Alan Gilbody

Standing out on shelf is never the problem. Standing out in the right way is where it gets interesting.

This cooking oil pack is a great example of that balance in action.

It takes a very modern approach. Clean, minimal, and deliberately stripped of traditional category cues.

The vertical logo works hard. It catches the eye and creates a strong, contemporary presence.

But in doing so, it also starts to borrow heavily from visual language we typically see in personal care.

The format, the finish, even the overall feel. It leans closer to something you might find in a haircare aisle than in cooking oils.

That creates an interesting tension. On one hand, it drives standout. It looks different, which is valuable in a crowded category.

On the other, it moves away from some of the cues that signal taste, quality, and authenticity. The things people instinctively look for when choosing a cooking oil.

There is an opportunity here.

How do you keep that modernity and distinctiveness, while reintroducing just enough category cues to reassure and guide?

Because borrowing from other categories can be powerful, it can refresh and reframe. But without the right balance, it can also create a small moment of doubt.

And in food, that moment matters.

The most effective designs tend to stretch the rules, not ignore them entirely.

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

The success of the chicken wine has been a spring board for a menagerie of different animal inspired wines.

You can see why, focusing the label around an animal can be a perfect way to lift the pack out from a sea of sameness. That said, in order to maintain credibility in the zoo, it is important that this animal is linked to the product in some way.

This pack caught my eye yesterday. Now, whilst the label was enough to act as a beacon on shelf, it needed to work hard to balance this beacon with credibility.

The brand hinges around the tweaking of the famous ‘pig based’ nursery rhyme. It’s an opportunity to do something clever memorable and establish credibility.

Get this wrong, however, as here and it can undermine its whole proposition. Clumsy copywriting leads to confusion and a world of potential cheesiness.

The brand has attempted to talk about what the Wein can be paired with and it’s overall taste profile but the net result feels a little shoehorned in rather than cleverly woven

Standing at a distance is one thing, convincing the consumer close-up is another

#Marketing, #Design, #Branding, #Packaging

I often get into fairly interesting conversations on here with people about packaging formats.

I’m all for doing something different but it has to be functional and practical. Form should always follow function as I mentioned before.

Now before people jump in and say yes, but it’s very different so It will stand out. You have to remember some of the functions and fundamentals of Packaging design.

The Packaging needs to help with the overall delivery of the format and if this format challenges the norm then other aspects such as the graphic needs to help easily explain what the product is, and the chosen format needs to be up to the challenge of delivery of the product

That neatly brings me onto this example of a foaming body wash.

The product uses a structure more akin to squirty cream. Imagine how tricky, and slippy the pack is to use in the shower! Most shower creams and shower gels are designed specifically for one-handed operation. This requires not just the addition of another hand, but the addition of a soux chef to operate. 

So where the format fails the Graphics need to do a lot of of the heavy lifting. However, because they have taken a stripped back and on trend approach, they lack all of the personality and all of the traditional cues to help support what the product is.

Be different by all means, but don’t forget what the product is and how it’s used

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Sometimes, all the information is there, it’s not presented in an engaging way.

Branding is all about storytelling. It’s capturing the imagination of the consumer and communicating how you meet a specific need.

Remember, the consumer decides emotionally and justifies logically. They have to be attracted and invested in what you have to offer.

Take this example from the cooking oil aisle. Arguably all the information is there to sell the product to a consumer, however the story is missing.

It immediately feels very worthy, almost like popping into Holland and Barrat’s to buy some multivitamins rather than a staple for the food cupboard. That tends to communicate hard work and compromise rather than benefit.

A great way to think about this is how would somebody described this pack and brand to me if I wasn’t there?
How is this going to make me feel?
How does it benefit me?
Why should I use this instead of my normal brand?
What visual sign post and triggers would they describe?
What tone of voice is it using?

Apologies for all the questions but it’s important to understand this. If the pack leaves you asking more questions than it answers, the chances of you picking it up and putting it in your basket are very slim.

#Marketing, #Design, #Packaging, #Branding

Packaging has a job to do. First and foremost, it needs to communicate.

This toothbrush is a good reminder of how easy it is to underplay that role.

From the front of pack, there is very little information. Aside from a small brand logo, there are few cues to help a shopper quickly understand what the product is or why they should choose it.

In contrast, much of the competition leans into clarity. They highlight key benefits, explain functionality, and remove uncertainty at a glance.

Here, some of those fundamentals are missing.

For example, it is not immediately clear whether the toothbrush is rechargeable or mains powered. That is a simple but important detail that helps a consumer make a decision quickly and confidently.

