Design Matters

Over the years I have, at times, highlighted noteworthy design changes in cereal boxes. In a crowded grocery story aisle, it is critical that a brand have a clear identity that stands out from the competition. Unfortunately, many cereals suffer from either bad design or being stuck in decades old time warp. This is puzzling, especially considering the struggles that the cereal industry is having. You would think there would be more experimentation and innovation with this aspect.

Every once in a while, however, a cereal company breaks the mold and does something fresh with design. For example, recently, we have seen this with the new look at Kashi. And, now another great example rises to the forefront from the United Kingdom. There, the Good Grain brand has gone through a recent transformation, and it looks great!

As you can see in the before and after photos of one of their cereals, they have a adopted a simplistic look that is bright, fun and captivating. Previously, as is typical with most cereals, the box was cluttered with a lot of text, and the obligatory decked-out bowl of cereal. The new design has been radically cleaned-up, and seems to leap off the shelf into the shopping cart.

I hope more cereal companies are paying attention to these design changes. Again, this is an area they seem to have ignored in their quest to turn around sagging cereal sales. It is not the full solution, but it would go a long way to improve the image of these breakfast staples.

(Source: Brand New)