Less is More : The Effect of Minimalistic ‘White Space’ Design on Utilitarian and Hedonic Products

This bachelor's thesis investigates the influence of minimalistic ‘white space’ package design on consumer perceptions of utilitarian (milk) and hedonic (chips) food products. A 2 (minimalistic vs. non-minimalistic design) x 2 (utilitarian vs. hedonic product) between-subjects experiment (N = 172) was conducted to assess brand attitude, product attitude, purchase intention, perceived quality, and product purity. Results showed that non-minimalistic designs led to more favorable brand and product attitudes and higher perceived quality. An exploratory analysis of the interaction effect between product type and package design revealed that minimalistic designs decreased perceived quality for hedonic products but had no effect on utilitarian ones. Consumer familiarity with minimalism was added as an exploratory covariate and positively influenced product attitude. These findings suggest that while minimalistic design may align with modern branding aesthetics, it does not universally enhance consumer perceptions. This suggests that product package design is not a one-size-fits-all strategy, and designs may need to be tailored to product type and audience familiarity with minimalistic packaging.