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Martin Amann, Packaging Design Specialist at Amann & Partners in Switzerland spoke at the recent Global Dairy Congress in Athens about emotional packaging design. He gave dairy innovation his view (issue 18 – June 2008).

I guess we all agree that the consumer needs a certain amount of information on a pack. The crucial point is how much is enough and where does it get too much? The amount of information required or expected is heavily dependent on the limbic profile of the consumer. The more ‘Balance instruction’ a consumer has, the more he is interested in details and information of any kind. Consumers having more ‘Dominance or Stimulance instruction’ are rather relaxed concerning information.

Many companies now put the GDAs (Guideline Daily Amounts) on the packs. Quite often the GDAs are put on the front panel. Whether this kind of information is helping to sell products is an open question and I am convinced that on some products it is even counter productive. It is the same as putting a sticker with the gas consumption on a big heavy SUV. What makes sense for a small car with a good energy balance is not very useful for other types of cars.

In general I fear that we overload packs with too much – and often not very relevant – information. If the back of a pack (or even the front panel) looks like instructions for using a medical product, who do we expect to really read all of that?

My point of view is: give the important and honest information where it makes sense but don’t forget that purchasing decisions are made to a large extent on an emotional level.

The French Canadian writer and aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Shouldn’t we trust and follow this quote a bit more?