[Abstract] After entering the WTO, commodity competition has become more intense. Packaging design must also pay attention to the cultures and cultural backgrounds of countries around the world and fully understand the relevant laws and regulations of commodity exporting countries. This will enhance international competitiveness of products, break through cultural and technical barriers, and occupy international markets. Important role.
Keywords: packaging design; export goods; competitiveness
For many years, most of China’s export commodities still adopt the strategy of price competition, that is, low-price exports, in order to win a certain amount of international market share. With the development of foreign trade, its adverse effects gradually emerge. In the long run, in order to securely occupy the international market, in addition to improving internal quality and technology, packaging design also plays an important role in enhancing the competitiveness of export commodities.
1 Packaging design strives to respect other cultures and break through cultural barriers
Due to the different historical origins of countries in the world, the connotations of their cultural formation are also very different. Different regions and races have their own unique cultural orientation - different cultural symbols, totem worship, cultural taboos, etc. And our era is now in an era of rapid development of information, the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller, the impact of various cultures, blending is unusually active. As one of the most active elements of cultural circulation, commodity packaging plays an important role.
Therefore, in order to design packaging for export goods, we should fully understand the culture and background of the importing country and reflect it in the packaging. This has an immeasurable effect on improving the international competitiveness of products and promoting sales. While Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage brand, has become so popular around the world, it has not blindly spread the idea of ​​the United States. Instead, it has adopted a divide-and-conquer strategy based on local conditions in different regions, cultural backgrounds, religious groups and races.
Coca-Cola's packaging - the world's red and white colors to the Arab (Middle East) but to the local symbol of life and auspicious green. In China, following the adoption of Da Afu packaging during the Spring Festival in 2002, Lunar New Year packaging, which is based on the 12 Chinese Lunar Year of the Chinese Lunar New Year, will be introduced every spring festival to fully tap the Chinese folk culture and increase brand affinity to attract consumers. The stones of the mountains can be used to attack jade. China's export product packaging design should also grasp the cultural connotation of other countries and its extension form in several aspects so as to enhance the international market competitiveness of commodities.
1.1 Color
Color is the most influential factor in visual activity. People's impression of color is usually the first factor that influences sensory evaluation. According to the study of relevant foreign institutions, color can instantly enter the consumer's field of vision and leave an impression. This is the first Impressions account for 60% of the purchasing process. In terms of color, successful packaging design not only meets the requirements of general aesthetics, but also satisfies the psychological needs of consumers for the cultural attributes of specific goods. Color can create a potential sense of cultural belonging that affects and influences people’s buying decisions. Before product packaging design must understand the people's understanding of color, to master their preferences and taboos and their historical origins. In the 1980s, Professor Lawrence, a professor of marketing in the United States, conducted a sample survey of four countries, including China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. It showed that different countries have different aesthetic sensations for the same color, such as the feeling of gray is cheap in China. And in the United States it is expensive, high quality and reliable.
1.2 Patterns and Text Graphics
Another manifestation of cultural differences is that in the perception of patterns, Westerners do not feel the same pattern as the Chinese. The same pattern may be auspicious in our country and fierce in the West. The crane is a symbol of beauty and spirituality in our country, but in France it is the name of the stupid man and the adulteress. The Chinese characters "fu" and "bat" are homonyms, and therefore the bat is a symbol of blessing. However, bats in the United States are associated with terror and death. Therefore, in the use of various designs for packaging design, we must be clear about the consumer taboo of the importing countries, to avoid misunderstanding or even cause disputes and thus affect sales.
The design of the text is also very widely used in packaging. Just as our packaging uses Oracle, calligraphy and other expression cultures and traditions, the design of foreign text graphics is also changing. The European packaging designer Volkhet once pointed out: "One of the obvious weaknesses of China's export goods packaging is the inability to correctly use Western text and fonts, and the packaging's final results have a sense of non-professionalism. Can only make consumers have a sense of distrust on the packaging, distorting the image and reducing the identity of the product." For different products, each target market country's consumers have preferences and special requirements for text and layout, font design Be targeted and adaptable.
1.3 Accuracy of translation
Accurate text translation translates the expressed content into the language of the target market country is one of the keys to building trust and correctly delivering information. Translations should take into account grammar, idioms, and free translation. For example, the expression "production" generally includes "MADEBY", "FRODUCEDBY" and "BREWEDBY". Different products are produced using different words. "MADEBY" applies to machined goods such as instruments and utensils, and "PRODUCED BY" is used for food, beverages, candies, biscuits, and canned foods. The production of alcohol should be translated as "BREWEDBY". On the packaging of pork sausages from a meat processing factory in Zhangzhou City, the “Master Teacher†produced by the “Master Teacher†was translated as EXCETLENTCOOKER. This type of translation error has caused foreigners to think that our level is not high or demanding is not particularly strict.
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