Design to Motivate and Inspire
One of the fastest growing trends in packaging design is to have a HIGHER PURPOSE, and give something back, beyond just informing the customer and protecting and selling the product. TruVibe’s raw organic superfoods are a good example of how easily this can be adopted and the positive effects it can have on people as well as sales.
TruVibe’s motto is, "Real wealth is health and happiness."
The products themselves are whole, organic, vegan foods - raw chia seeds, goji berries, hemp seeds, macs powder, cacao and cacao powder - that are good for the body, mind and soul.
Each of the foods are connected with corresponding positive traits on the packaging such as:
GENEROSITY
CONFIDENCE
COURAGE
MIRACLE
HAPPINESS
All of which have been shown to increase health, wellbeing and prosperity. (A book based on scientific studies can be found here).
The packaging design is cleverly aligned with the beneficial purpose of the food, as it both visually (with soft organic, undigital, elements) and linguistically (via positive messages) promotes positive feelings and empowering thoughts.
The design of each of the products in the line are softly color coded in line with 2016 color trends, and have large undigital lettering (including lettering for the message that is cut-out instead of hand drawn) that are windows into the inviting environment where the product is grown.
The cut out lettering windows are particularly inviting, and give the impression that this package both contains, and is a gateway to, a better world.
Below are images from the TruVibe website. Three things to notice here are:
The undigital text elements, and mixed text styles, a trend still going strong, and more relaxing and inviting to the eyes than more uniform digital fonts.
Ingredients are displayed on the back of the packaging. And this is followed up with pictures of the ingredients on the TruVibe website (as we at B&H did on packaging as early as April 2014). This is also a growing trend.
Positive messages, both on the packaging and on the images on their website.
Lush, beautiful, engaging phototgraphs that make you feel good just by looking at them, which has the effect of making people want to eat healthier to match their feeling.
The Point: Having a higher purpose does not have to strenuous or costly, and it provides its own rewards.
Of course the more ambitious your higher purpose is the better, however, even a small amount of positivity and giving back does good. It is not expensive to include a positive message. Nor does it even have to be for so-called “healthy” foods. Even candy bars or sodas can spread positivity, as long as they do not outright damage health or moods. A good design that creates positive feelings might be a little more expensive, however the benefits of making your customers feel good can be surprising, and are often well worth the price.
