How To Design Product Packaging

Creating an effective packaging design is one of the most important factors to consider with branding. It’s not enough to rely solely on your products selling themselves. Your packaging design has to hit the perfect combination of utility and aesthetics. From a marketing standpoint, using plain boxes simply doesn’t cut it anymore and reflects poorly on your brand. The design must be able to catch attention, leave an impression, and foster engagement.

In this short guide, we’ll walk you through how you can elevate your brand’s product packaging design beyond the ordinary.

Five Steps to Improve Your Product Packaging Design

Designing product packaging is easier than it looks. By keeping in mind simple steps, you can vastly improve your brand’s visibility.

Measure everything - One of the most important design elements in product packaging, albeit often ignored, is the correct fit. We’ve all

encountered at one point or another receiving a gigantic box only to have a small item tumbling around inside. It’s expensive, wasteful, and doesn’t inspire confidence in your brand. Measure the length, width, height, and weight of the products you need packaged and use one that fits best. Having a product fit perfectly in its packaging gives a good impression and minimizes damage from transit.

Consider the journey – Will your products be sold on shelves or shipped directly to the doorstep? Will your customers receive it as-is or boxed with exterior packaging? Pinning down the path that your products take before reaching the customer will illuminate design cues that you’ll need to consider.

Be on-brand – Instant brand recognition is something that all companies aspire for. It’s admittedly a challenging goal to achieve, but it’s not impossible if you continuously and consciously do the work to get you there. This means identifying a logo that works, brand fonts, and brand colors. By using design elements that are on-brand, your target market eventually associates specific colors and fonts with you. If you’re always changing your logo and hues, this will likely confuse your audience and as a result, they won’t remember your brand.

Know your audience – Corollary to being on-brand, knowing your audience is also integral to the success of your product packaging design. You have to consider your target demographic’s taste, behavior, and preference. It’s better to design for a specific market rather than spreading yourself too thinly and trying to target everyone. By zeroing in on your target demographic and knowing what makes them tick, you’re assured that your product design is relevant.

Pare it down - Once you’ve identified specific design elements you want to add to your product packaging design, pare it down further. It’s tempting to add copy and other images that you feel will entice customers but consider if all the information or graphics you wish to include are necessary to achieve your primary design goal. Sometimes there’s truth to the cliché as far as design is concerned: less is usually more. Keep the focus on the essentials. Visual clutter detracts attention to your brand and may even give a bad impression. A clean and clear packaging design that aptly depicts your brand identity will be more effective in attracting buyers and keeping your brand top of mind.

Packaging Design Materials

Choosing the right materials for your product packaging is equally important. With the aforementioned design tips, you will be able to discern which material will work better for your brand’s success. At Packola, we offer the following materials for your packaging needs:

Cardstock – For lightweight smaller items, consider using cardstock for your product packaging. These are slightly thicker than cardboard and are available in 14 pt., 18 pt., and 24 pt. thickness. Cardstock is better suited for premium items since the material makes the vivid high-quality printing pop even more. Available laminate options include matte, gloss, and high gloss. Consider using cardstock material for products such as:

Jewelry
Cosmetics
Medicinal oils
Dry food

Corrugated Cardboard – Packola's corrugated cardboard material is sustainably-sourced and eco-friendly, making it a perfect choice for brands that are more environmentally conscious. It is available in standard white, premium white with gloss, and brown kraft. Full-color printing is available as well as white ink to highlight specific design elements. Corrugated boxes are suitable for heavier items or products that need an extra layer of protection. This material is great for:

Subscription boxes
E-commerce orders
Promotional boxes
Wine boxes

Packola – Your Partner in Packaging Design

Creating the perfect product packaging design may be a daunting task, but one that can be accomplished over time. It’s more effective than shipping out a blank box and calling it a day. Designing for success involves research and some trial and error.

We at Packola are here to help you out in any way we can. Our simple, easy-to-use online design tool can get you started on the design process. Take heed of the guidelines we’ve shared to help bring your brand to the next level.

How To Design Product Packaging