Brand development that increases sales velocity, guaranteed.

Our Top 5 Design Industry Publication Picks.

We can’t stress the importance of maintaining an eagle eye on design trends, and we certainly do our best to stay in the loop. When we can find a moment to tear ourselves away from the Justin Bieber saga during our free time, we like to take a gander at the finer design industry blogs and publications. As a packaging design firm, we must keep abreast of the latest trends and innovations and become better acquainted with the design world’s who’s who.

We’re quite familiar with a great many resources, but we’ve found — as we’re sure you have, too — that the world of online design industry publication is filled with endlessly regurgitated information. Of course, the online news industry is the same — stories culled from a handful of original sources and cycled and recycled throughout the blogosphere in the guise of original insight. How do you find original pieces and trusted industry sources? By listening to us, of course!

There are a few essential design blogs, and we’re sure you can certainly think of a few that offer fascinating insights (SmashBrand, you say? Well, we weren’t groping for praise, but thank you!). Here are five that we value highly:

Smashing Magazine

And a “smashing” magazine it is! Smashing Magazine is a German Web design publication that features articles, blogs, e-book resources and a pulsating job board. The main focus is on Web design and Web design minutiae, but there’s a fair amount of Internet marketing strategy in the mix. We turn to Smashing Magazine when we’re curious about global Web design developments because they consistently feature good, thorough design perspectives. We feel a kinship with any organization incorporating the term “smash” in its name.

The Die Line

Quite simply the premier packaging design Web publication. We say this because of its consistent devotion to new and intriguing packaging developments, and not at all because it has applauded SmashBrand packaging designs (Little River Smokehouse and Way Fare! Woot!).

The Die Line also has an annual award packaging competition featuring entrants from all over the world. For the past five years, The Die Line has awarded some pretty nifty packaging concepts, which have influenced the packaging design world greatly. Who would have thought there could be more than one way to package bandages?

Entrepreneur Magazine

Obviously, not only for designers — Entrepreneur Magazine is for everyone who desperately wants to scratch and claw their way to millionaire status! For designers, however, there is a wealth of information about branding, online marketing, Web trends, SEO and social media. And, since designers are largely lone wolves relying on themselves and only themselves to move ahead in this thorny and competitive world, it is vital to have an online resource telling you to get off of your tuchas and update your portfolio and do all of the things that incredibly successful people do that you, currently, don’t.

How Magazine

The furious multitasker of graphic design ‘zines, How Magazine is still a print magazine, but has branched into the online world like a raging backyard vine. It hosts multiple design competitions, has a series of online courses through How Design University, publishes design books, and is the all-around graphic designers’ bodhisattva. It’s a great periodical for designers of all skill levels — from students to grizzled veterans.

Graphic Design USA

Now, this magazine is exclusively for grizzled veterans or, at least, design professionals (degree of grizzle notwithstanding). It’s been around since 1963, so it’s definitely the elder statesman of design industry trade magazines. It also hosts four pretty darned prestigious design awards.

We strongly advise you to check out these publications. Whether you’re a fancy-free freelancer or happily ensconced in a reputable packaging design firm, you’ll definitely find major value in these trades, both from their invaluable wealth of information and also the bounty of steal-able ideas — not that we’d ever encourage that, for the record.

Data-Driven Brand Development

Want a best-selling brand? SmashBrand is a brand development agency for FMCG and CPG companies. From brand strategy to packaging design testing, our Path To Performance™ process guarantees a retail performance lift. Book a time to discuss your project with our team.

Subscribe to
Nice Package.

A monthly newsletter that unpacks a critical topic in the FMCG & CPG industry.

Free Resource.
CPG product repositioning guide.
CPG product repositioning guide.

Explore the five undeniable signs your CPG product needs repositioning along with strategies for leveraging consumer insights for a guaranteed market lift.

Learn More About CPG product repositioning guide.

More from SmashBrand

Positioning, Strategy, Design

A Consumer-Centric Roadmap to Pet Branding.

Unlock pet branding strategies: trends, channel tactics & packaging tips to captivate pet parents, boost loyalty & drive sales in the booming pet care market.

Positioning, Strategy, Design

Pet Supplement Packaging Design Strategies To Maximize Shelf Impact.

Discover how to design high-performing pet supplement packaging that builds trust, drives sales, and converts across every channel from retail to e-commerce.

Innovation, More

The CPG Innovation Process for Building Winning Products

Discover a proven CPG innovation process that drives market share through data-backed product development, packaging, testing, and brand strategy.

Design

The Strategic Use of White Space in Packaging Design.

Discover how white space in packaging design boosts shelf impact, improves readability, and drives sales through strategic visual clarity.

Innovation, Strategy, Design

How Visual Cues Impact Purchase Intent.

Discover how visual cues in packaging influence purchase intent and learn how to design packaging that drives sales and boosts consumer engagement.

Positioning, Innovation, Strategy

How to Stretch Your Brand Through A Category Extension.

Learn how to grow your brand into new categories with confidence. Discover smart strategies for successful category extension in the CPG industry.