Product Packaging Design -
A Comprehensive Guide to Standout In Industry

In the past product packaging was only used to pack the items. There were a few remarkable brands that customized the boxes for their valuable products. The outer packaging for most brands and their products served just as boxes to shield the contents during transit from warehouse to client.

However, with the growth of social media and e-commerce, the packaging box has new significance. Custom product packages even have equal significance to the contents it holds in certain instances. Why is it important, though? How do you and your company create a product packaging design that is both aesthetically pleasing and useful? How do they help your brand stand out in an increasingly crowded market? Continue reading as we delve deeper into designing unique packaging for your brand.

Why Is Consumer Psychology Important?

Don't stick to word choice if your goal is to convey your brand's message through the product itself. You have an abundance of options at your disposal to creatively and subtly use color, font, and other components to convey the brand story. The idea is that visual cues cause the human mind to react subliminally. This suggests that the use of best product packaging extends beyond only keeping your goods contained practically.

Without being obvious or excessive, your product package design should captivate the viewer's attention in a way that subconsciously connects with the brand concept. To improve the effectiveness of your custom boxes, apply the concepts of consumer psychology. The goal is to guarantee that the utility of the product takes precedence over the innovation involved.

This is a thorough guide to packaging a product that also covers the craft of package design. We'll assist you in deconstructing the idea of package design into manageable phases so you succeed in the packaging race without exerting too much effort. Are you prepared to act wisely now? Then pick yourself a pen and drawing pad and go to work!

Why Is Proper Product Packaging Important?

Proper product packaging is important for several reasons. First and foremost, well-made custom packaging boxes safeguard the selling. Arriving at the customer's doorsteps safely and undamaged is perhaps the most important stage in the business-to-customer relationship. The factor that is less evident but getting greater significance is that your customers care about it. They enjoy being amazed. Furthermore, it's a fact that certain customers want you to go above and beyond to gain and retain their business.

Customers are searching for a memorable experience. These days, window shopping at a mall is less common and instead involves spending endless hours researching online. Finding what you want, purchasing it, and being satisfied with your purchase is no longer sufficient for a significant section of the population. When customers spend their hard-earned money on brands, they want to go on an adventure with them. The customer wants the unboxing experience to be meaningful because it's often the only engagement they have with a brand following an internet purchase.

Factors Important To Design Custom Product Packaging

The process of designing product packaging is an important and thrilling undertaking. Here are some things to think about and an example of your journey.

• Brand

The visual identity of the brand should be reflected in the product packaging designs. It should be consistent with other brand-related documents in terms of logo, colors, font, and general message. This consistency contributes to the upkeep of a powerful and identifiable brand identity.

• Content

The business should thoroughly analyze the product information, usage guidelines, legal requirements, and any extra messaging that may be included in the great product packaging.

• Budget

The ambitions for the best packaging designs should align with the available funds. Brands must contemplate economical packaging options that harmonize affordability, practicality, and quality.

• Eco-Friendliness

Nowadays, consumers are becoming environmentally conscious and demand eco-friendly custom product boxes. Therefore, brands must focus on sustainable packaging solutions to earn consumers’ trust. 

General Roadmap

Following is a comprehensive roadmap for a well-structured and practical approach to the unique packaging design process.

Identify The Client

To create the best product packaging design that appeals to a specific target market, research their preferences, purchasing patterns, and demographics. To differentiate yourself in the market, attend to their demands and appeal to their ideals. Ideas for custom product packaging should start with the customer.

Examine The Competitors

Examine deeply the packaging tactics used by your competitors. Learn about market trends, spot opportunities, and set your brand apart with distinctive materials, messaging, or design aspects.

Understand The Designing Concepts That Suit Your Brand

Define the positioning, values, and identity of the brand. After that, convert them into graphic components for packaging box design, like fonts, colors, and logos. The idea should appeal to the target market and tell the story of the brand.

Understand The Specifications For The Product

The right materials and protective features should be chosen after taking into account the product's size, form, fragility, and other details. Plan the labels accordingly by researching any regulatory information that needs to be included.

Create The Package By Printing It

Work together with The Custom Boxes, a remarkable product packaging designer, and an expert printing press to make the idea a reality. Make sure that the text, pictures, and colors are accurately represented after printing. We suggest methods and supplies that fit a person's budget and preferred style.

Which Seven Fundamental Steps Make Up Packaging Design?

We've previously discussed this a little bit when considering the kind of packaging your products would need. You go one step farther with it here, though. Your design's two primary starting points are the utility and durability of the packaging. Collectively, they establish the design canvas that you will utilize. Next, it assesses what shipping needs you have. Does your brand handle bulk shipments and huge orders where scalability and quickness are essential? Your best bet is definitely to automate the shipping process, which includes packing that is streamlined and easy to scale.

Scalability, however, is less of an issue if you manage a boutique where providing exceptional customer service and one-of-a-kind experiences is essential to your brand's objective. Here, you have a little more leeway in terms of customizing the package and artwork files you utilize. Beyond that, consider any requirements your packaging may have for absolutes. These may consist of:

Several Layers Of Packaging

For added protection or a more ornate appearance, you might need to use many layers of packing. Do you want to give each layer a design element? Is the product packaging alone, or both combined? Before beginning the design process, list your requirements. Adding more packaging will raise your overall expenses and change your design requirements. Before you place your order, learn how to measure a box and determine the precise dimensions and sizes you'll need.

