When shoppers enter a retail store, how do they comprehend the products in
front of them? What visual elements can communicate messages in an effective
way that help people comprehend product contents? Design and marketing
personnel should pay attention to these issues. This study aims to investigate
how people perceive and comprehend a product. It is conducted in three phases:
Phase One involves collecting food package samples with “Stratified Sampling”;
Phase Two consists of conducting focus group interviews to seek the
participants’ opinions. Phase Three includes a summary and analysis of the
interview result. There are seven modes of comprehension obtained from the
opinions of focus group members. The research results summarized below can
be used as reference for design and marketing personnel in developing new
product packages in the future: (a) Focus group members mostly comprehend
the messages of packaging via more than two visual elements. (b) “Typography
+ illustration” is the best mode for group members to comprehend products. (c)
Design elements such as brand name, product name, product image, package
shape, and color association all contributed to the comprehension of products;
while attached product information design, structure design, and volume design
did not make such contribution.