Why Minimalistic Packaging is Best for Functionality and Simplicity

 Minimal is in. There are plenty of companies riding the minimalism wave.   With the characteristics of simplicity, negative space utilization and a more limited palette of color, it offers a unique communication that’s focused, precise, and easy for one to use. 

What Minimalist Packaging Is 

Minimalist packaging is a form of aesthetic approaches to design that utilize functionality, being simple, and far fewer elements in order to effectively convey a brand’s message.

These characteristics define the packaging, but usually you will see a lot of white, or negative space used, a limited palette of color, and typography that’s nice and clear. 

Apple for example is the clearest example of minimalist packaging. Designed to create a beauty that’s sleek, and user-friendly, apple offers a chance to showcase minimalism and its power through a simple, yet elegant form that immediately will draw the attention towards your company’s logo, without the aid of distractions. 

How to Design minimalist Packaging 

Because of how simple and functional it is, and easy on the wallet, people love minimalistic packaging. 

You want to make sure that when you design this, you prioritize the functionality, rather than mere aesthetics, in order to ensure that your packaging is put in a manner that aptly protects the item during transit and storage, all while also being easy for a customer to use and open, not relying on scissors or knives. 

You should also use high-quality types of materials because it also makes you look better. So recycled paper, or plastics that are biodegradable should be utilized for sustainability reasons. 

Your typography should definitely also be considered. getting a simple, yet impactful sort of font chosen based on how legible and visually appealing it is will be great for you. 

Look at Apple. Their sleek products are on a simple white and black color space, showcasing the products inside. 

Negative Space usage 

A huge part of the minimalistic packaging is using negative space. 

This is the space that’s left between and around where the product is. This is something to take advantage of, because you will be able to draw further attention to it.

Think about the flashy, cluttered packaging that is something you’ll want to reduce. Taking advantage of the negative space also achieves the overall looks and aesthetics of your packaging. 

Glossier, a skincare company, uses a really good example of the negative space. All of the products are in a simple and clean container, with a lot of blank space surrounding them. it highlights the typography that’s eye-catching, and creates a calm and simplicity that heightens the brand. 

The benefits 

There’s a lot of benefits that come with minimalist packaging. 

The first is better product visibility, and also attracts more customers.   When you use negative space, limiting this color palette, a minimalist design focuses on the key parts like the product name and logos. 

This will allow for customers to recognize the brand’s products on the advertisements and shelves.   Minimalist packaging offers a chance for the brands to stand out on a marketplace that’s colored. Through creation of eye-catching and fun aesthetics, it communicates a key message concisely and clearly. 

Finally, it will be there for brand recognition.   It offers better recognition, simplifying the packaging, and focusing on the key parts of the logos and typography. Minimalism does play a better attention to branding. 

It also reduces the costs for production. It will offer some visually appealing and cost-effective solutions.   The usage of less resources is good for overall branding and expenditures and saves your business money.

Starting My Own ECommerce Business

Let’s face it - this pandemic has hit us super hard. I know that some people have been more affected than others, and that is totally something that one needs to consider when sharing their own pandemic situation. However, I have had my fair share of struggles through this whole thing as well. While I did not end up losing anyone close to me to COVID (thank the Lord) I faced a lot of financial uncertainty and was at risk of completely losing my business, which in turn meant losing my home and my livelihood. Now, I am a simple man who owns a bait and tackle shop in a rural town in Florida. I have seen a lot of dark days in my lifetime, but never has my life been so completely upended like it was in the face of the COVID19 pandemic. Once the government decided that most restaurants, businesses, and other public places needed to be closed down for several months, I was not sure if my business would make it through to the other side. However, thanks to eCommerce and technology, I have been able to thrive in the midst of this crazy time. 

The first hurdle I needed to overcome was my aversion to all things technology. Like I said earlier, I am a simple man who loves to fish and is passionate about bait and tackle. I did not have much need or use in my life for fancy technology or great involvement with computers or the internet. However, I was introduced to the idea of eCommerce by a colleague of mine who was also a small business owner. It seemed like that was my only shot at making it through the pandemic with my business intact, so I just went for it. To my surprise, I found it relatively easy to adjust to the online world. I had help creating my website and various software accounts to manage my orders and inventory, but after that it was all smooth sailing. The nice thing about my customers is that they are very loyal and always come back to shop again; once they heard that I was still kicking online, I had no problem filling orders throughout the week! I even began to see more and more people start to buy my products. I realized that, due to the pandemic, people were on the prowl for new hobbies of all sorts, including fishing. 

It was nice to see the spike in new customers wanting to shop my store and buy my products. Managing my store online was definitely new for me and caused a lot of stress at first, but I knew it was the only way for me to keep my business alive. I had to invest in a lot of different shipping boxes and packaging materials because people only used to buy my products in person.

I even

had orders coming in from different states and eventually different parts of the world, how crazy is that! It took me a hot minute to find the right supplier of shipping boxes because many companies were having supply chain problems and shortages due to the pandemic. Now that things are opening up again and I am back in my store, I can happily say that I kept my business alive through the pandemic with the help of eCommerce.

