Pooja Kulkarni
06 · Product & UX/UI

Godrej Consumer Products · Packaging R&D

Packaging as a
User Experience

UX research on objects people hold. How they open, read, grip and store everyday products, down to material and type size.

Organization

Godrej Consumer Products, Mumbai

Timeline

July 2019 to February 2021

Discipline

Packaging UX, human factors, labels

Categories

Hair, home insect, air, fabric care

Research setup with a BBLUNT bottle, Goodknight carton and journey map
38Friction points
14Changes made
4Categories
11Vendor sample rounds
5Company standards
01

Problem and method

Test the pack before it is locked.

Packs were judged after tooling and artwork were final. I moved that moment earlier.

Questions

  1. Where do people struggle: shelf, open, use, store?
  2. Can they find key label info in 5 seconds?
  3. What drives or blocks purchase at shelf?
Consumers using four Godrej products
ScopeBBLUNT, Goodknight, Aer Pocket, Ezee
ShelfSimulationAmong 4 to 6 rival SKUs
HandUseOpen, dispense, close, store
HomeDiaries4 to 6 weeks
LabelLegibilitySize, contrast, priority
MaterialSurfacesFinish and structure
Research method cards
ToolkitEight research methods
Diary study wall
DiariesFriction logged by user and day
02

Deep dive · Aer Pocket

Reading a pack by touch and light.

The highest-severity pack. I studied its surfaces before writing any spec.

Aer Pocket packs on a retail shelf with annotations
Fig 2.1Aer Pocket at shelf
  1. Fragrance colourDoes colour alone separate variants at 2 m?
  2. SealNo pull-tab. One person took 40 seconds.
  3. PlacementCue seen only after hanging, 3 of 5 times.

Material study

Reference renders I made to document each surface. Product photos are from the study.

Glossy printed pouch film render
Printed filmGlossy laminate, colour-coded art.
Crinkled foil seal render
Foil sealSlippery. Needed an 8 mm pull-tab.
Translucent gel render
GelTranslucent. Usage you can see.
Matte carton board render
Carton printMatte board. New home for the diagram.
Five-step hand sequence opening and hanging an Aer Pocket
Fig 2.2First use, step by step
  1. Step 1Opening clarity on the outer pack.
  2. Step 2Fragrance recognition by colour.
  3. Steps 3 and 4Reading the hanging instructions.
  4. Step 5Usage duration on the wall.

Finding to specification

FindingSpecification
Foil seal with no grip8 mm foil pull-tab
Placement cue found too lateDiagram on the carton face
Instructions unread in dim rooms9 pt minimum, 7 pt for regulatory only
Artwork judged in office light200-lux warm-light review
Variants blur at distance2 m shelf-distance test
03

Material and label library

Every surface tells you something.

Finish, transparency and print density, catalogued across the range.

Matte black bottle surface render
BBLUNT frontDark bottle: light type carries hierarchy
BBLUNT label before and after drawings
BBLUNT back7 pt on dark. Illegible in a bathroom.
Glossy pink PET bottle surface render
Ezee labelGlossy pink, front dosage callout
Translucent cap with moulded rings render
Ezee capMoulded lines vanish in low light
Research desk with Goodknight cartons and notebook
Goodknight cartonMachine and refill too alike
Before and after instruction cues
Goodknight deviceOrientation needed a pictogram
04

Findings by product

What the hands revealed.

BBLUNT bottle with before and after label drawings
BBLUNTHair colour
  1. No tear notchSachet spilled in 3 of 5 sessions.
  2. 7 pt instructionsOn uncoated stock.
  3. Wrong orderTube opened before developer.
Before and after cues for Goodknight and other packs
GoodknightInsect care
  1. Look-alike packsMachine and refill nearly identical.
  2. Insertion4 of 5 inserted wrongly at first.
  3. Mode switch“1 / 2” misread as on and off.
Ezee pour into measuring cap, annotated
EzeeDetergent
  1. Invisible cap linesOver-dosing in all 5 sessions.
  2. Wide spoutFast, uncontrolled pour.
  3. Back-label dosageMissed by 4 of 5.
Grip zones and handling across four products
HandlingGrip zones and pour angles across four packs
05

Patterns and redesign

Design for the first use.

Packaging journey

1DiscoverShelf
2Pick upGrip
3ReadLabel
4OpenSeal, cap
5Close
6StoreFootprint
7ReuseRefill
  • BBLUNT9 pt instructions, tear notch, step stickers, shade name first.
  • GoodknightREFILL band, orientation pictogram.
  • Aer Pocket8 mm pull-tab, placement diagram.
  • EzeePrinted cap lines, flow restrictor, front dosage.
Cross-functional recommendation matrix
CollaborationDesign, vendors, brand, manufacturing
Hand-written research findings notebook
NotebookInsights rated by severity
Four categories with touchpoint icons
TouchpointsCompared across four categories

Core insight

People don’t read before they act. They look for instructions when something goes wrong.

IndexContact© 2026 Pooja Kulkarni