You only have a few seconds to cement a solid first impression with your next customer. When the average American supermarket is stocked with 20,000 different products…this can seem all but impossible.

With fundamental packaging basics, it’s more than achievable. There are countless small businesses and companies that manage to cultivate a consistent consumer base, so it stands to reason you can do the same. Graphic design is all a matter of communicating through color and typography. Coffee bags with valve additions, fruit packaging, and pet food packaging all share the same basics. It’s time to take another hard look at your packaging design and whether or not it’s telling your customers what they need to know.

Here are five simple basics you can apply now and reap the benefits of later.

Find Something That Makes You Stand Out

You have thousands of competitors who are all quite happy to redirect your potential consumers. How are you making sure you stand out from the competition? This can take some research and cross-referencing, but you’ll be glad you took the time to do so. It’s been found two out of three American shoppers today will actively read food labels, whether for nutritional information or because they’re curious about the company. Businesses that pay close attention to their packaging report an average 30% increase in customer interest.

Keep Your Colors Simple And Attractive

Coffee bags with valve additions or organic tea packaging, it doesn’t matter. You need to make sure your colors are pulling people in, not being brushed under the radar. Graphic design operates on a ‘less is more’ approach, preferring simple color schemes and bold logos to draw the eye. You don’t need more than two or three colors to start with, particularly if you have a more complex logo or long business name. Putting extra effort here will pay off handsomely — a recent study found 40% of consumers stating they would share a photo of a product on social media if they liked the packaging.

Design An Attractive And Informative Logo

Your logo is in a similar spot. Do you have a mascot that can be reused in several parts of your business marketing campaign or a promotional illustration that is also used to sell t-shirts? Figuring this out now will actually save you a lot of work down the line, as you can just build off the foundation you’ve built. Take a look at the logos of other companies and ask yourself why they are or aren’t appealing. Apply this to your own design (with the aid of a professional, of course) and count down the days until your hard work delivers.

Craft Bold, Splashy Typography That Demonstrates Your Personality

Typography is the necessary supplement to a compelling logo and beautiful color scheme. Customers are constantly learning details about their environment through reading signs, skimming billboards, and picking up products. Your protein powder bags should be talking not about the ocean or light trucks, but how you’re going to help someone’s workout routine. Your coffee bags with valve additions shouldn’t focus just on coffee, but how the packaging makes their experience more pleasurable. Connect the what with the why and the equation will fall in place.

Update Your Packaging Design On A Rolling Basis

There’s no such thing as perfect. This is true for ourselves and this is true for your packaging design. The world moves at a breakneck pace, particularly with the Internet and its constant bandwagon trends. Your custom printed coffee bag might seem trendy now, but it could very well seem obsolete in just a year’s time. Update your design on a regular basis with the aid of customer feedback and professional input.

Create a first impression that lasts for years. Update your coffee bags with valve additions and watch your business flourish.