Infill

Use protective materials like air pillows, bubble wrap, or Kraft paper to cushion your products while they are being sent and delivered. Though none of these are normally subject to the design process, think about your brand and how your target audience will react to it. You most likely don't want packing peanuts in your presentation if your brand is focused on eco-friendly messaging.

Decorative Filler

For more aesthetically pleasant product design and packaging, packing supplies like tissue paper, thread, crushed cardboard, or crinkle paper are included. Even while these components are less directly related to item protection, it's still critical to consider how they will work with your overall design. Certain materials, like torn cardboard, can improve and shield your design.

Inserts And Labelling

A key component of retail packaging design is labeling and how you arrange it to set your products apart from competitors' offerings. Naturally, you should pay close attention to the content and graphics in your labels and printed marketing materials—discussed below. Unlike labels, inserts are typically freestanding things such as business cards, coupons, thank-you notes, or other promotional items. Please ensure that they adhere to your design plan if you decide to add them.

Print Valuable Information

A frequently disregarded step in the design process is written text. You should carefully review your brand or product name, logo, messaging, slogans, instructions, or other worthwhile text that appears on your package. Before sending the text to your printing press, be sure you have written it precisely how you want it on your custom packaging boxes.

Required elements should receive the same amount of attention as a copy, if not more. This includes any language that could be necessary for the products you sell. Your overall product packaging design should integrate any necessary government requirements, nutritional data, ingredients, expiration dates, safety warnings, industry or association identities, barcodes, or other information that needs to be on your packaging.

Images

Although this is quite simple, you must first organize any images you wish to use in your design product packaging. To find out about file requirements and image quality, consult your printer, logistics team, or design partner, depending on how you intend to present the photographs. The way you place your product pictures or brand messaging on a cardboard box could be very different from how you place it on a glass container or piece of tissue paper.

Leading brands consider every detail when designing their packaging and boxes, including the label's font and the box's weight and dimensions.

Trends in Product Packaging Design

Product packaging design trends change over time, just like those in music, fashion, and the arts. These patterns recur frequently. It's a good idea to discuss these trends and their lifetime with your team. Here are some recent packaging trends and ideas from some of the most well-known companies.

Eco-Friendly Packaging

Using and promoting packaging that has a less negative environmental impact is known as sustainable packaging. Brands are still seeking sustainability to set themselves apart, even though the industry accepts sustainability to a degree that is around ten times greater than that of the media.

Custom Packaging

Gen-Z is all about customization; they want the packaging to meet their wants even if the message is intended for a single audience. One method of satisfying this customer group and improving the user experience is through personalized packaging. Every firm needs to discuss how to differentiate itself from custom packaging, whether it's through the use of unusual packaging materials or by offering a solution to an issue.

Practical Packaging

What constitutes functional packaging is determined by the product and the target market. This packaging complements the consumer's lifestyle. Asking yourself how to make a package easier to use for now and in the future is the first step towards building functional packaging.

Simplified Packaging

Digitally native businesses frequently choose minimalist packaging designs. But, as soon as these ideas reach store shelves, they need a lifeline because DTC is dead for the majority of FMCG products when competing against well-thought-out products. The advantage of minimalist packaging design is that it leaves room for the correct messages to stand out, yet without messaging, your product won't resonate with customers.

A Look Into The Design Of Your Product Packaging

It doesn't necessarily follow that the custom packaging is the best fit for your brand just because it fits your product and target customer. Before creating our final packaging design, there are other company and retailer factors to take into account. These are some inquiries to make regarding a design with your team and agency.

What Is The Chance That I'll Have Trouble Navigating The Supply Chain?

It's hard enough to keep things in stock, but when your packaging makes production difficult, you put retailers in danger. Make sure to estimate how packaging may affect the way your supply chain operates.

How Long Will Your Product Package Design Last?

While consumers, markets, and industries shift over time, product packaging design endures eternally. In light of this, how long do you think this design will last and how much will it evolve in the future?

Is Secondary Packaging Required?

Will the outside and inside packaging be compatible with your design of packaging? More opportunities for product placement will arise as your brand becomes more well-known. Even if secondary packaging wasn't part of your original plan, think about how your product will grow in the future and if the design works for various kinds of packing.

Are Your Products And Packaging Aligned?

There is an excellent reason why the expression "too good to be true" exists. Customer experience will suffer if your product tastes far worse than it looks. Make careful to maintain some openness regarding the product's flavor, sweetness, and texture while designing its packaging.

Final Thoughts

Product packaging design is a laborious process that demands careful preparation and inventiveness to be completed flawlessly. Because the strategy involved in the process determines the budget and longevity of your firm itself, it has the power to make or ruin your brand. Nonetheless, you may create flawless product packaging by adhering to a set of fundamental guidelines and making sure that your packaging design process is standardized.

Work together with The Custom Boxes, a fantastic packaging supplier, to create stunning boxes for your wonderful items. It facilitates the streamlining of your approval procedures and cuts down on waiting times.