Like your marketing message, packaging should always showcase your brand. When customers see your product, they should have no doubt what brand they're looking at. And if your offering competes with dozens or hundreds of others on crowded store shelves, it's especially important that customers can spot your brand or brands in a split second.

That means giving them visual consistency -- ensuring that everything you produce has what graphic designers call "a family feel" -- and making it easy to tell what brand they're looking at. Simple, distinctive logos, color and type all contribute to the total package.

Think about the logos and packaging of successful, big-brand products: the Nike swoosh; the Starbucks mermaid; red for Coke, blue for Pepsi; Gateway's cow spots. They appear in distinctive, attractive ways on every can, box, bag and cup as well as in all the companies' marketing materials.

What if you're the brand? When you're with clients, your "packaging," or appearance should also consistently convey the desired message. If you're a financial guru, your trademark might be a certain style or color of tie, paired with a power suit. For Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, it's jeans and a black turtleneck. You don't always have to look the same -- but remember that familiarity increases customers' comfort.