Learn all you need to know about packaging for your products in our comprehensive guide.
Do you judge a book by its cover or its packaging?
The bottom line is that packaging impacts 73% of consumers’ purchase decisions, according to a survey.
This type of design is not only attractive and durable but there’s more. Successful packaging design is appealing and durable and can help promote your brand’s values and vision.
This article will show you how to create packaging that sells your products.
Why is Packaging Design Important?
Before we dive into the details of the packaging design, it is essential to understand why the most effective approach for packaging design is better than the simplest or cheapest.
These are the main reasons.
It protects your products.
It’s an easy idea. Consider how often you have had to repair products because the packaging did not adequately protect them. Packaging is an excellent way for your content to stay safe. This is especially true for food. It is essential to carefully select your products to reach the buyer in the correct form.
Creates a Brand Identity
Brand recognition is built on the packaging. The same thing has been repeated many times. But, you don’t have to think twice about Coca-Cola. Over time, the iconic glass design or bottle has changed. Coca-Cola is easily recognized among many other similar drinks. Coca-Cola’s design principles are the same as the ideal type or red hue, which is why they are well-known.
Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Packaging
Consumers are increasingly aware that sustainability is vital to public conversation.
It is a good investment for the future of humanity to make environmentally friendly packaging. This will bring you more customers on a larger scale.
Even more important, 63% of consumers are loyal to companies that share their values. A more sustainable packaging method should not only increase short-term profits. It’s about building lasting relationships with your customers.
What You Need to Know Before You Create a Packaging Design
It’s essential to have a clear idea of your brand’s identity before thinking about packaging design. This includes answering crucial questions about your brand’s vision, mission, and values and identifying your customers.
It’s a fact that your logo must be unique and that you should choose the best color scheme to represent your brand.
What product do you sell?
Do they serve a purpose other than food and luxury? What format (solids or liquids, for example) can they be found?
These questions will help you understand how and when your customers may be affected by product design.
It will be difficult for you to attract consumers’ attention if the items are unavailable in a physical store. Online shopping for exclusive products will help you to establish a brand. It would be best if you focused more on the design than the materials used.
Design Process
You can find graphic design resources online that you can use to make your graphics, such as posts for social media. You should always hire an expert when you need packaging you can customize.
This is because packaging design can have technical issues that you might not be familiar with or are unable to address.
This is a quick overview of the four steps involved in packaging design.
Get Knowledge about Packaging Types
Simple packaging is the best for some instances. However, simple packaging can be the best for some cases.
There are many packaging options, including natural materials like glass or wicker. You can also choose simple options like nets, foil tray covers, or plastic punnets.
These are the most popular types of packaging that you can print your designs if you’re looking for a visually appealing format.
Cardboard boxes
This is the most commonly used lightweight packaging. It’s strong and can be used for wrapping various retail and industrial products. You can also use it in Kraft for a natural, more sustainable packaging option.
Corrugated Boxes
We call them Corrugated cardboard boxes. These are stronger and can be used to store and transport items.
Plastic Boxes
Plastic packaging is not an environmentally hazardous alternative, as long as it’s made from recycled plastic and designed containers that can be reused for multiple purposes.
Rigid boxes
These boxes can be used to transport luxury items like watches or iPhones. These boxes are made from cardboard four times thicker than regular cardboard.
Polyethylene Bags
They are made from thin plastic wrap. They are used primarily to wrap food and clothes.
Stand-up pouches or foil bags can be used to seal coffee, teas, and peanut teas. This will ensure that the shelf life is longer.
Printing
It is essential to choose a suitable material for printing. Before deciding on the printer you want, you should also consider what type of printing it offers.
These are the top printing techniques for packaging design.
Offset Printing
It is capable of producing high-quality retail prints and high-contrast colors. It is commonly used in cardboard boxes.
Digital Printing
This is similar to offset printing but is not suitable for bulk printing as it is more costly.
Flexo printing
Although it produces fewer quality results, it’s faster and cheaper and can be used for making stand-up bags.
You will need to determine the dimensions of each package and how to maximize the use of colors and materials in your packaging.
Packaging Design
Now, it’s time for you to start thinking about what to pack. You will have a brand guide to know what fonts, colors, and graphics you should use to project a strong brand image.
It’s not a secret that every packaging design should include your logo. The branding guide can help you optimize your logo to suit different purposes.
We cannot use our logo with a background that is too messy. This could cause problems with your packages, so you must establish guidelines to ensure your logo is visible.
Next, ensure you print the colors you choose and use CMYK (instead of digital RGB) hue mode.
The use of photographs is another issue that might not be discussed in your brand guide. It is essential to make an informed decision about whether to use photos and what type of images to choose.
A photo can help remove the mystery and intrigue associated with luxury products.
The packaging should contain attractive images if the product’s appearance is essential to your business.
Another example could be the food industry. However, recent awareness has grown about photoshopped photos that don’t reflect real-life content.
Modern methods could include illustrations and a peek at the product to avoid misleading customers and create eye-catching packaging. This could be done with complicated cupcakes and other bakery products. But what if your product doesn’t have the most attractive design?
The design will always be better than good design. This innovative dried fruit packaging is an excellent example of good design. It integrates the product with its overall style. This design communicates the message visually, rather than using capital letters for “natural” and “organic.” You can also stack multiple boxes on top of one another to create an entirely new experience. It will make you feel like a squirrel searching for food among the trees.
Product Information
It is an essential element of designing the user experience. It concerns how information is presented and structured to meet end users’ needs.
You must include all ingredients, allergens, and expiry dates. It is not surprising that consumers want clear, easily accessible information. It isn’t the only thing consumers want to learn about the product.
They will be familiar with the brand slogan. It should be higher up in the information architecture hierarchy if the product has a distinctive feature you wish to highlight. It could be cosmetics or beauty products that are organic or cruelty-free. In the case of technology, it could be a unique feature such as the quality of the cameras or speed of processing.
Enhance Your Packaging
Let’s say you are familiar with the packaging design process.
These are the essential four rules of packaging for a great product.
Simplicity
You may feel compelled to include many details on the packaging if you are passionate about your product. You could include information about your brand’s history and the production process. Your marketing department can provide this detail.
This can lead to confusing packaging ideas people don’t want to use. A successful packaging design is simple and efficient.
Originality
Remember that originality comes in many shapes and sizes. Bold designs could be adorned with intricate details and beautiful designs. It could also refer to plain Kraft paper.
Designing is only possible if you are familiar with the market. But make sure you choose a designer who brings something new and exciting to your design.
stands out among other products
The most difficult products to find are those that are frequently used. You can find all products in any store available in multiple brands.
Your product packaging must stand out. It must also be visible on shelves in a supermarket or online. Good packaging design can make you stand out. You can use a funky slogan or a quirky packaging design.
Shelf impact refers to the fact that your product is seldom (or never) placed on its shelf. A collection of products is considered efficient packaging design.
Relevancy
It doesn’t matter how unique, creative, or beautiful your design is, and it will not connect with the content or packaging of the label. This will result in a loss of loyal customers over the long term. Customers may not buy online if something looks like soap but is chocolate.
Your packaging designer is responsible for making sure your product looks attractive.
We share a responsibility to our customers as marketers, business owners, and designers. Use packaging design to communicate your expectations to attract customers to your store.