Don’t be a parasite: Avoid sucking the lifeblood from other product packaging

dont-be-a-parasite-avoid-sucking-the-lifeblood-from-other-product-packaging<p>Take yourself back to the first day of Kindergarten. How did you know what to do or how to act? Like a chameleon, you looked around and disguised yourself as one of your fellow classmates, following the example of everyone else. Starting your own product line is kind of like the first day of school. Scope out the competition; it's important to find the right style for your product. There's nothing wrong with collecting ideas from established brands and designs (your friends won't start calling you Bill Belichick, I promise), but know when to draw the line. Avoid copy-cat or parasitic packaging by following these dos and don'ts.</p> <h3><b>DO package similarly.</b></h3> <p>Milk is typically packaged in dairy bottles. Well, except for those glass and carton exceptions, but you get the picture. If it's common practice to package your class of goods in a uniform fashion, as is the case with milk (bottles and/or design), then feel free to stick with the classic standard, but make it shine with a special twist. Just keep in mind that you're selling milk, so the finished product needs to look like milk, not an over-the-top bedazzled drink for girls under the age of eight. If your specific product isn't dominated by a particular bottle style (take perfume instead of milk) feel free to take note of intriguing examples but stretch your creative capacities and come up with your own version.</p> <h3><b>DON&#8217;T Copy, it&#8217;s stealing.</b></h3> <p>Never copy under any circumstances the exact look of another product. No matter how in love with it you are (or rather infatuated with the funds that could result from designing your product after an already established brand), it's not worth a Romeo and Juliet-like demise for both your product and theirs. And above all, it's just not classy. There's a reason it's referred to as parasite packaging. Parasites are pests and they eventually get squashed, if you know what I mean. <b> </b></p> <h3><b>DO capture a mood.</b></h3> <p>Some groups of products share a central theme. In-home cleaners are notorious for being bright and nature based. Let the aesthetic (color and design) of competitors inspire your own take on the mood of the product. Whether you decide to join in on the established ambiance or build a new world for yourself.</p> <h3><b>DON&#8217;T forget what you're selling. </b></h3> <p>The success or failure of your product can depend on this point when it comes to considering packaging. You may want the mood of your product to exude the adventure of space travel but before you plan the launch remember you're here to sell lotion. It's ok to follow the themes, comfort for cold medications, bright energy for citric and floral shampoos, play off what you like about other products but make it your own. You'll never know how many people are waiting for an intergalactic lotion until it hits the shelves!</p> <h3><b>DO great design.</b></h3> <p>Maximize the appeal of your product by packaging it in a bottle with an eye-catching design. This area of packaging is nearly limitless, keeping in mind the central idea that the product needs to be recognizable for what it is. You can market your punk-inspired, skull ridden baby powder as long as hip parents will be able to identify it as a necessity. Otherwise people will not only pass your product by, there&#8217;s a chance they could be freaked out by it too.</p> <p>Starting your own business or product line is an admirable voyage for which other bottles and jars are agents of inspiration. Take notes from them and expand the vision for your product but always keep one thing in mind: nothing will hurt your product's credibility worse than opting to mimic another's bottle design or overall packaging instead of investing time and energy into one of your own (especially when aims to confuse shoppers). Tracking down the right bottle and accentuating it with the right mood and design are tough tasks, but no matter how hard it gets, don't ever take the copy-cat road and taint the journey of discovery and creation. The Kindergarten kids may have followed the leader from time to time but when it came to creative projects they let their individuality shine!</p> <p><b>What do you think? Do these look like they&#8217;re the same product? Does it confuse you? Do you scream in the silence of your mind &#8220;those imposters!!&#8221;? Or are you wondering &#8230; which of these is the true original? Tell us. </b></p> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eqK3dmb5srs/T71JHbqKp4I/AAAAAAAAAbA/1xSOwCSMz4w/s1600/Butter+-+Blue.PNG><img src=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eqK3dmb5srs/T71JHbqKp4I/AAAAAAAAAbA/1xSOwCSMz4w/s400/Butter+-+Blue.PNG alt= width=400 height=136 border=0 /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Butter spreads packaged in tubs with similar designs.<br /> Image courtesy of <a href=http://www.britishbrandsgroup.org.uk/upload/File/Similar%20pkg%20examples%202012.pdf>British Brands Group</a>.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qOS_So5VTKQ/T71J4Dj0qoI/AAAAAAAAAbI/8PdL4RPT5Aw/s1600/Gin.PNG><img src=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qOS_So5VTKQ/T71J4Dj0qoI/AAAAAAAAAbI/8PdL4RPT5Aw/s400/Gin.PNG alt= width=400 height=363 border=0 /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Products packaged in a similar style.<br /> Image courtesy of <a href=http://www.britishbrandsgroup.org.uk/upload/File/Similar%20pkg%20examples%202012.pdf>British Brands Group</a>.</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center> <tbody> <tr> <td><a href=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WD9FCgwrCyg/T71KZs0iifI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/S12DVaNBHoE/s1600/Head+and+Shoulders.PNG><img src=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WD9FCgwrCyg/T71KZs0iifI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/S12DVaNBHoE/s400/Head+and+Shoulders.PNG alt= width=365 height=400 border=0 /></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Products adopt bottle style and design to replicate the appearance of another.<br /> Image courtesy of <a href=http://www.britishbrandsgroup.org.uk/upload/File/Similar%20pkg%20examples%202012.pdf>British Brands Group.</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table>