Miller Magazine Issue: 143 November 2021

64 COVER STORY MILLER / november 2021 due to its physical appearance, encourages habits and en- sures continuity in sales. While all these features need to be strategically calculated one by one, the product needs to be focused on as a whole. Otherwise, the expected figure in sales may not be attained. The reasons for success and failure have to be assessed very well for results of future projects. THE SPIRIT OF THE PACKAGING… It should be aimed to prepare the package in such a way that the customer, who already tends to buy the product, will take the product in his hands before even reading the la- bel, and create a desire to examine the package. When the product is not purchased and used by the customer yet, the packaging is the product itself. At that moment when there is no middleman and no narrator. The packaging should say: “Don't buy that one, buy me because I am worth your money!” Packaging is one of the most important forces that will make a decision on the purchasing trends... Presenting the same content in a cardboard box or plastic container evokes a different quality concept in terms of the packaging's identification of the product and price percep- tion. According to the socioeconomic structure of the con- sumer seeking different values, it directly causes makes a difference in terms of quality and price perception. Pasta sold in a cardboard box has a different image and value than pasta sold in a plastic bag. Pasta sold in card- board boxes tells the consumer that it is more expensive than its competitors, as well as of higher quality. A food product packaging with a black background and gold gilding can immediately show that it belongs to a spe- cial series, to the gourmet series for food products. Nowa- days, you can see this kind of packaging in the packaged meat product sections of the markets, in the product cate- gories such as salami and etc. A food product wrapped in a linen cloth or on which linen cloth is used gives the consumer the feeling that it is natural. A bar of dark brown chocolate can say “I am bitter”, a red packaged chocolate can say “I am milky” and a green one defines itself by saying “I am pistachio” and completes its communication with the consumer. Over time, we become familiar with the products offered for sale in these forms, and we can understand what is in- side from the colors used, the form of the packaging, or which brand it is. It must be something like that to be en- graved in the brain or DNA of the consumer. ARTWORK PROJECT TEAM… One of the important delusions about the packaging is that the customer who needs a new design thinks that it is enough to appoint a designer to meet this need. The belief that a packaging problem can only be solved with a visu- al label prepared in a computer environment is one of the widespread solutions but it is completely wrong. Unfortunately, the choices and initiatives of local brands, medium and small-sized businesses in this field cannot be successful with this approach. On the other hand, it is very common to try to imitate the designs of the leading brand and to get a share from the competitor's advertisement and promotion cake due to design similarities without allocating an additional budget for the product. Market and consumer research to be conducted by the brand owners, interpretation of the data obtained before the project and the resulting analyzes are very important re- sources for the design team. While there are managers who directly apply the results of consumer and market research to avoid extra responsibility, there are decision-makers who take responsibility for possible results by interpreting them, and this is of greater importance. Brand, technical, and packaging design consultants, consumer trends and research, competitor analysis, focus groups, design agency, illustrator, photographer, printing techniques, material types can be included in a packaging design project as a whole! Do not hesitate to always say what should be done and what should be done. Years ago, before a campaign, our client shared with us special research he had done for his new project. The research lasted 6 months and as I read the data, I could not hide my surprise at its depth. PRODUCT RANGE AND BRANDING The brand name you use on the package is responsible for defining your brand, creating brand loyalty, and provid- ing product information. The determination of this brand name is a very basic and important issue in order for the product in the designed package to be healthy now and