CATCHING THE EYE
From product protection to marketing, packaging serves a multitude of purposes.
The targeted audience must be able to quickly grasp the need, purpose, and use of a product from its packaging to want to buy it.
A rather cynical and hard-to-please audience is children. Easily bored and extremely dependent on visual stimulation, the young demographic needs instant engagement features even before they reach the toys inside.
In this case, packaging plays a key role in catching and then holding a child’s attention long enough to maintain their interest.
COLOURS AND IMAGERY
Bold, primary colors and clearly demarcated shapes tend to be easily processed and registered by a child’s cognition. While your packaging needs to be perceptible, it should also be unique enough to differentiate itself from the competitors in the market.
TEXT
Packaging for toys for young kids must be strategically designed. It must subtly provide all necessary information and directions of use in clear words for the parents but, at the same time, should also SCREAM why the child would enjoy playing with the product in a quick glance. The correct font, size, and placement play a crucial role in making the product appropriately informative and attractive.
PACKAGING MATERIAL
Any product meant for a child also needs the approval of its parent/guardian.
Since your packaging is responsible for making the first impression, it must reflect quality and safety to reassure the parents and build brand reliability.
Avoid using plastic wraps, shrinks, and wire ties that can be choking hazards or suffocation risks.
INTERACTIVE
Make the packaging a part of the experience. Add buttons, sneak holes, or other primary packaging elements that can be used by the child to play with.