Vox Pop: Should packaging designs be made more fun?

---

NO

I’d suggest ‘fun’ is the wrong word. There’s nothing wrong with fun, but not simply for fun’s sake. While we all love to be amused, it surely can’t be at the cost of relevance. The power to make the customer smile goes a long way. That said, individual products should look to position themselves as distinct, exploiting their differences. Imagine a world where everything followed Innocent: funny toothpaste, witty cheese, and hilarious perfume boxes. The packaging must reflect the product. Design’s not a game and shouldn’t be created on a whim. It needs to connect emotionally, rationally and deliver financially.

Adrian Burton, creative director, Lambie-Nairn

---

NO

In tough times, it’s understandable we look for the light-hearted, but this shouldn’t be our starting point. We need to start with the brand – that’s what the brand greats do. Each has looked inwards before reaching out. Once you have this understanding, the world, or indeed the pack, can be your oyster. And then, if being ‘fun’ is right for your brand and resonates then great – make us laugh, make us howl with your irreverent tone, or your playful colours, or your surprising structure, but whatever you do be true to yourself. Finally, but vitally, packaging must always connect and be both desireable and relevant.

Mike Branson Managing partner Pearlfisher

---

NO

We didn’t set out to be fun, we set out to be noticed. Before Bulldog entered the male skincare market we considered the packaging of the other brands to be three things: boring, generic and unisex. Everything we do, from our natural ingredients to our branding and communication, is intended to disrupt and engage. Our packaging is a key part of this. We think about our shelf as our billboard – a massive opportunity to communicate within a highly commoditised market. In our case, we think being relevant, entertaining, desirable and disruptive is what gets us noticed.

Simon Duffy, founder, Bulldog Natural Grooming

---

MAYBE

It depends on what you mean by ‘fun’. If a fun pack engages a consumer with exciting communication and clever ways to make the usual unusual, then yes, packaging should be fun. If fun is about bringing a smile by subtly changing a much-loved brand or adding an aura of discovery by using an unexpected texture or finish, packaging should be fun. If fun means challenging a consumer with strong, bright relevant ideas without alienating them from the brand then, again, the answer is yes. But if it ends up pushing a brand into areas that feel forced and as if it’s trying too hard to be something it’s not then packaging doesn’t need to be fun.

Nick Rees, creative director, Bulletproof