Methodology > Private sector > Aesthetic, design and packaging tests

Private sector

Aesthetic, design and packaging tests

The choice of packaging involves a large number of decisions. First you need to determine the packaging concept, i.e. a description of what it must be or do for the product concerned. Then you need to determine the size of the packaging itself, its form, its materials, its colour and its brand. For each element there are multiple possibilities: short or long text, paper, cardboard or plastic, etc. Furthermore, each element must be in harmony with the others: size creates certain material constraints, the materials create colour constraints, and so on. Finally, the packaging elements must also be chosen to fit with the various elements of the marketing mix such as price and advertising media. Once the packaging has been selected, it needs to be tested before being fully adopted. These tests evaluate the impact of the packaging on the public, and on product perception.

These tests require special skills and equipment that we are in a position to offer. We have the technical means to carry out visual tests, to check that text is readable and colours harmonious; distribution tests, to know whether retailers find the packaging attractive and easy to handle; and consumer tests to ensure that they too react favourably.

• To test the impact value of different packaging elements, a T-scope can be used. This is a device that measures the recognition speed of a visual stimulus via a projector equipped with a variable shutter speed.
  The packaging can be projected at different speeds, and the subjects are then asked questions about what they have seen. (It is possible to calibrate the results).
  
  
  
• To perform a store-display impact value test, the store display is projected for 1 or 2 seconds, using the T-scope. The interviewees are then questioned about what they saw. This enables the simulation of real-life conditions, to obtain information on the path followed by the eye and the recognition speed of the tested product inserted in a reconstructed store-display.