Kindness is the quality of being kind, which can be conveyed through packaging design as part of what attracts customers. The charitable nature of kindness makes it a crucial element of packaging design, helping potential customers decide whether or not to buy the product. Here is an overview of how kindness can be an important and effective theme in packaging.
Markets Attracted by Kindness
The concept of thoughtfulness isn’t necessarily associated with every product on the market, although the intent behind these products is generally to improve people’s lives. Products that are popular gifts, such as special candies or jewelry, fit closely with the idea of thoughtful packaging design. Often, birthday gifts offer a layered unwrapping experience, with each layer conveying a sense of mystery.
Other products that work well as gifts and evoke feelings of kindness include tools, clothing, and entertainment items. Each of these products can empower the recipients to the point of making both the giver and the gift memorable. Kindness can be conveyed through a soft texture. The color light blue is associated with honesty, a key element of kindness.
Kindness is reinforced by rewards, which packaging can highlight. When consumers unpack the product, they begin to experience a sense of reward. Then, once they touch the product, an emotional connection forms, replacing the emotional connection with the packaging. It is this moment and this sense of fulfillment that drive consumers to buy specific products again and again. Making thoughtfulness part of the packaging experience can serve as a reminder that the product is worth giving as a gift.
Another market segment that responds well to imagery associated with kindness consists of people who enjoy donating to causes. Nonprofit organizations can benefit from incorporating the spirit of kindness into their marketing for community events and fundraisers.
Kindness as a charitable element of packaging
Incorporating charitable elements such as kindness into packaging is a relatively new idea that requires further research. Packaging designers have the opportunity to innovate with charitable packaging while it is still in its early stages. The key is to bring the packaging to life with personality. Kindness is a personality trait that is generally admired. Four of the five most common personality traits identified by psychologists are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness, all of which are linked to kindness.
Kindness can be conveyed through packaging in ways that go beyond the act of gift-giving or the brand-consumer relationship. It can be communicated through sentiments and messages related to social improvement. Striving to create a more friendly and interconnected world is an important role that manufacturers can play in an era that increasingly emphasizes social responsibility.
Showing a commitment to society is something that resonates well with modern consumers. The words “safety” and “security” instantly evoke images of community-mindedness. Providing a list of the product’s features or benefits on the packaging sends a friendly message to consumers, indicating that you care about them making informed, fact-based decisions.
Using polished language that conveys kindness doesn’t always work if the product doesn’t live up to its promises. The message and the product must be in harmony with the packaging. Trying to trick consumers into buying products is never a good idea because it goes against the principle of goodwill. People may be fooled by marketing messages, but they generally cannot be fooled by their wallets. Consumers ultimately reward brands that build genuine trust and avoid those that betray that trust.
References
- Charitable Factors in the Design Development Process: Toward an Understanding of Owner-Object Detachment and the Promotion of Object Longevity (2018), by Yoon Choi, John Stevens, Clare Brass
