The Psychology of Packaging Design: Optimizing the Impact of Packaging with Neuropackaging

What makes a product appear trustworthy? Why does one package suggest better taste, higher quality, or more natural ingredients than another? And why does an eye-catching trendy packaging design fail on the supermarket shelf? Neuropackaging gets to the bottom of these questions through scientific packaging research and challenges established yet long-outdated industry assumptions.

"The approach behind neuropackaging is to understand how packaging design shapes consumer perception before they try a product, and how brands can leverage consumer psychology to develop stronger packaging concepts: colors, structures, textures, haptics, and typography that make the crucial difference in purchasing behavior," explains Fernando Arendar, branding and packaging design specialist and founder of Nitid Studio – a branding agency that applies insights from behavioral and neuroscience to packaging design.

An important conclusion that Arendar has drawn from evidence-based packaging research is, that over many years, the packaging industry has held fast to beliefs that cannot simply be applied to actual consumer behavior: "A package's design must create recognition" or "must break with expectations." "Consumers make purchasing decisions in a matter of seconds." These and similar principles lead brands to believe that the sole purpose of packaging is to attract attention as quickly as possible.

Design trends like "Chaos Packaging" push these assumptions to the extreme, but carry risks: If a product launch or redesign fails to resonate with consumers, a poor packaging decision can result in significant financial losses.

In a saturated consumer goods market, non-prototypical or "chaotic" packaging seems like an easy way to grab attention: "It provides great stories for designers, brands, and the media. It's fun to talk about sunscreen in a whipped cream can or a drink in a laundry detergent bottle," says Fernando Arendar.

However, atypical packaging can just as easily cause confusion, reduce trust, or trigger safety concerns: "If the brain associates the packaging structure with the wrong usage context, the product can instinctively seem risky or inappropriate." This is further supported by the recent study on unconventional packaging design, “Nonprototypical packaging and strategic implications: When structural design disrupts or delivers”*, to which Arendar contributed: greater visibility alone does not guarantee a stronger consumer response. If a food product is placed in a structure associated with cleaning products, fuel, or medication, there is a high probability that perceived quality, trust, and appropriateness will be reduced.

If, however, the new format still connects to a familiar consumption context, or improves convenience, portability, storage, or use, non-prototypical packaging can be compelling. The key is not disruption itself. The key lies in the balance between novelty and coherence. Packaging may be surprising, but it must still feel understandable, credible, and appropriate for the product.

Fernando Arendar is convinced that packaging designers need to gain a deeper understanding of consumer behavior and how packaging is analyzed and tested. Asking consumers what they think of a design, whether they like it, or whether they would buy it often yields limited useful answers: „People are not always able to explain why a package works for them or not.“

Before developing the packaging design, those responsible should first determine what mental associations consumers have with the category: Which signals are strong and nearly impossible to break? Which ones can be challenged? Which conventions build trust? Which are mere habits that could be improved?

According to Arendar, good packaging practice does not mean being different at all costs. The best packages often maintain enough category codes to be recognized quickly, while adding specific details that make the brand distinctive, memorable, and interesting. This balance is crucial. If the packaging is too conventional, it can get lost within the category. If it is too different, consumers may not understand what the product is, how it is used, or whether they can trust it.

„A strong practice is working with associative learning. This means identifying the mental associations consumers already have with a product, an ingredient, a moment of use, or a sensory expectation, and translating these into clear design signals“ says Arendar.

„In both cases, the packaging is not merely trying to attract attention. It uses structure, haptics, and association to make the product more memorable and meaningful“, explains Arendar.

From a neuroscientific perspective, one interesting development is the possibility of integrating printed OLED (organic light-emitting diode) technology into packaging and what this could mean for consumer perception. "Our brains are extremely sensitive to movement and changing stimuli, because in natural environments, movement often signals that something deserves attention," says Arendar.

If – and this is crucial – OLED technology is used thoughtfully, it can open up exciting innovations for packaging design. Packaging could use subtle light, movement, or dynamic visual cues to highlight product freshness, premium quality, rituals, or a specific sensory expectation. Like any other packaging cue, motion should serve a clear purpose: helping consumers better understand the product or making it easier to remember. Otherwise, it simply creates visual noise.

*Nonprototypical packaging and strategic implications: When structural design disrupts or delivers“ Arendar, Fernando, Waters, Kevin, Howard, Shelby and Watts, Jon (2025, March 1). Nonprototypical packaging and strategic implications: When structural design disrupts or delivers. In the Journal of Brand Strategy, Volume 14, Issue 4.