Christoph Häberle faculty director of the master’s degree “Packaging, Design and Marketing” on the University of Media in Stuttgart, gives an in-depth look on gender-specific design. “Making a general statement is nearly impossible”, he says. “There are also women who like the powerful performance of `Coke Zero`, as well as there are men, who are appealed to the emotional lightness of `Coke Light`.”
By Jennifer Pompe
The role of packaging was not always positive. “It was first seen as rubbish, but then it developed into a serious marketing tool with a massive influence on the physical and mental condition of our society”, the professor explains. “The wish is to appeal to the customer in an emotional, comprehensive way, but mostly to add buy-deciding values.” During the search of companies for new sustainable concepts, “social responsibility and the topic of gender-sensible design, gains in importance”.
© Christoph Häberle; Christoph Häberle knows why gender-specific design works and what the future prospects are.
Take a look at Apple’s iPhone, which, according to Häberle, is a good example for a current gender-specific designs. “The first iPhone design seems to be more masculine, with its dark look and edged profile. Then, they designed a second version of the iPhone in white, to catch the female customers. However, this doesn’t mean that men can’t buy the white ‘ladies version’.”
The faculty director of PDM mentions another example from Apple: “If we take a look at the Apple design for the Mac, we can see how a gender-neutral design could work.” On the one hand Apple uses silver, which is “very technical, but without exaggerating the functionality. This appeals to the male target group”, Häberle explains. “On the other hand, the design is soft curved and bright with hidden details and nice effects. This is where they catch the female customers.”
