Michael Roller

Not Strategic: Dove Go Fresh Packaging

Dove typically has great strategic design. Their authentic message connects marketing and advertising through to the physical design of the products. I like how this 12 oz. bottle (left) subtly and purposefully matches their well known soap bar, but I was disappointed that we didn’t get the same great design when we upgraded to the 25 oz. size (center). Instead, we got a bottle that has been pushed and pulled into something that lacks any connection to the emotional quality. Not only is it kind of ugly, the design makes it hard to hold.

This poor execution of Dove’s design language could be for one of three reasons:

1. The design managers didn’t create the bottles as a scalable family, resulting in a quick and dirty solution when it came time to create the larger size bottle. They probably created separate briefs for each product, which explains the nice, but different looking body wash bottle (right).
2. Engineering and design teams weren’t on the same page. Design probably didn’t engage engineering properly to ensure their design would be scalable.
3. No one anticipated the success of Go Fresh. Design, marketing, and engineering all happily created the 12 oz. bottles without considering that they’d need to do other sizes until it was too late.

My best guess is that Dove failed to write a brief that required a scalable family look. Instead, they probably designed the ideal package at the ergonomically ideal size, then struggled to execute the larger version under a tight deadline. This approach usually works fine, but the development process must be multi-disciplinary with team members who are challenging but also flexible and realistic. Given the current situation, my recommendation would be to use the attractive 3D design of the 25 oz. body wash bottle, saving on development and manufacturing costs while improving the ergonomic and aesthetic experience for consumers.

This may seem like a small detail, but I’m not trying to be overly critical. Rather, I’m trying to point out that a near-perfect brand like Dove still has room to improve. Details like this signal miscues inside the company’s culture, which potentially keep Dove from providing an ever better consumer experience.

Tags: not strategic, strategic aesthetics

4 Comments to Not Strategic: Dove Go Fresh Packaging

1. 

   I really like the front silhouette of the bottles. You’re right, it speaks the Dove aesthetic nicely. The profile of the 12oz bottle is really fluid and natural.

   Ergonomically, that larger bottle seems like it would just slip right out of your hand because its form lacks any cues how to hold it (and probably is a bit hefty in weight. Where the cap meets the bottle in the profile view seems like a hunchback bottle. The quick, bulging curve doesn’t match the rest of the form.

   I think the biggest topic brought up here is in the last sentence. I wonder how many more companies make small design missteps because of internal miscues? For example, all the text on the Amazon Kindle 2… its seems really crowded for a device you’re meant to read on.

   Thanks for getting me thinking!
Brandon Leedy on February 18th, 2009
2. 

   I was initially attracted to the smaller shampoo bottle from dove. I thought it was really pretty, however after using it for a day, I put it in an old bottle because the cap is really hard to get off because its so small. It seems as though the only part of the bottle they carried over to the larger size was the annoying small cap. Hmmm?
Michael Kandel on February 18th, 2009
3. 

   Thanks for making me think more about such design details around.
   Look forward to read more of such critiques of yours.
Slu on March 28th, 2009

4. [...] in a more integrated manner to make the entire package work together. This example, much like the Dove Go Fresh bottles, indicates that achieving good design today is much more of a management challenge [...]
The New Renu | Michael Roller on June 6th, 2010

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