Why I Left My Job At The Amazon Warehouse

Say what you will about Jeff Bezos. I know there is a lot of controversy going around about him at the moment and many people have found a complete distaste for all things Jeff Bezos and Amazon related. However, the ironic part is that most of these same people still use Amazon to order a multitude of products on a regular basis. I know that we as a country worship convenience and ease of use above all else, and that is demonstrated by the way we shop for things. However, it is true that there is something sinister about Amazon. Personally, I don’t believe that one man should be able to be worth that much money. Jeff Bezos is worth 193.4 billion dollars, the richest man to ever live in the history of the world. That number alone is crazy, but it is also crazy to think that he is on his way to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Some people think that might be a little far-fetched, but I believe in exponential growth and the greedy heart of Jeff Bezos. I don’t doubt that one day we might see him as a trillionaire amidst a starved and suffering world.

I am writing this article to talk about my job at an Amazon warehouse. Now I am a young guy, and I needed a job in between career changes. I had heard a lot of mixed things about working for Amazon. Mostly, I heard that it is a cold and unfriendly place and all around not a good work environment. The hourly salary was decent compared to other places around my area, though, and the hours I was promised to be able to work were definitely enticing. I decided to try my luck and apply for an Amazon warehouse and distribution center in my city. Despite all the criticism that Amazon constantly faces in the press and on social media about their working conditions and treatment of employees, you cannot refute the simple fact that people are still wanting to work at Amazon because of the competitive pay and apparent benefits for employees. Well, I am here to tell you what it is really like to work in an Amazon warehouse. Hopefully I can enlighten you on some new facts and put some old rumors to bed in the process.

First off, I would like to say that Amazon’s warehouses are massive. Like, it is almost incomprehensible how big some of these things are. Shipping boxes are transported in bins and conveyors as far as the eye can see. If you turned off all the lights in there and put me in a random spot in the warehouse, I probably would have been lost for at least a week and a half.

I worked as a picker during my time there, which involved running around with a handheld GPS looking for certain packages and pulling them off of shelves, where I scanned them and put them into the bin I was toting around. This work wasn’t too bad at first, and honestly felt kind of fun for the time being. Eventually though, I got tired of scanning shipping boxes all day and walking over 15 miles a day with my sore feet. That’s why I quit my job at Amazon. Down with Jeff Bezos, the villain of our generation.

Dimensional Weight in Shipping boxes

This is known as the volumetric weight, which is a type of pricing that’s used by companies to ship stuff. It factors in the size of your package as it’s being shipped, not just the weight itself. 

It was put in place because there are large and lightweight types of packages taking up a lot more space on a vehicle for shipping, and cost far less because of the weight that’s low. 

When you charge on the dimensional weight, you’ll have shipping companies nice and happy, as they’ll feel they’re being compensated for the space that packages do occupy within the vehicle. 

It’s an approach that will encourage your shippers to use smaller types of packages whenever possible, which leads to more effective use in the shipping mediums. 

Why it Matters 

This is a focal part in determining the costs for shipping. For instance, if you have a package with a huge size, but a low weight, the dimensional weight will be far higher. 

In these instances, a shipping company will charge based on the numbers for the dimensional weight, so the shipping will be higher. 

Understanding what you’re going to be charged and optimizing this dimensional weight creates massive cost savings when shipping items. It also leads to better, more effective packaging practices, and also contributes to better sustainability and reduces the waste. 

Calculating your Dimensional Weight 

The dimensional weight is further calculated through the multiplication of the width, length, and the package height, whether it’s in centimeters or inches, and then dividing by specific divisors. This can vary based on the company itself, and the measurement units used. 

For example, if shipping companies use a divisor for over 5000 measurements in centimeters, and a package is being measured 50 cm by 30 cm by 20 cm, then the dimensional weight would be those numbers divide it by 500, which is about 6 kg.   if the weight of the package is less than 6 kg, then the company will charge that 6 kg, because that is the dimensional weight. 

Divisors for dimensional weight. 

This is a calculation that’s set through the shipping companies individually. It’s based on the density average of a package that they handle. Lower divisors do result in higher dimensional weights, and higher shipping costs. 

It’s vital for an ecommerce business to actually know the divisors for chosen shipping, as it will impact the shipping costs. Comparing the divisors between the different companies is a cost-effective type of solution for shipping.

Implications of dimensional weight for the Ecommerce Packaging 

Dimensional weight is a he implication for your business, as it does affect the costs that you have for shipping and is overall a huge expense for retailers online. Through understanding and the optimization of dimensional weight, a business may be able to reduce the costs for shipping, and in turn boost your profitability.

The dimensional weight also encourages a business to use better packaging, as they will be able to utilize the smaller packaging when they can to help reduce the shipping costs, waste, and bolster sustainability.

The costs of Dimensional Weight 

The costs are a huge thing that lots of companies will learn, especially if they ship on the regular lightweight, and large packages. They’ll discover the shipping costs to be far higher due to the charges of dimensional weight. This does eat into the margins and makes it far difficult for the business to compete. 

Understanding this allows for smarter decisions to be made, to consolidate items into fewer packages, or to use smaller packages when you can.