Is less more or a bore? Package design simplicity and brand perception: an application to Champagne

Packaging design as a medium for brand communication has a strong impact on the point-of-purchase decision. Therefore, marketers need a keen understanding of how packaging design influences brand perception. Although many studies have investigated the impact of design elements like color or typeface, few have examined the impact of holistic variables like the degree of elaborateness. This study proposes to fill this gap by investigating the influence of the degree of simplicity/complexity in package design on brand perception. The topic is first investigated through a multidisciplinary approach mobilizing the fields of semiotics, art history and marketing. Then, we conduct an experiment in which three bottles of Champagne operationalizing three levels of simplicity/complexity are tested with a sample of 305 consumers. The results indicate that the simplicity/complexity of a package design has a significant impact on brand perception, with simplicity being associated with modernity, reliability, authenticity, success and sobriety and complexity with seniority, joy, imagination, charm, femininity and sophistication.