Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging

Abstract A rapidly growing body of empirical research has recently started to emerge highlighting the connotative and/or semiotic meanings that consumers typically associate with specific abstract visual design features, such as colours (either when presented individually or in combination), simple...

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Main Authors: Charles Spence, George Van Doorn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2022-05-01
Series:Cognitive Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00391-9
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author Charles Spence
George Van Doorn
author_facet Charles Spence
George Van Doorn
author_sort Charles Spence
collection DOAJ
description Abstract A rapidly growing body of empirical research has recently started to emerge highlighting the connotative and/or semiotic meanings that consumers typically associate with specific abstract visual design features, such as colours (either when presented individually or in combination), simple shapes/curvilinearity, and the orientation and relative position of those design elements on product packaging. While certain of our affective responses to such basic visual design features appear almost innate, the majority are likely established via the internalization of the statistical regularities of the food and beverage marketplace (i.e. as a result of associative learning), as in the case of round typeface and sweet-tasting products. Researchers continue to document the wide range of crossmodal correspondences that underpin the links between individual visual packaging design features and specific properties of food and drink products (such as their taste, flavour, or healthfulness), and the ways in which marketers are now capitalizing on such understanding to increase sales. This narrative review highlights the further research that is still needed to establish the connotative or symbolic/semiotic meaning(s) of particular combinations of design features (such as coloured stripes in a specific orientation), as opposed to individual cues in national food markets and also, increasingly, cross-culturally in the case of international brands.
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spelling doaj.art-b6fc458809c5455a8b4e657a5604d2502022-12-22T00:39:57ZengSpringerOpenCognitive Research2365-74642022-05-017112310.1186/s41235-022-00391-9Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packagingCharles Spence0George Van Doorn1Crossmodal Research Laboratory, Oxford UniversitySchool of Science, Psychology and Sport, Churchill Campus, Federation University AustraliaAbstract A rapidly growing body of empirical research has recently started to emerge highlighting the connotative and/or semiotic meanings that consumers typically associate with specific abstract visual design features, such as colours (either when presented individually or in combination), simple shapes/curvilinearity, and the orientation and relative position of those design elements on product packaging. While certain of our affective responses to such basic visual design features appear almost innate, the majority are likely established via the internalization of the statistical regularities of the food and beverage marketplace (i.e. as a result of associative learning), as in the case of round typeface and sweet-tasting products. Researchers continue to document the wide range of crossmodal correspondences that underpin the links between individual visual packaging design features and specific properties of food and drink products (such as their taste, flavour, or healthfulness), and the ways in which marketers are now capitalizing on such understanding to increase sales. This narrative review highlights the further research that is still needed to establish the connotative or symbolic/semiotic meaning(s) of particular combinations of design features (such as coloured stripes in a specific orientation), as opposed to individual cues in national food markets and also, increasingly, cross-culturally in the case of international brands.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00391-9Visual packaging designFood and beverageCrossmodal correspondences
spellingShingle Charles Spence
George Van Doorn
Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
Cognitive Research
Visual packaging design
Food and beverage
Crossmodal correspondences
title Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
title_full Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
title_fullStr Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
title_full_unstemmed Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
title_short Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
title_sort visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging
topic Visual packaging design
Food and beverage
Crossmodal correspondences
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00391-9
work_keys_str_mv AT charlesspence visualcommunicationviathedesignoffoodandbeveragepackaging
AT georgevandoorn visualcommunicationviathedesignoffoodandbeveragepackaging