The Comprehension Modes of Visual Elements: How People Know About the Contents by Product Packaging

When shoppers enter a retail store, how do they comprehend the products in front of them? What visual elements can communicate messages in an effective way that help people comprehend product contents? Design and marketing personnel should pay attention to these issues. This study aims to investigate how people perceive and comprehend a product. It is conducted in three phases: Phase One involves collecting food package samples with §Stratified Sampling ¨; Phase Two consists of conducting focus group interviews to seek the participants | opinions. Phase Three includes a summary and analysis of the interview result. There are seven modes of comprehension obtained from the opinions of focus group members. The research results summarized below can be used as reference for design and marketing personnel in developing new product packages in the future: (a) Focus group members mostly comprehend the messages of packaging via more than two visual elements. (b) §Typography + illustration ¨ is the best mode for group members to comprehend products. (c) Design elements such as brand name, product name, product image, package shape, and color association all contributed to the comprehension of products; while attached product information design, structure design, and volume design did not make such contribution.