… because nobody seems to care – which is a pity, as this panel is an ideal means to strengthen the bond with the consumer! If well done it can become as interesting as the front. This is what Frito Lay have done with their Chinese potato chips design.

80% of all back panels repeat more or less what has been communicated on the front; we even find often the same illustration! If the cereal packages are an exception mainly thanks to their size, this Lay’s design is, from a pure design point of view, even better.


These ‘boring’ back panels follow too often a layout imposed by a design manual which does not allow creativity, thus failing to stand out as for instance the Lay’s package.

Maybe I repeat myself, but my advice for an interesting back, or rather service panel will always be the following:

FIRST: inform about how to best enjoy the product;

SECOND: inform about the website (and make it BIG!) so the consumer may obtain further information;

THIRD: inform about the origin, the nutritional value and give further details about the product.

Only then does one mention the producer, the weight, the ingredients list, etc. preferably in positive text for good readability.

Furthermore, I believe that the back panel design should constantly be changed in order to keep up the interest, exactly as in a journal. By the way, all journals stimulate interest by short, intriguing headlines which lead to further information. This is seldom the case in back panel design!

Maybe this short article will stimulate to some improvement…