Reading Response: Tropicana Re-design

The article, Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging, discussed the new package design of Tropicana orange juice. The previous design shows an orange with a straw poking out to push the idea that the product is pure, fresh orange juice. Although the campaign Tropicana ran, that showed fathers and children hugging, was a success, the new design was not. The customer's critiqued the design, that shows a glass of orange juice, as "ugly" and said it resembled generic or store brand products. It was also said that some found it difficult to find among other tropicana products. One comment I found particularly interesting was the statement, "Do any of these package-design people actually shop for orange juice? because I do, and the new cartons stink." It is important for the company and designer to, "put the consumers that the center of what they do." The article referenced other products that had the same issues such as Coca-cola and Facebook. I believe it is important to recognize the emotional connection that each customer has with the product. Tropicana had underestimated the connection their customers had with the orange-straw symbol and responded by returning to the original design.