Exciting materials make products stand out on the shelf or in your online store front… here’s 5 interesting types of materials you should be considering to create a unique product strategy for your brand.
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Crazy, exciting, never-used-before materials make products that clearly showcase skill and dedication to your craft. As a creator, you can make whole lines of differentiated products by using different materials to what the competition is using.
5 Different Types of Material Finishes
Let’s now take a look at the different types of material finishes you can use, and how best to use them. The 5 material types we’ we’ll be reviewing today are:
- dull
- matte
- gloss
- reflective
- and clear.
What is a Dull Finish?
A dull finish produces a rough and unpolished surface. Dull finishes are usually reserved for parts that may not be seen unless in maintenance mode or for products that look better when they appear dull.
What is a Matte Finish?
A matte finish is non-reflective and rough-to-touch, generally appearing powdery to the observer. Matte finishes diffuse the light reflected off its surface, spreading the light in a wide area. Much like dull finishes, matte finishes are best used for internal parts, unless the product looks better when it’s not glossy.
What is a Glossy Finish?
Glossy finishes are available in either semi-gloss or high gloss. These finishes are smooth and silky to the touch in varying degrees as they get glossier.
Glossy finishes are best used for visible parts (think shiny toys for kids) and interior parts of moving products, where these parts need to fit and move smoothly inside the product’s body (think kitchen appliances).
What is a Reflective Finish?
Reflective (or shiny) finishes all have very shiny and smooth surfaces. These finishes have a mirror-like appearance. Mirrors and silver, shiny objects that need to reflect light or increase the appearance of space in a room will be made with a reflective finish.
What is a Clear Finish?
Clear finishes are usually made of plastic, glass, or thin, stretched/moulded film. Clear products are available in varying degrees of transparency:
- transparent
- translucent
- and opaque
In all instances except opaque, the contents of the clear holder are easily displayed (think jar of mayonnaise or drinking glasses).
Where the content outweighs the packaging on a value level for the consumer, you know you can see right through it to decide if it’s what you want. This is why makeup and beauty products, sweets and confectionary, bread and deli meats are displayed behind clear barriers… so the consumer has a clear choice.
Why Are Product Finishes Important?
Finishes have a large affect on sales where the appearance of the product are important. The easiest way to decide if a finish is right for your product is to collect enough samples to compare, or to test out the competitions’ products.
Other considerations you should be aware of when choosing the right materials for your product include:
- color
- weight
- mouldability
- durability
- sustainability
- price to manufacture
These days, a simple Google search will tell you almost anything you need to know to start a brand, even in saturated markets. When the materials you’ve chosen are more useful, more durable, or more attractive than your competitors’ seem to be, you’ll have broken into a saturated market and differentiated your products without much design input needed at all. The more unique your product, the better it will sell.
What are you waiting for? Create a unique product strategy for your brand today!
Let me know in the comments below how your creative journey is going.
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Thank you for reading on types of materials to create a unique product strategy for your brand! If you found this content insightful and helpful, please be sure to like and share this article with your circle. Also, make sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more product development tips!
– Oren
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