Package Design Makeover Challenge

HotSpex Reveals Best Elements
In the 2006 Makeover Challenge

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An independent study confirmed the popularity of Kendall Ross's design approach to the Fresh Body Market line of products.

Survey participants responded very strongly to the LOGOSBRANDS redesign of the Rise n' Shine gel package, admiring the way the design firm was innovative graphically and structurally while still being practical.

The winner of the 2006 Package Design Makeover Challenge was the Kendall Ross design firm, as voted by our magazine's readers and web-surfers. However, the redesigned Fresh Body Market packages by LOGOSBRANDS, Object 9, TricorBraun Design, and William Fox Munroe also proposed very interesting design ideas.

An independent study conducted by Toronto's Hotspex Inc. (www.hotspex.biz) reconfirmed portions of the the results and provided insight into what real consumers would like about two of the redesigned packages—the Cherry papaya Body Spread and the Rise n' Shine Grapefruit gel. Hotspex used its online, visual diagnostic tool called ClickSpex™ to allow consumers to critically evaluate the Makeover Challenge's final packaging images, the innovative ideas they presented, and their marketing impact and resonance.

Statistical results are condensed by a proprietary "ClickScore" scoring algorithm that allows the researchers to compare scores versus normative data for a true understanding of how each design performs.

Kendall Ross was the favorite Cherry Papaya Body Spread design, with 29% of respondents picking it as their number one choice. TricorBraun Design and LOGOSBRANDS were a virtual tie for a close second place. Hotspex's research suggests that Kendall Ross's design was most preferred because its fine graphical elements (logo, body graphic, and fruit graphic) were perceived as being "stronger" than the other designs. The product seal is also a distinctive feature that respondents appreciated because it adds a sense of security. Popular suggestions for improvement were adding images of papayas and adding the logo onto the body of the packaging so the consumers would continue to see the logo after the product seal has been removed.

Survey participants liked TricorBraun's and LOGOSBRANDS' irregularly shaped lids and packages because they demand attention and the use of fruity red/pink colors enhance the designs. They felt, though, that improving these designs would rely on ensuring overall packaging and lid functionality (i.e., that it would not slip out of one's hands or be difficult to open).

LOGOSBRANDS was the HotSpex winning design in the Rise n' Shine Grapefruit Gel package redesign, with a resounding 42% of respondents choosing it as their most preferred design. Kendall Ross came in second, partly hurt by the fact that survey participants felt the seemingly nude body graphic was somewhat controversial.

Participants felt the package body of the LOGOSBRANDS was one of the most distinguishing features of its design. It features a shape that is unique in the market, but it is not so irregular that respondents found it awkward. It also features a unique lid and eye-catching logo. Almost all of the design elements from this package scored above-average, and there were very few negative mentions.

Recognizable grapefruit graphics on the other designs allowed respondents to "sense" the product (some respondents claimed the product looked like it would smell good).

Though functionality is important, when it comes to design, the products that used a pump and flip tops were considered plain by the survey participants. TricorBraun's detachable bottle design was well-liked, for instance, but the survey participants felt the benefits and purpose for the unusual design needed to be more clearly communicated to potential consumers.