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Is ‘less’ truly ‘more’ in package design?

A discussion on something that’s conceptually simple but complex in its implementation.

In package design (for purposes of this article, graphics, as opposed to structural), “less is more” has become a mantra. Need proof? Start with the design firms, big and small, that chime it. Packaging trade magazines join in with articles about designs that purportedly embody the phrase. Contest judges add their voices, commonly describing winning designs as clean, sleek, and uncluttered.

There’s a catchiness to “less is more,” likely owing to its counter-intuitive—even contradictory—nature. The opposite argument also can be made, that the phrase reflects our preference for the simplified over the complex. It would be great if corporations, through their operations, could make KISS stand for Keep It Super Simple.

Brand managers all the way up to Vice-Presidents of Corporate Imaging (or some other title to that effect) can find themselves sitting through presentations that extol the merits of less-is-more package design. CEOs wouldn’t be out-of-place in such audiences, either, not if the corporations are devoted to the strategic leveraging of packaging for competitive advantage.

Managers, however, need to understand that effective package design relies on too many variables to be distilled into a single phrase. It is one thing to accept “less is more” as a guideline and quite another to accept it as an instruction to be followed across the board.

First, managers should determine what goals the package design is expected to achieve. Then, if a “less is more” approach helps in reaching those goals, by all means go that way. Such an approach simplifies decision-making, but it doesn’t make decision-making simple. There’s more to consider.

“Less” is a comparative concept, so naturally we have to ask less than what? Applied to package design, the answer differs, depending on whether the project is a new product launch, a redesign, or a product-line extension. Each imposes its own starting point for comparisons; for example, with a launch (unlike a redesign and extension), there’s no already-in-use design to be deemphasized or lessened. That said, regardless of the type of project, there should be comparisons to the competition, starting within the category and extending as far as practical.

Sticking with the comparative theme, a related question is less than which? The overall effect of a package design is achieved through the interactions among the design elements, i.e. colors, images, copy, and fonts; therefore, which element(s) should be deemphasized to achieve an overall improvement? From the preceding sentences, less can’t be achieved in a vacuum. Less of one element can unavoidably result in more of another; for example, less color might necessitate more (as in an increased role) of another element.

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