There is also an opportunity to strengthen visibility on shelf. A toothbrush in a similar colour to its backing, paired with minimal branding, can make it harder to distinguish at a distance. Small adjustments in contrast, hierarchy, or messaging could significantly improve standout.

The design itself feels considered and minimal, which can be a strength and aid differentiation. But in categories where efficacy and trust are key, that minimalism needs to be balanced with clear, confident communication.

A few well-chosen cues could do a lot of heavy lifting. Highlighting core benefits, clarifying functionality, and improving visual contrast would help the product work harder at shelf.

Great packaging is not just about looking good. It is about helping people understand, choose, and trust what they are buying.

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Consumers need to believe in the brand they are buying.

They look for signals of trust and efficacy, especially when it is something new to them. In those moments, they rely on visual shortcuts to fill in the gaps.

We all do this. It is how we interpret the world and make quick decisions.

Assumptions about effectiveness are often shaped by familiar visual cues. These cues are drawn from everything a consumer has seen before, from products they have used to brands they have encountered through advertising and retail.

Take skincare as an example. A consumer will instinctively look for signals that align with what they already associate with credible, effective products.

If those expected cues are missing or misjudged, the product can easily be misunderstood.

I recently came across a product in Boots that looked more like something you would drizzle over strawberries than something designed to treat a skin condition.

That disconnect matters.

If you do not get the key visual cues right, trust is lost in seconds and the consumer simply moves on to a product that does.

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

It’s very easy to lose track of the bamboozling amount of YouTuber consumer products out there.

Most fall into the same trap of if you don’t know who the celebrity is the brand is pretty meaningless. I think many are missing a trick here by only pitching the product to their small yet dedicated fan base rather than opening it out to new consumers.

Take this product from recent London Mayoral candidate and kiddy sunglasses wearing Niko Omilana apart from being a bag of sweets, what’s is it doing differently and why should I buy it?.

For anyone wondering who in the world Niko was, and I was one of these until one of my kids guided me in the right direction, declaring that something is by Niko is pretty irrelevant. Fine if you Cadbury or Bassett, but if your name is not immediately attributable to confectionary is not actually supporting your proposition or encouraging consumers outside of your fan based to try the product.

These YouTuber personalities should instead focus on creating strong brand stories and values that extend AND develop their personal brands to make them relevant in the product category they want to move into.

Miss out on this and you could be cutting out a sizable chunk of consumers.

#Design, #Marketing, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Something I’ve mentioned before one here is the brands need to explain to the consumer what consumer need they are meeting. However, that shouldn’t be at the expense of communicating what the product is in the first place.

Take this product from Hartley’s for example. ‘More fruit less sugar’ takes centre stage at the expense of poor old ‘jam’ which is buried away in tiny copy at the bottom of the label.

Another factor not helping the consumer decode what the product is that rather than be in a format more recognisable in the sector it’s in a squeezy bottle

There is a balance to be struck between what the product is and why a consumer needs it. Elevating one shouldn’t be at the expense of the other.

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

When you are up against the big players, performance and efficacy are King. Many own brand products are as good as the big brand competitors. Most consumers are fully aware of this but it’s something that packaging also needs to push.

Have a look at this cleaner from Sainsbury’s.

Compared to the competition, it feels very washed out and so disappears to the back of the shelf. The pack lacks any cues towards efficacy and many of the on-pack elements end up competing as they are executed in a similar way

A device often used on cleaning products is a cleaning swoosh. It communicates effortless and speedy cleaning. However, that clean swoosh has been replaced by an orange smear!

Not really the sort of language you want to use to convince a consumer.

Own brand products may be cheaper, but they have to work twice as hard to convince the consumer that they are a credible alternative

#Marketing, #Design, #BrandDesign, #Packaging

Colour is there to provide recognition, interest and depth. Colour creates that beacon on the shelf to draw the consumer in and quickly identify your pack.

The right choice of colour, or combinations of colours, can also help convey appetite appeal.

Get that Colour choice wrong though and the pack can disappear on shelf amongst all the competition. I saw the attached line extension to Special K yesterday and this suffers from exactly that.

In order to up weight their Crunchy Golden Clusters, the Kellogg’s K, product communication and to some degree the product imagery all disappear onto one level when executed in the same hue. The easily identifiable brand assets lose their shape and form as rather than split the pack into a foreground, midground and background, all assets appear on one level and so end up fighting for attention and recognition. Getting this balance right is incredibly important, especially when viewing from a couple of metres back as you approach the shelf.

Next to other variants in the range the Kellogg’s K almost disappears making it look more like a copycat brand than credible portfolio extension.

Always use colour and contrast wisely. It’s the most powerful tool in grabbing attention, especially if you’ve got something new to shout about.

#Design, #Marketing, #BrandDesign, #Packaging