The joy of unboxing.
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Getting a package you&#;ve ordered through the mail is one of life&#;s simple pleasures. The rush of anticipation when you heave it onto the kitchen table. That snip as you cut the tape and squeak as you unroll the bubble wrap.
That new-product smell, wafting through the air.
And then you get to see what&#;s inside. A shiny new item, lovingly wrapped inside a protective cardboard construction, effortlessly gliding apart as you pull a tab.
It&#;s enough to make you want to order again. This simple ritual can make a big difference for your customers, so it&#;s worth getting right. Good product packaging design is the way to make that happen.
This article will take you through the six basic steps to designing product packaging and show you how to make your designs more successful.
What is product packaging design?
Product packaging design is the creation of the outer containers that will house your products. It defines their look and feel, how they protect what's inside, and how pleasurable they are to open.
Why is product packaging design important?
If you&#;re running an ecommerce business, a customer&#;s first impression of your products is the moment when they open the packaging. It&#;s a major opportunity to give them a positive experience with your brand upfront.
Because your online business doesn&#;t have the opportunity to impress potential customers with store layouts or awesome associates, your package design is part of your brand.
In fact, according to an Ipsos poll, 66% of respondents stated that materials used to package a product often influenced the decision to purchase the product itself. This means that your product packaging design can significantly affect your bottom line.
Greatergood / Seedlip
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The 6-step custom packaging design process
There are a few things to consider for good packaging design, from research to testing. Here&#;s how it can be done in six basic steps.
1. Define your product and customer
Your first step is to define the specifications of your product and who will most likely want to buy it. This means answering questions like:
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What size and shape is it? Take into consideration the dimensions and weight of your product. For example, if you&#;re selling curtain rods you&#;ll want to consider packaging that is conducive to long, thin objects. If you&#;re selling paperweights, you&#;ll need to consider stronger, more durable packaging options.
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What is it made out of? Are your products fragile? Do they have a shelf-life? If your products are made of thin glass, your packaging considerations must include ways to prevent your products from being broken in transit. And if you&#;re selling something with a shelf life, like consumables, you need to ensure preservation methods in your food packaging, like ice packs or sealed bags.
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Who is your target audience? Know who your customer is. For example, if you&#;re selling power tools to serious tradespeople, maybe a pink glittery cardboard box isn&#;t the best packaging option.
For Patrice Mousseau, Founder of Satya, a natural skincare brand, product packaging design starts with a conversation about her story and the things that are important to her.
When working with a product packaging designer, she discusses with them, "what this product is all about and the values behind that."
"Usually they go away and they start to have a bit of an idea. Then they&#;ll give you say five or six options and then you can narrow it down to maybe your top one or top two."
&#;ACTION: Note down a detailed list of product and customer attributes to inform your decisions.
2. Research the competition
The next step in designing your packaging solutions is to research your competition. See what&#;s already being used and figure out what might work best for your own products.
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Take a trip to a retail store that sells products similar to your own and look at how things are displayed. Take note of the colors, shapes, and materials used to package products like yours.
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Take a look at your favorite online retailers. Search for similar products and take note of the packaging that is being used. Read the customer reviews to see what people are saying about the packaging&#;it might be wise to look out for negative reviews to see where you can offer improvements.
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Search YouTube for unboxing videos, if they exist for your product type. They&#;ll give you a great idea of what people like about the opening process, and it might spark some creative ideas.
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Search online for your product category + &#;packaging.&#; This will give you a good overview of the different approaches used. You can usually find good examples of different packaging ideas on sites like Pinterest and Etsy.
&#;ACTION: See how others are packaging their products and note how you could do better.
3. Identify your product requirements
Now it&#;s time to figure out what sort of packaging requirements your item needs, both physically and legally. This is the important stuff you need to research before the fun design begins&#;getting it right can save you a lot of trouble.
Here&#;s where you define what kind of packaging material you&#;ll need to safely stow your products, taking into account the dimensions and weight of them, as well as how far they&#;ll travel.
Legal regulations must also be met when packaging and shipping certain products. For example, the FDA has strict laws and regulations when packaging, labeling, and storing beauty and food products. Make sure you research which regulations are in place for the products you&#;re selling in your location.
&#;ACTION: Research the legal responsibilities you have for packaging your product type, and the material requirements for making it happen.
4. Create your package concept
Once you understand all the technical aspects of your packaging needs, it&#;s time to start the packaging design process. This is where your product&#;s logistical and technical needs combine with your creativity and brand identity.
You can always sketch out your package mockups with pencil and paper. Still, you need diagrams and box measurements to be exact before sending them off to a packaging company to be manufactured.
