Phase 1: Early Design Screening

Phase 2: Concept Refinement

Phase 3 (and beyond): Optimization and Final Validation

• It reduces risk by validating design decisions at every step.
• It allows for agility – teams can pivot based on feedback, not assumption.
• It supports better alignment across marketing, brand, and insights teams.

• Upload multiple design concepts (even in early draft form)
• Target specific consumer segments at scale
• Run structured surveys with custom questions
• Get responses and dashboards in near real-time

Why it's ideal for iteration research

Where expert support makes a difference

Running a successful multi-round pack design testing program in Toluna starts with a clear structure. It’s not just about testing variations – it’s about orchestrating a series of feedback loops that help evolve your concept from early-stage mockups to market-ready designs. This process is especially valuable when using DIY research tools like Toluna, giving your team the ability to move fast while gathering real-time user insights at every turn.

Start With a Clear Research Objective

Before you even build your first survey inside Toluna, define what you want to learn. Is it about which aesthetics grab attention? Which elements communicate benefits most clearly? What packaging features align best with your brand or category conventions? Clarifying your goals ensures each round of visual testing research is focused and actionable.

Design Iterative Testing Rounds

Multi-round testing works like mini design sprints. For example, your first round in Toluna might test broad design directions, from bold to minimalist layouts. Based on insights gathered in this round, your creative team might narrow down to two or three concepts, refine them, and then enter a second round of testing. Each round builds on the last, minimizing guesswork and maximizing user relevance.

Set Cadence and Collaboration Process

Working efficiently across teams is critical. Decide your cadence – weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly sprints – and create alignment between research, marketing, and design. Toluna’s fast turnaround allows results in just days, making it easier to execute tight iterative testing cycles when everyone is on the same page.

Incorporate Real-World Examples in Each Phase

In a fictional example, a beverage company might use round one to test label color palettes and font legibility. Feedback indicates consumers associate certain colors with health, prompting the team to go deeper in round two on health communication cues across revised layouts. This type of structured iteration ensures the final design doesn't just “look good,” but performs better with consumers.

Make it Actionable

• Don’t overload surveys – stay focused on specific decisions per round.
• Use consistent metrics across rounds to benchmark progress (e.g., appeal, differentiation, purchase intent).
• Share learnings and visual updates after each round to keep momentum.

By following a thoughtful, step-by-step guide to visual testing, your team can build a smart, scalable workflow in Toluna – one that keeps creativity rooted in real consumer feedback.

With DIY research platforms like Toluna becoming a must-have in modern insights teams, many organizations face the same challenge: how to run consistent, strategy-aligned research programs without overwhelming internal resources. This is where SIVO’s On Demand Talent can play a transformative role.

Plugging into Existing Teams for Smarter Execution

On Demand Talent experts aren’t freelancers – they’re seasoned consumer insights professionals who integrate smoothly into your team, even on a temporary basis. When you're rolling out a multi-round concept testing or pack design testing effort, they bring the expertise to make every round count: from proper study setup, to stimulus control, to synthesizing insights into design recommendations.

Driving Research Quality with Expert-Led Oversight

Many internal teams are learning tools like Toluna for the first time. On Demand Talent ensures proper use of these platforms, keeping research grounded in best practices. They can design your research roadmap, advise your design partners on stimulus refinement, and ensure you're asking the right questions at each stage of the iteration research process.

This prevents common missteps like:

• Testing too many concepts at once
• Changing metrics mid-program
• Overlooking key behavioral data

Instead, testing moves forward with control, clarity, and credibility.

Training for Long-Term Capability

Another benefit? On Demand Talent not only helps execute your testing program – they upskill your team. Whether you're building research capacity from scratch or helping a team get up to speed with DIY research tools, they provide coaching and practical process documentation. This turns short-term project support into long-term capability building.

Flexible Support for Any Industry

SIVO’s bench of professionals covers a wide range of industries and research needs – from CPG to tech to health. Whether you need a research designer for an upcoming sprint, a strategy-minded expert for stakeholder storytelling, or someone to keep testing rounds moving during an employee gap, On Demand Talent fills in seamlessly without disrupting productivity.

In today’s fast-moving research landscape, flexibility, speed, and expertise are critical – and On Demand Talent delivers all three.

Consistency is one of the most underrated drivers of success in multi-round visual testing research. When pack design feedback is compared over time, it only works if the underlying methodology, metrics, and assumptions remain stable. Whether you're using Toluna for fast iteration or planning multiple testing waves in advance, following a few key principles can help ensure your insights remain reliable – and actionable.

Lock in Core KPIs From the Beginning

Establish a fixed set of evaluation criteria early and use them consistently across all rounds. These might include:

• Overall appeal or liking
• Purchase intent
• Perceived uniqueness
• Brand fit or message clarity

Sticking with these anchors allows you to track upward or downward shifts with confidence, validating which changes are truly adding value in each round of refinement.

Keep Audiences Comparable

Using Toluna’s sampling tools, replicate your audience specifications round to round. That means matching on demographics, shopper behavior, and category usage when possible. Even small shifts in respondent profiles can create noise in the data if not carefully managed.

Document and Communicate Research Changes

If any modifications are made – such as testing in a new geography or updating how a concept is presented – document them carefully and explain why they were necessary. This transparency helps design teams, marketers, and leadership interpret changes over time without misreading the results.

Visual Version Control

It may sound simple, but tracking which exact stimulus was tested in each round is crucial. Name your visuals clearly (e.g., Concept A_rev1, Concept C_final) and maintain a visual archive. This allows testing comparisons to be traced back and prevents duplicate evaluations.

Avoid Sample Fatigue

Don’t re-test the same base every time. While consistency matters, mixing in fresh respondents each round avoids bias that can skew results if participants become too familiar with stimuli.

Use Expert Oversight for Quality Control

If you're short on research bandwidth, consider bringing in On Demand Talent from SIVO to help oversee round-to-round consistency. Beyond execution, they can serve as stewards of your testing integrity – ensuring your program stays on track and truly optimized.

In iteration research, consistency builds trust – both in your data and across your organization.