Product packaging is not just a box, bottle, or pouch; rather, it’s an experience you offer your potential buyers. Unique packaging design should do more than impress the target audience, it should make your brand distinctive in your chosen market. And while you might “think” of packaging as a branding asset (which it also is) your product is the most important component within your marketing strategy having more impact on optimizing profitability ratios compared to anything else.
Eye-catching and emotionally resonating packaging influences the customer’s decision to buy or leave a premium product on the store shelf. The truth is that either a brand is lazy and accepts any colorful design or they find the creation of box packaging quite challenging. Although it is easy to order packaging from a leading manufacturer, implementing a unique and attractive design can be difficult.
Why is Packaging Design Important?
Before learning about the details of an impactful package design, it is essential to understand why product packaging design matters. How do various types of packaging designs affect customers differently? How is a systematically designed package much better than a cheap alternative? The following are some of the main reasons to consider:
Consumer Psychology
Understanding the psychological impact of packaging on consumer behavior is crucial. The colors, shapes, and overall design of packaging can evoke emotions and associations that significantly influence purchasing decisions. Eye-catching designs can trigger recognition, enhance memory, and even affect consumer mood, directly impacting the likelihood of product selection.
Brand Recognition
An attractive packaging design boosts the brand identity and stands out among competitors. It is the first point of contact on shelves that grabs the attention of the target customer. Using a brand-specific color palette, contacts, fonts, and typography, with correct logo placement and artwork, develops an incredible reputation with its target audience. But messing up these details can result in severe consequences. Remember, packaging design was the main reason behind Tropicana’s loss after its rebranding.
Innovation
The primary purpose of a packaging box is to keep the product safe during the challenging shipping procedures. Companies craft their boxes using sturdy materials to produce the fragile contents inside the custom boxes. But good packaging does more than that. It brings the opportunity to make a difference. For instance, see how the box wine offers convenience, making it easy to pour.
Promote the Brand Values
Prioritizing eco-friendly packaging is a social responsibility and a strategic investment in customer trust and loyalty. By adopting sustainable packaging practices, the brand communicates its values, fosters customer confidence, and maximizes sales volume. This approach establishes enduring and profitable customer relationships.
The Packaging Design Process
To make an effective box design, the brands should work in collaboration with the packaging companies according to the following steps:
- Perform a complete market analysis to gather information regarding the product, competitors, market preferences, customer behaviors, and consumer requirements.
- Specify the packaging objectives to stand distinctive in the competitive market.
- Think about different packaging ideas based on the market research and the brand goals. Decide the eye-catching color themes, logo design, and other important elements to make the packaging attractive to the target audience.
- Select the packaging material, printing method, and finishing technique while being in the defined budget line.
- Order a sample kit to evaluate the overall design, size, and box style under the required product dimensions.
- Prepare the dieline using the packaging design software to witness your dreams taking a realistic transformation.
- Take quality control measures with the help of professional designers to maintain consistency in the production process.
- Launch the packaging design in the market to evaluate its performance.
Understanding the Layers in Packaging Design
Going with ordinary packaging design is quite an easy choice but it is not enough to make you earn a competitive advantage. To be distinctively attractive, you must think out of the box and play with unique yet creative packaging designs.
Great graphic designs even using simple kraft paper bags also know how to make their way towards progression. Use modern box styles to enhance the visual appeal of the product packaging.
Dieline & Artwork Design File
Dieline preparation and artwork design are two important components of the packaging design process. They work together to ensure consistency in the packaging production order. Dieline templates provide the structure of the packaging design while highlighting the cuts and folds using Adobe dimensions.
A packaging template is a guiding tool that ensures the accuracy of the production procedure. Packaging design templates are offered to the clients to help them decide what design they think is best for their premium product.
The mockups could be edited using Adobe Illustrator or Adobe Photoshop to design the packaging as per their preferences. The artwork design files are the packaging illustrations stored in PDF or EPS file formats. These are crafted to enhance the visual appeal of the product packaging on retail store shelves or online platforms.
