Signals

Ideally, people can see themselves in the packaging. In other words, the packaging design is so reflective of emotions associated with the product's solution to a problem, that the package becomes the message and the gateway to a better experience. Describing functional and emotional benefits on the packaging helps build trust. Purchasing decisions become the keys that provide access to positive emotions.

One way to convey empathy to a target market is to recognize achievements and associate them with the package. Let the package be the award the consumer accepts for their achievement in their journey to find the right solution. This sense of accomplishment should be associated with the product's benefits and communicated on the package. It forms what's known as "consumer-centric design," which ultimately tells consumers it's ok to pursue their interests to achieve a feeling of well-being.