Proper Packaging Design Can Improve More Than Your Bottom Line

The story below talks about packaging design and relating it to the author's own life. The story is inspiring, and it helps me in doing my thesis because I will be focusing on packaging design, way-finding, and editorial design for my three thesis proposals.

Ron had a unique way of making boxes fit his custom-made marble sinks: He used a box knife.
Granted, it wasn’t the most efficient means of forming the folds over his precious cargo, but it served the purpose and, for Ron’s crew, it was good enough.
When I walked in his shop it was obvious Ron had a booming business. It was also obvious his current box supplier was lacking in creative design skills; hence the box knife.
And so, with Ron’s permission, we loaded a sink or two in the car and headed back to our design room in Seymour, Indiana. Our team of design experts whittled away — not with a razor-encased contraption, but with a high-priced, computer-driven cutting board.
The end result amazed Ron. The new box formed perfectly over his various products. It was stronger and cheaper to boot. What’s more, we added cut-out handles to accommodate Ron’s crew which included a few gals who toted the hefty boxes once they were filled with sinks. One handle on the side; one on the end — made perfectly to fit the arm spans of the Ron’s workers.
A common feat
It’s typical. Guys like Ron know that packaging is an important aspect of their business. But, alas, they’re serviced by box salesmen who know more about closing a deal than designing boxes.
That where I come in.
I earn my keep by showing manufacturing companies how to save money by improving their packaging.
A company in Columbus, Indiana — my home turf — was shipping its goods in plain brown boxes; the same boxes that displayed their products on store shelves.
The purchasing agent was encouraged to test white boxes (the color is actually clay, but looks white to shoppers) to see if sales improved. Scepticism was, of course, expected. Clay boxes are, after all, more expensive than the normal brown fare. But once the test was run, and furniture displayed in clay boxes out-paced identical product in brown boxes, the buyers saw the light. Gone were the brown boxes. They were replaced with the more expensive clay-colored boxes. The reason? The substantially increased furniture sales more than paid for the higher-priced new packaging.
Lone Ranger of boxes
When I was a kid I imagined myself being the Lone Ranger. One feat at a time I would save the day then ride off in the sunset with my faithful companion, Tonto.
Turns out that box selling differs little from the Lone Ranger, except I drive a car and not a horse, and my partner is a box designer, not a faithful Indian companion.
The scourge of the packaging industry isn’t the black-hatted villain from the old westerns. Rather, the problem lies in less-then-competent design. A few subtle changes in box design can save money in labor while earning money by presenting a positive product display.
At Boxes.me our goal is to save our clients more than cold cash. We strive to remove the aggravation of working with poorly-crafted containers, shallow designs and, yes, box knives. Our goal is to improve the entire packaging process. Sometimes we save our clients by providing them less expensive boxes. More often we target their bottom line with workable solutions that can only be delivered by a top-notch design team.


“Packaging Desing: Proper Packaging Design Can Improve More Than Your Bottom Line,” Stock Images and Stock Photography Resource, 2009, Maxlin Stock Images Corporation. 3 Apr 2010
http://blog.royaltyfree-stockphoto.com/?p=1455.