Types of Packaging Material
There is a variety of packaging materials available in the market, but the brands should focus on using sustainable packaging alternatives to keep nature and customers safe from hazardous substances:
Paperboard
Paperboard is a lightweight yet durable material used in food packaging to store milk, frozen food items, and cosmetics.
Rigid
Rigid boxes are designed using thick cardboard material. The custom rigid boxes mostly holds a black or white background to enhance the beauty of extravagant products including mobile phones or watches.
Cardboard
Cardboard is a sturdy packaging material, used to design subscription boxes or custom mailer boxes to ship the products safely to the customer’s doorstep. Cardboard boxes are mostly presented as gift boxes to give customers an incredible unboxing experience.
Corrugated Cardboard
Corrugated cardboard is a thicker type of packaging material, manufactured as a shipping box to deliver heavy products to their defined destinations.
Chipboard
Chipboard is a lightweight packaging material used for tissue papers or cereal boxes. This type of packaging holds a great surface for printing and finishing methods but is not considered quite resistant to moisture.
Printing Methods
After choosing the appropriate packaging material, it is time to choose the perfect printing method from the following available options:
Offset Printing
The offset printing process involves the transferring of ink from a dieline to a rubber blanket, that shifts the design to the surface of the packaging material. Offset printing is considered quite affordable and is mostly used for newspapers, brochures, posters, and magazines.
Digital Printing
Digital printing uses digital technology for quick, clean, and crisp printing. This is an eco-friendly option and is considered cost-effective for small orders with the use of the least resources.
UV Printing
Ultraviolet printing (UV printing) is a versatile printing technique using ultraviolet radiation to instantly dry ink applied to the surface of the packaging material. This is perfect for a wide range of materials including glass, metal, wood, paper plastic, and cardboard.
Screen Printing
Screen printing uses a mesh screen to transfer images or artwork to the surface of the packaging material. This is quite a durable and cost-effective printing method used to produce visually appealing packaging designs.
Gravure Printing
Gravure printing is mostly used for large packaging production orders. The technique uses engraved cylinders for transferring ink to the surface of the packaging material, giving special attention to small details. This printing method is best known for its vibrant colors and smooth textures.
To create an inspiring packaging design, the brand should collaborate with a leading packaging company that holds an exceptional team of graphic designers to perfectly understand the product packaging requirements. This would make their packaging design procedure quite effortless and help them achieve the product presentation they always aspired for.
Additional Box Packaging Design Considerations
To further enhance the effectiveness and appeal of packaging, it is vital to consider additional aspects that contribute to both sustainability and technological innovation, ensuring alignment with brand strategy across multiple channels.
Packaging Sustainability and Lifecycle Assessment
Evaluating the environmental impact of packaging materials and designs through lifecycle assessments helps brands understand their overall environmental footprint. This analysis considers the production, usage, and disposal stages of the packaging, encouraging the use of sustainable materials and practices that reduce environmental impact and appeal to eco-conscious consumers.
Technological Innovations in Packaging
Emerging technologies such as QR codes, NFC chips, or augmented reality features integrated into packaging designs can significantly enhance consumer engagement. These technologies offer interactive experiences, provide product information, and even facilitate easier recycling. They represent a frontier in packaging design, combining functionality with digital interaction.
Brand Integration and Multi-channel Marketing
Packaging design plays a pivotal role in multi-channel marketing strategies. It ensures that the brand’s visual and communicative presence is consistent across all platforms, from physical retail environments to digital ads and social media. Integrating packaging design with overall brand messaging across these channels enhances brand recognition and consumer loyalty, making packaging an integral part of the brand’s storytelling.
Packaging Design For CPG Brands
Want a best-selling brand? SmashBrand is a packaging design agency for FMCG and CPG brands that want to see a performance lift in retail. Our PathToPerformance™ process guarantees a brand performance lift on retail shelves.
The Only Agency To Guarantee A Retail Performance Lift.
