What are your packaging peeves? Ask most people and you’re likely to get some rather energetic responses. The top complaint is packaging that is hard to open, which every year leads to countless emergency room visits for deep cuts and sprains. Also on the seriously aggravating list: resealable packages that won’t reseal, dispensers that clog or leak, and containers that keep you from emptying every last dollop or drop.
As this litany suggests, packaging can be a neglected aspect, if not an idle afterthought, of product development. It’s understandable given packaging is the disposable part—the barrier, protector or bright and shiny advertisement surrounding what is actually consumed. It’s the product people are buying, after all, not the packaging.
