Whenever we go to grocery stores, malls, markets and any place where there are sold items, we would always see items and products sealed inside a box, a pack or whatever. These would come in various size, shapes and color. You can even easily distinguish your favourite food with just one glance because of its packaging .
Wikipedia defines packaging as the science, art, and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use.
Packaging is relevant for it protects, preserves, and contains the product for an easy transport. It also informs the consumers as to what the product is all about. The entire packaging could speak for the product even without someone telling you what it is. Hence, it is very vital in the marketing world. Designers play a vital role in creating designs for products. We have prepared here some tips that will help you in creating great packaging designs.
1. Be creative and unique.
Image: emi56
If you want your product to be patronized by many, you can start with a creative packaging. Some products have mazes, crossword puzzles and others to encourage consumers to buy the item. Some even have collectibles with it so that they have to complete a certain collection like cards, paper dolls, and others. You can use a variety of shapes in your packaging, too.
2. Choose the colors and fonts.
Image: DezinoGraphista
Choose the color that suits the product. Or if the company have chosen the color for it, use it. Make sure also that you will be using the right combination and contrast for the text. The text should be clear and readable. Do not use orange text on a red background for it won’t be readable. Choose the right font that will best represent the product. Do not use fancy fonts that could be too hard to read. Just be sure it is readable and legible.
3. Make sure labels are easy to read.
Image: blackattack
The labels should be legible and readable. Most consumers read about the product for they want to know what they are buying and if they bought the right thing. Make sure you are using a size and font style that is easy to read. Some packaging make very small labels, making it hard for consumers to read it. Do not make this mistake. They will certainly read the label to have an intelligent decision before purchasing it. Some consumers even compare items. So, if your packaging is more readable and they are satisfied with its features, then they won’t go far and seek for another product. They’ll just buy it. They do not have much time to be reading all the labels especially those which are too small.
4. Use images.
Image: royks
You may include images in your packaging designs. It could be a cartoon, a picture of the product, a picture of the model or whatever. Just make sure it is of high resolution and would look good no matter how big or how small it will be used. Also, the picture should be appropriate for the product to avoid confusion.
5. Have relevance.
Image: derrickfong
Choose the right image, font style, colors and design that would suit the product. It should have relevance to the type of product you are selling. Do not place an image of a dog when you are to make a packaging design for hotdogs. You will mislead the consumers and they won’t like to buy it thinking that it is dog food or is made of dog meat. So, be careful.
6. Use the right language.
Image: lessayno
Choose a language that is fitting to the product. Consumers are literate and informed. Do not say delicious when you are referring to a hard drive or a flash drive. You have to be careful with your language. Also use the right spelling and grammar. Most products with erroneous packaging came from sources that have low quality. Be careful with this. You’ll gain the trust and confidence of the consumer if you use proper grammar and language.
7. Make it convenient.
Image: studiobmd
Be sure that your packaging is easy to use and convenient. Remember that most people who will use these products are busy people. So make their lives easier. Do not make a design that is so large and would be hard to carry. The handier it is, the more clients would prefer to buy it compared to the bulky ones. Make a packaging that is simplified.
8. Make sure it doesn’t look tampered.
Image: grafiket
Product security is very important. It should always be sealed for consumers wouldn’t buy that if it looked opened or tampered. You have to make sure that the design you’ll make for packaging will keep the product secured. You’ll have trouble selling the product if it looks tampered. You’ll have a big problem with that. So, in making your design, consider how it could be sealed and how to protect the product inside it.
9. Make sure it is easy to open.
Image: vanaomielth
Even if you are ensuring that your product is protected and will not be tampered, you still have to make sure that it is easy to open when consumers use it. These people are busy and don’t want to spend much time just to figure out how to open the packaging of the product they bought. Leave some instructions as to where to tear and how to open it. Even if it is already self-explanatory, just place those texts so that it could serve as a guide to the consumers.
10. Keep it simple.
Image: sequ-ela
Make the design simple yet striking. You should also make it easier for both kids and adults to utilize. Make it easy to handle. Use different colors for color coding. A simpler design with the right labels and contents will have a better impact than a crowded one.
Since a product’s packaging is important in order to sell the product, designers should consider the above mentioned things in order to come up with an effective and functional design. While making it, you should have a good coordination with your client and you should also make sure that the design you will make will suit the product and the client’s preferences. Do you have other tips to share for a better packaging design?
Cool design
Consider your target audience/market when designing. You can have the coolest design in the world, but if the packaging is ineffective in trying to help sell the product, then all you have is decoration.
There are some really nice tips, thanks buddy…
I second what @rcarmstrong said as considering your target market is the first thing to start with, nice article.
the target market is very important, is not the same when you design for kids and for adults/etc. I personally love “artistic” labels, very creative ones as the examples on the post, that´s what I think that packaging for kids is great, the illustrative designs, etc. Is good to know too, that when you work on the packaging use a scalable software as Illustrator/Corel Draw, use guidelines and of course CMYK Mode, this is to prevent suprises when you´ll print the design 🙂
Diana