Abstract
What package design features can help consumers find commodities faster? This study assumes that the factors in distinguishing different packaging designs of commodities differ due to consumers’ different personal experiences. Thus, this paper studies the findability of commodities by consumers through distinct packaging designs. It consists mainly of two stages: (a) the first stage reviews the existing literature to determine the application of different package designs; (b) the second stage is a focus group interview designed to investigate the factors influencing consumers in distinguishing different package designs. In the investigation process, (i) samples of package bottles for testing were collected through natural observation and convenience sampling; (ii) a focus group interview was conduced to determine how a consumer recognizes the differences among packages; (iii) a grounded analysis model was employed to transfer and encode the data collected from the focus group interviews to construct a conceptual frame for trade dress and the classifications of trade dress, which can interpret variations in the recognition of packaging design differences. The results of the focus group interview showed that consumers focused more on three kinds of “trade dress”: property of commodity, label design, and bottle shape design when looking for differences in packaging designs. The “bottle shape design” was the most important factor that the focus group used in distinguishing different packaging designs. The distinction in the different package designs by consumers is not limited to design elements (image, language, color, shape, etc.) only; more importantly, the distinction lies in the relationship between “trade dress” and “classifications of trade dress,” which can better reflect the differences in packaging designs.
Keywords
Commodity Packaging, Differences In Packaging Design, Findability, Trade Dress
Citation
Wang, R., and Chou, M. (2010) Findability of Commodities by Consumers: Distinguishing Different Packaging Designs, in Durling, D., Bousbaci, R., Chen, L, Gauthier, P., Poldma, T., Roworth-Stokes, S. and Stolterman, E (eds.), Design and Complexity - DRS International Conference 2010, 7-9 July, Montreal, Canada. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2010/researchpapers/126
Findability of Commodities by Consumers: Distinguishing Different Packaging Designs
What package design features can help consumers find commodities faster? This study assumes that the factors in distinguishing different packaging designs of commodities differ due to consumers’ different personal experiences. Thus, this paper studies the findability of commodities by consumers through distinct packaging designs. It consists mainly of two stages: (a) the first stage reviews the existing literature to determine the application of different package designs; (b) the second stage is a focus group interview designed to investigate the factors influencing consumers in distinguishing different package designs. In the investigation process, (i) samples of package bottles for testing were collected through natural observation and convenience sampling; (ii) a focus group interview was conduced to determine how a consumer recognizes the differences among packages; (iii) a grounded analysis model was employed to transfer and encode the data collected from the focus group interviews to construct a conceptual frame for trade dress and the classifications of trade dress, which can interpret variations in the recognition of packaging design differences. The results of the focus group interview showed that consumers focused more on three kinds of “trade dress”: property of commodity, label design, and bottle shape design when looking for differences in packaging designs. The “bottle shape design” was the most important factor that the focus group used in distinguishing different packaging designs. The distinction in the different package designs by consumers is not limited to design elements (image, language, color, shape, etc.) only; more importantly, the distinction lies in the relationship between “trade dress” and “classifications of trade dress,” which can better reflect the differences in packaging designs.