Jonathan Sand's ten golden rules...

...for commissioning successful packaging design

1. Conduct a thorough audit of all competitors in your market before you start, and make sure you understand their respective positionings and attributes. Then create your own.
2. Look at what is happening in other markets, e.g. if you are just considering the UK or Europe, what is happening in the US or Far East that might give you a point of difference?
3. Put measures in place at the start so you can track and learn as you go, e.g. measure awareness of and attitude to your packaging now and in the future. A good research agency will tell you how to do this.
4. Choose a design agency based on its track record, not on price and get testimonials direct from at least three existing clients. Make sure you like them and feel you can work with them.
5. Be different and ensure your pack has its own visual equity and has a strong personality and attitude.
6. Make sure your pack works at all stages of its life cycle, from leaving the factory to ending up in the user's hands.
7. Protect your pack in terms of trademark law and copyright and make sure you're not infringing your competitors' rights.
8. Mock up how your pack would look alongside your competition. Test it in store and make sure it really does leap out at point of purchase.
9. Design with tomorrow in mind. Create a pack that is in keeping with current market trends and future trends.
10. Consider doing some pre-market testing to make sure your pack will find a willing audience. But be careful how you test it as consumers never quite know what they are looking for until someone shows them something new. Henry Ford once said: 'If I'd listened to what people wanted I’d have built a faster horse!'