The Art of Packing: How to Create a Perfect Package Design?

When wondering what a package design is,  it’s easy to guess that it represents something that is used to wrap the goods. It should be attractive to the target audience, but also inexpensive for the entrepreneur. Product packaging is a form of advertising that can tell the buyer a lot about your company. For example, using specific colors, fonts, messages on the label can evoke emotions and, accordingly, a positive user experience.

Depending on the demographic component, lifestyle, localization, and tastes, the preferences of the audience change. Therefore, it’s essential to consider each segment when developing your marketing strategy - determining who you’re addressing can boost your sales or help you better navigate your ad. 

For low-engagement products like food, colorful packaging is often the only way for the user to remember the brand. But the print on demand business isn’t selling milk on supermarket shelves, so the specifics of increasing brand awareness, in this case, are based on entirely different aspects. The packaging is primarily needed in the POD to protect your product during transportation, from the moment it’s sent from production facilities to the end-user. In addition, the best print on demand providers often compete with each other in automating platform processes; and product shipping is just one of them. If everything is done properly, branded packaging is a chance to deliver the product perfectly and create an unforgettable moment for your customers when unpacking. 

Table of contents

Preparing the package design

Are there any design requirements?

The process of creation

Conclusion

Preparing the package design

Before developing package design ideas, it’s worth focusing on essential aspects of brand strategy and the role of packaging in marketing. Let’s consider what you'd pay attention to and how to tell your customers about the benefits of products using just wrapping paper or a bag.

What is the product?

What may often seem obvious to an entrepreneur may not always be correctly understood by the client. E.g., if a product is made from linen or organic cotton, the brand image can be positioned as sustainable. By narrowing the scope and listing the product's properties, you can create a unique packaging design.

Who is your customer?

Identifying the consumer market is also essential: what one audience group accepts may be ignored by another. Therefore, define your target market to get a clearer idea of what the print on demand packaging box design should look like. 

Test how well the product is bought

To understand how successful your idea is and how it’ll affect your business, you’d rely on scientific evidence. E.g., A/B testing will help analyze the assortment of your store and the site. 

Packaging should represent the interests of the audience and not be tied solely to the demographic group. Personalized, lifestyle-appropriate, and inspiring packaging can still appeal to the senses and imaginations of even the most rational consumer.

Hitting It Big with Print on Demand Design: Clues to Note

Are there any design requirements?

To increase brand awareness, it’s worth paying attention to the package's details, contents, and cost. Let's consider each aspect in detail.

Color scheme

That’s one of the most important factors influencing the choice and increasing brand recognition. To see if you're on the right track and to get an extra dose of package design inspiration, read here about what's hot this year. 

Fonts

Fonts shouldn’t deviate from your overall style but rather represent the brand. Consistent fonts lend a more solid image to the company.

Logo 

The company's logo reflects the belonging of the product to the brand: you can sell even more if the consumer associates the product as an integral part of it.

Package contents

• Copy

A written copy is the data about the packaging of the goods, and the better it looks, the more solid the product will appear.

• Imagery

That’s optional, but the visual footprint may be better preserved in the user's imagination when combined with some products. E.g., many stamps are remembered better by the image than by the text. 

• Required information

Many products cannot be sold without accurate information about the composition or manufacturing. Cosmetics or health products often require detailed descriptions and the correct data placement.

Budget

Of course, an increase in the packaging budget means a decrease in potential profit: among the types of packaging design variety (boxes, chipboard packaging, polybags, etc. - you can read about them here), it’s worth paying attention to their cost. When developing a design, two types of expenses should be considered.

One-time costs

These include innovative package design by specialists, stamps, silkscreens.

Costs per item

That includes all the expendables necessary for sending the parcel: bag, wrap, stickers, etc.

The process of creation

To customize POD shipping boxes, follow a few subsequent steps. The type of packaging changes depending on the chosen product; take care of how such a small detail as a facing material can change the attitude towards the brand and attract the attention of many consumers.

Package layers

Often many people tend to regard packaging as just a bag, wrapping paper, or box that carries no value. But this is a misconception: in fact, there are three layers of packaging, each of which has its goal.

• Outer packaging

That protects the product from external influences but also gives the first impression of the purchase. Neatly packaging goods and their safety will reassure the buyers and set them up to study what is inside.

• Inner packaging

Although many entrepreneurs try to save money on this layer, it’s also decisive in the safety of the goods during transportation. It can affect the overall product perception by the consumer.

• Product packaging

Labels, tags, and other items are included in this layer. It’s designed to tell the consumer as much as possible about your company and to establish contact.

2021 predictions for print on demand industry

Types of packaging design

To make a beneficial decision for the entrepreneur and optimal for the buyer, you'd understand what material to use for packaging and how much it will cost. Thus, you need to understand what designs the product requires and which one the consumer likes. Also, the product data that the packaging suggests should be informative and readable. Of course, you shouldn’t use too small fonts - this will annoy readers.

You can design your own packaging online or using editors such as Photoshop. Drawings are freely available, and all you need is to apply individual sizes to them.

To properly assess how effective your design is, make sure the following aspects are done correctly:

1. The message about the product reflects it accurately and also doesn’t mislead consumers
2. How good the finished packaging looks with the product
3. How versatile is the packaging, and can it be applied to other products?
4. Is it reusable?

It’s difficult but possible to create a modern packaging design within a budget. Therefore, get inspiration and start creating.

Conclusion

An unforgettable experience of unpacking goods is a competitive advantage, and without it, the consumer doesn’t want to generate repeat purchases, and the flow of new customers will decline. Just think, in e-commerce, the first tactile contact with a customer is the packaging, which, unlike retail at physical points, excludes the possibility of touching the product when it lies on the shelf. For your product to make the most favorable impression, take care of its appearance and safety: utilize unique designs in combination with high-quality material, don’t forget about three layers, and ensure that your packaging fully meets your customers' requirements.