Designing impactful packaging is easier said than done. There are many factors at play, from the visuals you incorporate to the structure of the packaging. Even the placement of your logo plays a role in improving visibility and brand recognition. Let’s explore how.
Your logo is a distinctive brand asset
Your logo is the apex of your brand identity. For a lot of brands, it’s also their most distinctive brand asset. Your logo can trigger instant brand recognition and unlock rich (sub)conscious associations. In some cases, it can also evoke a sense of desirability. When it comes to packaged goods, think about the iconic logos of Chanel, Starbucks, Nike’s bold swoosh, or Pepsi’s smiling logo. Each of these logos is instantly recognized by most and plays an integral role in its brand’s identity.
When integrated into your packaging design, your logo has the potential to:
Drive speed of recognition
Increase shelf visibility
Facilitate shelf findability
Drive desirability and (premium) price perceptions
MetrixLab’s packaging design testing practice’s benchmark database is built on three criteria, comparing design against:
Your current design
Two competing designs of your choice
Our benchmark database, built on 10+ years of expertise and 7000+ cases
Our database reveals which on-pack logos contribute most to the ease and speed of brand recognition within a split-second (0.1 seconds). Here are a few examples of winning logos:
Notice the similarities? From a creative perspective, we can conclude that each of these logos features:
A round(ish) shape,
Contrasting colors (red, green, yellow, blue)
Short, recognizable brand names
Where and how to place your logo on your pack
As important as your logo’s design is its placement on your packaging design. Pack designs with strong brand recognition tend to have their logo:
Printed in mid-sized format (taking 20% to 35% of vertical space)
Uncluttered, so no other design elements are close to the logo
Placed near the top of the pack (around 10% to 25% from the top). This helps ease the hierarchy (the order in which design elements are seen). Our meta-learnings reveal that designs that draw attention to the brand logo first (before any other design elements are seen) are more easily understood, which can lead to higher sales.
A few examples of designs with proper logo sizing and placement:
What is interesting is that even minor creative choices can have a significant impact on brand recognition. Brands with lower recognition often feature small-sized logos placed in an unfavourable position on the packaging (e.g. on the side or near the bottom), with little to no colour contrasts, and an overall cluttered design.
When zooming out, the size or placement of your logo may seem insignificant to your packaging design’s effectiveness. But the truth is that logo placement can make or break your packaging design. When we compared 3 competing packaging designs of toilet bowl cleaning products, we found a significant difference in the speed of brand recognition scores:
Which one of the above do you think had the highest brand recognition score?
If you said Domestos, you’re starting to get the hang of things. Compared to the other 2 packs, Domestos’s packaging features a large logo in the sweet spot, against a contrasting background, and without any clutter. It ticks all the boxes.
In summary, the creative characteristics of your logo, as well as how and where it is integrated in your packaging design, can significantly influence the performance of your design – in particular its recognition, visibility, and ease of finding. It isn’t always easy to get right, but that’s where we can help. Reach out to us to learn about how we can elevate your packaging design.
About Toluna
Toluna is a leading global research and insights provider that empowers clients to make smarter data-driven decisions. Combining our flexible platform, cutting-edge technology, expansive portfolio, and passionate experts, we simplify our clients’ work and enable them to deliver greater business impact.
From DIY to full-service consultancy, Toluna’s unique approach can be tailored to fit any time, budget, and resourcing needs. With over 75 offices across the globe, we are delivering research in 100+ countries to the world’s leading brands.
How to best integrate your logo in your packaging design
By Alexander Kleijngeld, Senior Solution Consultant, MetrixLab, a Toluna company
Designing impactful packaging is easier said than done. There are many factors at play, from the visuals you incorporate to the structure of the packaging. Even the placement of your logo plays a role in improving visibility and brand recognition. Let’s explore how.
Your logo is a distinctive brand asset
Your logo is the apex of your brand identity. For a lot of brands, it’s also their most distinctive brand asset. Your logo can trigger instant brand recognition and unlock rich (sub)conscious associations. In some cases, it can also evoke a sense of desirability. When it comes to packaged goods, think about the iconic logos of Chanel, Starbucks, Nike’s bold swoosh, or Pepsi’s smiling logo. Each of these logos is instantly recognized by most and plays an integral role in its brand’s identity.
When integrated into your packaging design, your logo has the potential to:
MetrixLab’s packaging design testing practice’s benchmark database is built on three criteria, comparing design against:
Our database reveals which on-pack logos contribute most to the ease and speed of brand recognition within a split-second (0.1 seconds). Here are a few examples of winning logos:
Notice the similarities? From a creative perspective, we can conclude that each of these logos features:
Where and how to place your logo on your pack
As important as your logo’s design is its placement on your packaging design. Pack designs with strong brand recognition tend to have their logo:
A few examples of designs with proper logo sizing and placement:
Image sources: target.com | laplandia.fi | egenonline.com | miamland.com | campbellsoup.co.uk | pizzafan.gr | jumbo.com | etos.nl | eetengerei.com
What is interesting is that even minor creative choices can have a significant impact on brand recognition. Brands with lower recognition often feature small-sized logos placed in an unfavourable position on the packaging (e.g. on the side or near the bottom), with little to no colour contrasts, and an overall cluttered design.
When zooming out, the size or placement of your logo may seem insignificant to your packaging design’s effectiveness. But the truth is that logo placement can make or break your packaging design. When we compared 3 competing packaging designs of toilet bowl cleaning products, we found a significant difference in the speed of brand recognition scores:
Image sources: ceneo.pl | heureka.cz | drogeriedepot.de
Which one of the above do you think had the highest brand recognition score?
If you said Domestos, you’re starting to get the hang of things. Compared to the other 2 packs, Domestos’s packaging features a large logo in the sweet spot, against a contrasting background, and without any clutter. It ticks all the boxes.
In summary, the creative characteristics of your logo, as well as how and where it is integrated in your packaging design, can significantly influence the performance of your design – in particular its recognition, visibility, and ease of finding. It isn’t always easy to get right, but that’s where we can help. Reach out to us to learn about how we can elevate your packaging design.
About Toluna
Toluna is a leading global research and insights provider that empowers clients to make smarter data-driven decisions. Combining our flexible platform, cutting-edge technology, expansive portfolio, and passionate experts, we simplify our clients’ work and enable them to deliver greater business impact.
From DIY to full-service consultancy, Toluna’s unique approach can be tailored to fit any time, budget, and resourcing needs. With over 75 offices across the globe, we are delivering research in 100+ countries to the world’s leading brands.
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