From the literature, it is learned that typography, shape, color, and pattern will influence
consumers’ buying decisions; however, their comprehension modes are scarcely mentioned. This
study also showed how people comprehend the contents of products. They mostly need more
than two visual elements to comprehend the messages of packaging. Among them, “typography
+ illustration” is the best mode for group members to comprehend products. These results are
different from past studies that believed a single design element is more advantageous. In fact,
the study results have shown that consumers’ comprehension modes include “typography”,
“typography + product shape”, “product shape + illustration”, “illustration”, “product shape + color”,
and “product shape”. That proves the design elements such as brand name, product name,
package shape, product image, and color association all greatly contribute to the comprehension
of products and help with consumers’ buying decisions. As the packaging of the food with wide
publicity is well-known, all the results are applicable only to the research or applications of
package design for new products or ones fewer consumer have heard about.
Through conducting the focus group interview, it is learned that the messages formed by
combination of design elements will influence the comprehension of focus group members.
Different types of comprehension also illustrated the percentage adopted by the samples in this
research. When marketing personnel and designers are using packaging as a marketing tool to
arouse consumers’ buying desire, it will be advisable to take into consideration how design
elements were to be combined in order to attract consumers’ attention and to enhance their
comprehension. In this study some products may need only one visual element for consumers to
comprehend all because their brand names have been well-known. Moreover, the tendency to
transparent package containers has instead provided designers another opportunity of design in