#HTE

A Dirty, Rotten Package Design Trick

I recently received this as a gift. It’s a package of poop bags, which I go through a lot of as I have two dogs.

The package appears to contain two layers of nine rolls.

But when you open it up…

…you see this inside.

This cardboard spacer serves no function other than to make the package appear like it contains more than it does. Which seems silly since the precise amount of bags it contains are printed right on the top.

Also wasteful is this riser, which is just a hollow paper box. 

As someone who previously worked in package design I understand that the riser is there to increase “shelf presence,” i.e. the marketing team looked at competing packages and found that they were taller on the shelf, then ordered this up to compensate.

Package design trickery is nothing new, but if you’ve seen one that really bugs you, post a photo of it in the comments.