In our previous article, we explored how product form can become one of a brand’s most valuable assets. Naturally, this leads to another question: what kind of product forms do people actually find attractive?
It is easy to assume that the more unique a design is, the more attention it will attract. And to some extent, that is true. A product unlike anything we’ve seen before naturally captures our attention. But attracting attention and creating genuine attraction are not the same thing. The surprise of seeing something new quickly fades. What remains memorable—what people continue to think about and return to—is shaped by something far more complex than novelty alone.
At one end of the spectrum are forms that feel entirely unfamiliar. These are products born from a strong brand philosophy or a truly original concept, resulting in shapes that challenge conventional expectations. We often describe these designs as ‘artistic.’ The reason is simple: like encountering a new language, they cannot be understood immediately. Appreciating them requires first understanding the ideas and intentions behind them. In that sense, interpretation becomes part of the experience itself. As a result, these products often resonate more deeply with a smaller audience than with the mass market.
At the opposite end are forms that everyone already knows. Simple geometric shapes such as cylinders and rectangles fall into this category, and today, most pre-molded containers belong here. These forms feel familiar. They are comfortable to use and rarely create resistance. Yet they also give people very little reason to remember them. Because they have been seen so many times before, they struggle to leave a distinctive impression of the brand.
The area we find most compelling lies somewhere between these two extremes. It begins with familiar forms but reinterprets them through the lens of the brand. The result feels new, yet understandable. People may not have seen the exact form before, but they can intuitively understand why it exists. The reason may come from the brand’s philosophy, the product’s function, the user experience, or a broader cultural context. What matters is not that the form feels unfamiliar, but that there is a clear reason for its unfamiliarity.
That is why every time we design a new product form, we begin with a simple question: Why does this form need to exist this way? When the answer reflects the brand itself, people begin to connect with the design. What initially feels unfamiliar gradually becomes the form people associate with the brand.
There is, however, another category that designers should approach with caution. These are forms that are visually unique but impossible to justify. They are disconnected from the brand’s philosophy, unrelated to the product’s function, and unsupported by the user experience. Their only defining characteristic is that they look different. At first glance, they may appear experimental, but they rarely become memorable because they offer people nothing to relate to beyond the novelty itself.
We believe this is fundamentally different from the artistic approach described earlier. Art may be difficult to understand, but it is rooted in philosophy and context. Novelty without purpose, on the other hand, leaves only an unusual shape. It offers no narrative that people can understand or connect with. In the end, the designer’s personal expression becomes more visible than the brand itself, preventing the form from growing into a lasting brand asset.
Ultimately, what attracts people is not simply a new form. It is a new form that they can understand. When a product’s shape naturally expresses who the brand wants to reach and what it wants people to feel, people begin to connect with it. They remember it. More importantly, they begin to associate that form with the brand itself.
That is why we do not design product forms simply to stand out. We look for the point of balance—forms that are neither too unfamiliar nor too predictable. Forms that tell the brand’s story while remaining immediately understandable. We believe the strongest brand assets are created at that intersection.
