Noria Oghu, former chairman of Sony, once said: “Design is the only thing that differentiates one product from another in the marketplace.”
This is rather a sweeping statement, but there is some truth in it. Why would you be tempted to buy an expensive, elaborately labelled bottle of Balsamic vinegar, when you can get an own brand version of virtually the same thing, at a fraction of the price? It’s all about emotional ergonomics, according to Richard Seymour, director of design company Seymour Powell. Emotions are powerful influencers: if buying a certain product makes you feel good, you are likely to buy it.
Speaking at the recent PACE conference in London, Mr Powell gave an entertaining, but thought provoking speech examining what factors are involved in a consumer choosing one product over another, and the crucial part that design plays.
However, ‘design’ is not just about how the product looks (although that is important too: see p. 11 for some stunning ideas). Flow wrapped milk packs are a case in point: “Whoever makes them should be flogged!” said Mr Seymour, and I would say that probably 99% of users would agree.
Mr Seymour asked his audience: what do you get at the bottom of every domestic freezer? Peas and sweetcorn. Now, Mr Seymour is a great believer in going out and observing (and filming) the behaviour of real consumers to find out which designs work, and which don’t. And in one of his films a surprisingly simple solution was demonstrated by a housewife: she cut the top of a pack of peas half way across, poured out the desired amount of peas, and then used the strip of material to wrap around and tuck in to seal the pack. “It would be so easy for manufacturers to put a perforation half way along the pack. Why hasn’t anyone done it yet?” he asked.
Also speaking at the PACE summit, Bryce Rutter, CEO of Metaphase, had a lot to say about design, and the very obvious (when you think about them) mistakes that are made by packaged goods companies. For example, he pointed out that reduced vision is a prominent issue for customers over 40, so ‘a shiny label with tiny print in a brightly lit environment might not be such a good idea’.
On openability, he pointed out that interestingly, obese people’s hands have a smaller grip as their hands get bigger, which restricts their ability to open screw-tops - something I had never considered.
Consumers have a lot of choice, and it has been reported that 70% of purchase decisions are made at point of sale. It is worth trying to understand what influences these decisions - and a good way to do this is by observing people with packs in their own environment.
Maureen Byrne,
Editor
Maureen Byrne Maureen Byrne
