Consumer Psychological Impact On Food Packaging Design

Packaging, as the most intuitive, economical, and effective means of protecting goods,and attractingconsumers, is not only beautify the goods and strengthen the visual effect but also widen new sales marketfor products. With the continuous development of the market economy, life health and food safety arebecoming people’s increasing concerns. Today, designers should pay much attention to the importantimpact of food packaging on consumers in daily lives. Consuming behaviors and psychological processof consumers are two major requirements for designers. Considering from comprehensive aspects,designers can devise the practical, safe, elegant, and eco-friendly works for food packaging. As for theenterprises, all their producing and opertaing activities also should be market-centered andconsumer-centered. Consumers are leading market trends; market is meeting living needs of consumers.Shoping in vast arrays of goods has gradually become a spiritual enjoyment with rich cultural flavor andlife sentiments. Not only the consumption level and consuming ability of customers, but literacy level andvalues of them have improved. Each time customers go shopping, they can gain experience in determiningthe value, quality, and satisfaction of products. Changes of diversity and variability of goods are alsoderived from the material and spiritual aspects of consumer demand. Therefore, packaging design, as an“invisible salesman” of goods, has played a role of linking and communicating in the comsuption process.Though changes have taken place in modern packaging design, most of them just focus on the visualimpact towards customers, pursuing the effect of eye-catching only; those designs not fully take consumers’needs into consideration. In accomplishing the missions of promoting and protecting products, packagingdesign of food, at the same time, should fully grasp consumers’ psychology and collect consumers’experience, then demonstrate them in new designs. Only in this way can packaging products that reflect thebasic functions of the packaging and meet the needs of consumers be designed.Different purchase motivations of customers produce different psychological activities. Factors likebrands, colors, texts, and patterns of food will cause different psychological reactions and visualstimulations to target customers."Irrational component” that consists of personal emotions and values isincluded in consumers’ behaviors. Currently, the populace’s cultivation and consumer confideness have been integrally improved. Facilitation, securitization, and humanization of consumption demand require atimely update of methods and concepts of food packaging design. Successful experience is essential. Manysuccessful design works of food reflect the scientific view and integrated design capability of the designer.So designers should not only possess a broad knowledge of food packaging design, but seek the balanceand harmony relationship among the artistic quality, reliability, security, usability, cost, and functionality offood packaging.