Packaging

Packaging works in seconds. At quick glances, visually salient packs can be chosen over preferred ones; doubling shelf facings raised noticing from 60 to 76 per cent. Colour, shape and image position set expectations of taste and weight, people judge volume by height, and front-of-pack labels help shoppers spot healthier options.

What the report found

1. Get seen. At quick glances, what stands out visually can sway choice more than what people prefer. Doubling a brand's shelf facings from four to eight raised the share of shoppers who noticed it from 60 to 76 per cent.
2. Signal what is inside. Colour, shape and even where the picture sits on the pack set expectations of taste and weight before anything is opened.
3. Make the size honest. People judge quantity by height more than volume, and they react about four times as strongly to a price rise as to the same rise hidden in a smaller pack.
4. Put the facts in front. Front-of-pack labels help people spot healthier products, and picture warnings outperform text on most measures. Abu Dhabi's Nutri-Mark and Saudi Arabia's plain tobacco packs bring both into the Gulf.
5. Design for the hand. The firmness of a cup changed how good the same water tasted, and touching a product makes it feel more like one's own.

Who it is for

For brand managers, packaging designers, retailers and food and drink producers in the UAE and the Gulf.

How we work

Field Guides turn behavioural science into practical principles. Each claim is graded Established, Emerging or Untested, and where researchers disagree, as they do on whether downsizing is fair, both sides are set out before we say where we stand.

Cite this report

The Why We Project (2026) Packaging: Designing what people pick up. Field Guide No. 11. Dubai: Why We Tech Ltd. Available at: thewhyweproject.com