When giving your loved one that special present you’ve bought for them months ago when they said they liked it in passing, what’s the first thing they see after tearing off the wrapping paper you’ve definitely got gift-wrapped; the box, right? So why do so many brands struggle to consider the box it comes in, alongside the product itself?

These two things need to be in rhythm much like a relay team at the Olympics, one step out of rhythm, and we’ll notice.  It continues to be a bewildering fact that packaging gets limited and restricted, instead of letting the dynamism and creativity of their teams produce something, sensually stunning.

Get packaging right, and you will never regret it. You could be up with the royalty of packaging like the infamous red fizzy drink can, or that cute little trademarked blue jewellery box. I don’t even have to tell you their names, because you already know who they are.

That’s what this article is here for; to help you understand from the basics to diving into the relationship between the packet and the product, and how to get the most out of it.

What is Packaging Design

To start, I think it’s best to clear up what the term “Packaging Design”. Packaging design is the process of designing product packaging to securely contain, identify and deliver a product. Pretty much anything tangible has packaging (which we all then recycle responsibly, right?), some of it good, some of it… not so good.

Designing Your Products Packaging

There are 2 main types of packaging you need to consider, Graphic and Packaging Design and Physical Packaging Design. These 2 are the most noticeable changes a brand can do to make its product stand out from the crowd.

Graphic Design is the attraction aspect of a pack. This is what entices your consumer to your pack, and so your design must reflect your brand, whilst providing the information that a customer would need about the product. Most consumers decisions are subliminal, according to clevertap.com 90% of buying decisions are thought to be subconscious, so if you’re not standing out to your consumer’s mind, then your product already will struggle.

The Physical Product Packaging focuses on the packet itself, this serves the basic purpose of keeping your product safe. Taking into consideration the shape, material and size of your packaging will help you produce the best pack for your product. Be careful of wasting space (like Amazon parcels do), as you’re only costing yourself money.

Something really helpful to understand what is best for your product is if you do a bit of research into your packaging, receiving insight into what your target audience is thinking about the packaging of your product, with the use of things like heatmaps to see where the focal point of the pack is, and competitor comparisons will go a long way for you to producing your product the best starting position in the market. We’ve helped countless brands understand strengths and weaknesses both in their packet and their competitors, building on these stepping stones to develop a relationship and a plan of action for the brand as to how they can maximise their ROI.

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Brands We’ve Worked With For Packaging Design Research & Testing

What your pack design MUST include

Some free pointers of what is important to include on your packaging (how kind of us).

Logo – your packaging needs to be identifiable as you, you wouldn’t want someone to fall in love with your product without knowing who you are, would you?

Colours – as I talked about earlier, some colours become residents for brands. So if you’ve got colours you believe to be true to your brand, then make sure your packaging follows your Brand Bible. Colours are some of the easiest ways to tell the difference between products, just think about crisp packaging – pretty much all brands use the same packaging, but you’ve got vast colour differences for each brand representing the flavour. Sometimes breaking from this norm to stand out can work for example Vanish is pink whilst other cleaning products tend to stay white, and that is a benefit for them. It can also work the other way, from the crisp idea itself, why Hula Hoops and McCoy’s choose green for cheese flavouring, but market leaders Walkers is blue.

Fonts – Similar to colours, you can have fonts that are iconic to a brand. I’m sure you knew the name of Adidas font was Avant Garde Gothic Demi, or that Adobe is Myriad Pro Bold Condensed (although this is the default on Illustrator). My point is, the font is as important as the other, and so having a font that is clear to read, and can be associated with you and your brand image is important.

Industry Standards and USP – If you’ve got industry standards or a USP, make sure that your packaging lets your consumers know. These little golden gems are what the ever conscious consumers look for, and so if you can verify you’re green initiative, the award-winning fair-trade company then let the world know it!

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