Communicating the value of design: Design considerations to assist practitioner rationale in FMCG packaging development

Product packaging design is often produced through the practical application of tacit knowledge, rule of thumb and professional connoisseurship. Stakeholders are becoming increasingly demanding that design practitioners provide clarity of reasoning and accountability for their design proposals. Therefore, a better framework for the design of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) is required. This paper proposes a comprehensive taxonomy of ‘design considerations’ to assist the development of low involvement FMCG packaging and aid in rationale communication for design solutions. 302 academic sources were reviewed, inductive content analysis performed to code topics and output validation with academic and industry experts (n=9) through a modified-Delphi card sorting method. The research provides movement towards a comprehensive framework and common dialogue between stakeholders, practitioners and managers to assist in more effectively communicating the value that design can offer to FMCGs. The constructed taxonomy provides a set of 156 ‘design considerations’ to support in objective and informed design decision-making

The value of design in UK FMCG packaging development: An industry case study exploring practitioner design practice rationale & decision-making

Recognising the value design offers has been of great importance for the effective development and launch of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Packaging design is acknowledged as a significant success factor in New Product Development (NPD) for the FMCG industry to help provide clear product differentiation and competitive advantage in saturated and complex markets. The search for approaches to maintain or improve market share has driven the field of consumer research over the last few decades. The potential to influence consumer perception of a product through visual design is well documented in the literature. Packaging design relies on effective management of symbolic, semantic, aesthetic and visual information elements. Stakeholders have been increasingly demanding that design practitioners provide a clear rationale and accountability for their design proposals in this risk-averse industry. However, limited research has been produced to address how packaging design and development is managed; and, how design practitioners rationalise and validate their design decision-making. The authors’ look to address this through the study of design practitioners in ‘real-world’ FMCG design practice. A case study is presented with a UK company involved in the design and manufacture of food and beverage packaging for suppliers, retailers and brands in the UK FMCG market. The research aims to identify preliminary insights and a narrative into the factors affecting practitioner rationale, decision-making and explore future research. The study triangulates evidence from interviews, participant observation, direct observation and document analysis to identify influences through a convergence of findings. Nine preliminary influences are recognised that appear to affect practitioner rationale and decision-making.<br

An investigation into the design management & design practice for packaging design & development in the UK FMCG industry

Packaging design plays a critical role within the highly competitive, saturated, and homogenous markets of the UK Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Existing literature clearly demonstrates the impact packaging design can have on consumer response and decision-making processes and the ‘power’ it has in shaping consumer perception and behaviours. Whilst existing literature covers this extensively, little has explored the real-world ‘realities’ of packaging design and development (PD&D) within the field of the FMCG industry; and, the industry-facing influences and factors that can affect packaging design practitioners when engaging in conceptual packaging design activities. Prior research has looked to incorporate the perspective of packaging design management for the FMCG industry, but it has failed to provide meaningful insights into PD&D practice and process, specifically through the lens of the packaging design practitioner. The purpose of this research is to address this underserved area of research and provide more insight relevant to the design practitioner within PD&D for the UK FMCG industry. The research offers a comprehensive literature review covering a range of areas including: 1) Role & significance of packaging design for FMCGs, 2) Packaging design & development within an industry context, and 3) Role of the design practitioner to set a foundation of understanding. Following this, three exploratory qualitative research studies are presented with direct engagement with relevant industry professionals involved with the PD&D process for the UK FMCG industry. A particular focus has been given to engagement with packaging design practitioners. The research identifies and discusses a range of design considerations, influences and factors that appear to affect design practitioners when undertaking conceptual packaging design practice activities within an industry context. This includes (but is not limited to) factors such as time compression of design activities, ineffective design brief management, siloed phases of the design process, and limited client-design communication channels, all of which pose a significant effect on a design practitioner’s ability to perform effectively. Furthermore, this research discovers emerging evidence of the tensions between design practitioners within design agencies and packaging manufacturer remits impacting the process. These tensions are in part due to a lack of understanding of design practice and process by other professions. These studies look to contribute to the existing literature by offering novel insight into packaging design practice and its management within the UK FMCG industry through direct involvement with industry professionals and their lived contexts. This hopes to build on the limited existing knowledge through the adopted through the lens of the design practitioner. Methods leveraged offer repeatable opportunities to cross-compare findings, and offer the opportunity for more longitudinal studies in the future. Findings suggest that wider stakeholders involved with authority in the PD&D process within the UK FMCG industry should re-examine existing procedures, practice, and process taking into consideration findings from this research in order to potentially improve PD&D within its industry context. Future research directions have been suggested in order to build upon these moving forwards including assessing best practice for packaging design briefs construction and undertaking longitudinal case studies to cross-compare with findings from this research.</p

Communicating the value of design: Design considerations to assist practitioner rationale in FMCG packaging development

Product packaging design is often produced through the practical application of tacit knowledge, rule of thumb and professional connoisseurship. Stakeholders are becoming increasingly demanding that design practitioners provide clarity of reasoning and accountability for their design proposals. Therefore, a better framework for the design of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) is required. This paper proposes a comprehensive taxonomy of ‘design considerations’ to assist the development of low involvement FMCG packaging and aid in rationale communication for design solutions. 302 academic sources were reviewed, inductive content analysis performed to code topics and output validation with academic and industry experts (n=9) through a modified-Delphi card sorting method. The research provides movement towards a comprehensive framework and common dialogue between stakeholders, practitioners and managers to assist in more effectively communicating the value that design can offer to FMCGs. The constructed taxonomy provides a set of 156 ‘design considerations’ to support in objective and informed design decision-making

The value of design in UK FMCG packaging development: An industry case study exploring practitioner design practice rationale & decision-making

Recognising the value design offers has been of great importance for the effective development and launch of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Packaging design is acknowledged as a significant success factor in New Product Development (NPD) for the FMCG industry to help provide clear product differentiation and competitive advantage in saturated and complex markets. The search for approaches to maintain or improve market share has driven the field of consumer research over the last few decades. The potential to influence consumer perception of a product through visual design is well documented in the literature. Packaging design relies on effective management of symbolic, semantic, aesthetic and visual information elements. Stakeholders have been increasingly demanding that design practitioners provide a clear rationale and accountability for their design proposals in this risk-averse industry. However, limited research has been produced to address how packaging design and development is managed; and, how design practitioners rationalise and validate their design decision-making. The authors’ look to address this through the study of design practitioners in ‘real-world’ FMCG design practice. A case study is presented with a UK company involved in the design and manufacture of food and beverage packaging for suppliers, retailers and brands in the UK FMCG market. The research aims to identify preliminary insights and a narrative into the factors affecting practitioner rationale, decision-making and explore future research. The study triangulates evidence from interviews, participant observation, direct observation and document analysis to identify influences through a convergence of findings. Nine preliminary influences are recognised that appear to affect practitioner rationale and decision-making.<br