As a designer, I suppose you shouldn’t be too surprised to hear me say that I love observing packaging. I love looking at the physical design of products and their label design. I love observing a product sitting next to a million others on a shelf and seeing how it compares. How’s it doing in the sharky ocean of that store shelf?
There are general similarities when I observe products on shelves. The simplest packaging and label designs tend to attract my eye the most. They don’t get lost in the noise of busy labels surrounding them, nor do they create their own noise.
There’s another observation I’ve been making recently, and that’s this: products are talking with more personality to their customers. The brand personality of some products is really starting to show through in the copywriting on their labels. And this makes sense, right? Bold personalities tend to get a lot of attention. (I know this because I’m an introvert—no judgment).
Children’s cereals make great use of this personification. Every kids’ cereal seems to have a cartoon character that speaks directly to the child, not the adult. Brands know that if they can persuade the child to want the cereal, the child can better persuade their parents to buy it. It’s a classic strategy that hasn’t changed in decades.
Take, for example, Frosted Mini Wheats. There’s a mini wheat character on the box, and the label reads, “I’m Mini. You’re you. And we’re about to seize the day! I’m here to stick with you. (It’s kinda what I do!)”
Frosted Mini Wheats personifies a product with a clear voice and personality. I find the writing in this particular case to be a bit strange, but you get the idea.
Let me give you a few more examples.

I enjoy sketching personification with objects, and a few of my drawings are above. If these objects behaved like real people, they might look something like this:
- A cigarette would be coughing over its own smoke.
- A candle would be in agony because it’s being burned alive.
- A construction cone would be freaking out about getting hit by a car.
- A cello would peacefully lose itself in its orchestral hymn.
If these objects could talk, they’d have a lot to say:
- The cigarette: “Hey kid, I know what you’re thinking. The peer pressure is too strong to pass up a light, but after a while, the coughing will be too strong for your health to manage.”
- The candle: “Nobody likes a messy candle. Get hip and go battery-operated. No running wax. No dangerous flame. Just a brighter glow and longer-lasting light.”
- The construction cone: “Look, Michigan. I know you don’t like it when we come to visit, but please slow down near construction zones so everyone stays safe.”
- The cello: “Hmm, hmm, hmm. Do you hear that? It’s the poetic sound of strings playing to send you into a deep calm.”
It’s not that difficult to give an inanimate object some life and personality.
Let’s Look at Some Real Products
Here’s some product labels in your local grocery:
Yasso Coffee-Flavored Greek Yogurt Bars have a lot of confidence:
“We don’t consider ourselves the baristas of the freezer aisle, but with these bold, rich, roasty, chocolatey, creamy (ok, we’ll stop bragging) coffee-flavored Greek yogurt bars, it’s pretty hard not to.”
The Vitamin Water Focus Kiwi-Strawberry drink plays the role of your laid-back, quirky sidekick. It may not understand grammar, but it gets you—and those crime shows you love:
“guarana and b vitamins always have your back. so you can focus on being your most vigilant self, like a detective on one of those syndicated crime drama shows. pro tip: the person you think did it early on totally didn’t do it.”
In case you’re wondering, for me personally, the copywriting on the Vitamin Water didn’t persuade my buying of the drink, but I bet if Vitamin Water was a person we’d have a good time talking about random topics over a glass of, well, water. They sound interesting.
That Personality Shines Through
When we think of brands, we can get a sense of their personality. Just like people, brands communicate through tone, language, and expression. A brand’s tone refers to its overall emotional style—whether it’s playful, serious, or bold. Voice is how that tone is expressed through words, reflecting the character of the brand.
Strong brands develop clear personalities that resonate with their target audience. They use their tone and voice to create a connection, standing out in a crowded marketplace. The personality of a brand makes it relatable, human and memorable.
So next time you’re scanning a store shelf, pay attention to what those products are saying to you—both literally and figuratively. You might be surprised at how much personality shines through in just a few words. Then ask yourself if it persuades you to buy the product.
Some other food for thought:
- Can we blame the brand’s personality for persuading us to buy a product?—like that late night chocolate bar after a long day when the label said you deserve it.
- How will personality play a role in the advancements of AI? Humanoid robots, for example? There is a pretty distinct personality difference between Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa. In these cases we “hear” the brand, not just read it. Interesting, right?
Those are interesting topics for another day. Happy label reading!