BLIND BOX PACKAGING AS VISUAL PERSUASION: THE ROLE OF SURPRISE AND COLLECTIBILITY IN CONTEMPORARY CONSUMER EXPERIENCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30651/cadj.v2i1.33707Keywords:
blind box packaging, visual persuasionAbstract
The global expansion of blind box retail, led by companies such as POP MART, has transformed packaging from a protective container into an active agent of visual persuasion. Despite the scale of this phenomenon, design scholarship has paid limited attention to how the packaging itself, rather than the toy inside it, is structured to produce surprise, anticipation, and long-term collecting behavior. This study examines official blind box packaging from POP MART's The Monsters universe, including the Labubu, Exciting Macarons, and Big Into Energy lines, using visual content analysis combined with elements of multimodal discourse analysis. Drawing on Don Norman's Emotional Design as the primary theoretical lens, and supported by visual rhetoric, semiotics, and visual hierarchy, the analysis identifies how typography, color, character illustration, and layout work together at the visceral, behavioral, and reflective levels to construct a persuasive narrative of mystery prior to unboxing. Findings show that packaging composition deliberately withholds product information through layout hierarchy and surface effects such as holographic foiling, while semiotic cues on the character's face and posture pre-signal an emotional payoff that sustains repeat purchase and collectibility. The study contributes a design-centered framework for reading blind box packaging as a persuasive visual text and offers practical implications for packaging designers, brand strategists, and researchers of consumer culture in the collectible toy industry.
References
Academic Inspired Network. (2025). Visual rhetoric in multi-cultural product packaging design. Journal of Islamic, Social, Economics and Development, 10(75), 251–261.
Barthes, R. (1977). Image, music, text (S. Heath, Trans.). Hill and Wang.
Chen, J., Sun, Y., & Liu, X. (2024). Application of symbolic language and pattern innovation of Chaoshan peach cake mold in paper packaging design. BioResources. https://bioresources.cnr.ncsu.edu
Fullintel. (2025, July 10). Labubu case study: How Pop Mart built a $40B collectibles brand. https://fullintel.com/blog/pop-mart-case-study-labubu-mania-and-global-brand-strategy/
Hollebeek, L. D., Mason, M. C., et al. (2024). Eye-opening! Exploring uncertainty marketing through hedonic blind box collectibles [as cited secondary source]. In C. Lee, J. Wyllie, & S. Brennan (2025), Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 82, Article 104127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104127
Karjalainen, T.-M. (2007). It looks like a Toyota: Educational approaches to designing for visual brand recognition. International Journal of Design, 1(1), 67–81.
Lee, C., Wyllie, J., & Brennan, S. (2025). Eye-opening! Exploring uncertainty marketing through hedonic blind box collectibles. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 82, Article 104127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104127
Mohd Adnan, N. L. (2025). Visual rhetoric in multi-cultural product packaging design among Malaysia's diverse ethnicities. Journal of Islamic, Social, Economics and Development, 10(75), 251–261.
Norman, D. A. (2004). Emotional design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Basic Books.
Peirce, C. S. (1931–1958). Collected papers of Charles Sanders Peirce (C. Hartshorne, P. Weiss, & A. Burks, Eds.). Harvard University Press.
Spence, C., & Van Doorn, G. (2022). Visual communication via the design of food and beverage packaging. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 7(1), Article 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-022-00391-9
Tang, J., Zhou, J., Zheng, C., & Jiao, S. (2022). More expectations, more disappointments: Ego depletion in uncertain promotion. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 66, Article 102941.
Wang, B. (2023). Research on brand visual packaging design based on interestingness and emotion. Transactions on Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 1, 272–284.
Whyke, T. W., Chen, Z. T., Lopez-Mugica, J., & Wang, A. (2023). Unboxing the Chinese blind boxes among China's grown-up missing children: Probabilistic and elastic prosumption through mediated collection, exchange and resale of figurines. Global Media and China, 8(1), 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/20594364221140812
Xia, F., Xu, Y., Zhang, H., & Yuan, X. (2025). The effect of doll blind box uncertainty on consumers' irrational consumption behavior: The role of instant gratification, gambler's fallacy, and perceived scarcity. BMC Psychology, 13(1), Article 02644. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02644-w
Zhang, Y., & Zhang, T. (2022). The effect of blind box product uncertainty on consumers' purchase intention: The mediating role of perceived value and the moderating role of purchase intention. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 946527. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.946527
Zhang, Y., Zhou, H., & Qin, J. (2022). Research on the effect of uncertain rewards on impulsive purchase intention of blind box products. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 16, Article 946337. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.946337
popmartworld.com. (2025, February 12). What role do local artists play in Pop Mart's product development and brand identity? https://www.popmartworld.com/news/what-role-do-local-artists-play-in-pop-marts-product-development-and-brand-identity