It&#;s a good idea to invest in software that will help turn your design ideas into professional-grade reality, with high-quality artwork and typography ready to print.
If you&#;re computer-savvy, you can go straight to graphic design programs like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to map out packaging dielines and choose the design elements and fonts you want to use.
If you aren&#;t as confident and prefer dieline templates, you can always use custom packaging software with preloaded templates, like Pacdora.
During the design process, keep in mind the costs of each type of packaging you decide to use. Your costs will depend on:
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The type of materials you choose to use: Are you going to use plastic? Cardboard? Corrugated cardboard?
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The dimensions of your packaging: The more material you use, the more expensive it will be.
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The type of packaging you choose: Is a box with a separate lid? Is it a box with two compartments? Is it an aluminum cylinder? Is it a box with one closure tab or three?
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How big your logo/art will be: When manufacturing packaging, companies will charge by the size of the logo design you want to put on your packaging.
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Where you place your logo/art: Will you put it just on the front of the box? Maybe a little message on the inside of the lid? Or are you going to put it all around your packaging?
&#;ACTION: Be creative and bold! This is where you get to add the &#;wow&#; factor that sparks joy with your customers. Your design needs to be both functional and eye-catching. You can also work with a professional packaging designer to create your finished package.
5. Pre-press and print your packaging
Pre-press is when you finalize the packaging artwork and the exact colors you want your printers to use for your packaging. It&#;s also where you ensure your specs meet your printer&#;s requirements, so if your print company says it needs all files to be sent to as .psd or .jpeg files, you&#;ll have to provide them in those formats.
If you can, request a test print to see how the color palette looks on your packaging in real life. Sometimes, a color on a computer screen can look very different when printed on different packaging materials.
Greatergood / Minor Figures
&#;ACTION: Get a test version in your hands to see how your customers will experience your packaging.
With competitive price and timely delivery, HaiPak sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
6. Test the package
Once you get your packaging materials back from the printer, it&#;s time to test them. Test everything: durability, functionality, and even aesthetics.
Pack one of your products using your new package concept and materials and toss it around to simulate the delivery process. Be brutal&#;transit can be pretty physically demanding on items.
This means you can spot any potential issues during the test phase and make appropriate adjustments.
If you find that your merchandise is getting damaged, go back to the drawing board and adjust your materials so you avoid future bad reviews.
After you&#;ve tested the durability of your packaging, it&#;s time to test how easy it is to get it open. If your customers need a sledgehammer and a blowtorch to open one of your packages, they&#;re not going to buy much from you again. In fact, try to get a friend or family member to simulate an unboxing video to see what parts of the packaging they like or have difficulty with.
Lastly, get opinions on your packaging design from others. You can ask friends and family, or even use polls on social media.
Instead of just asking people whether they like it or not, ask specific questions like, &#;Based on the design, what kind of product do you think is in this box?&#; and &#;If you saw this in your mailbox, would it make you smile?&#; The more information you can get, the better.
&#;ACTION: Get as much intel as you can on your packaging&#;s performance before committing to a final design.
Product packaging design tips
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Keep it simple. When it comes to product packaging design, less is almost always more. You want your packaging to be eye-catching and easy to understand, without being overly busy or complicated. Use clean lines and minimal graphics, and ensure your packaging clearly states what the product is and what it does.
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Make it easy to open. Your packaging should be easy to open and use, without requiring special tools or effort. No one wants to struggle to open a fancy custom box or end up with damaged goods because it was too difficult to open. Keep this in mind when you&#;re designing your packaging, and make sure your target customer can open it easily.
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Use high-quality materials. Regarding the perfect packaging, the materials you use are just as important as the design. You want your packaging made from high-quality materials that protect your product and make it easy to transport. Make sure to use durable materials that can withstand wear and tear and won&#;t degrade over time.
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Consider the environment. More and more consumers are looking for eco-friendly, sustainable retail packaging, so it&#;s important to consider the environment when designing your product packaging. Use recyclable materials whenever possible, and avoid using excessive packaging that will end up in the landfill.
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Test your packaging. Before you launch your product, it&#;s important to test your packaging to ensure it&#;s up to the task. Make sure your custom boxes can withstand shipping and handling, and that it protects your product from damage.
By following these simple tips, you can create eye-catching and functional packaging. Keep these tips in mind when designing your next product, and you&#;ll be sure to create packaging that your customers will love.
Read More: 6 Amazing Unboxing Experiences and Ideas to Try
Design your product packaging today
You&#;ve got a great product and a brand ready to get out there. The packaging you decide to use will be the physical representation of your online business. It&#;s important to consider both the logistical as well as the aesthetic components of your packaging design.
Though it can seem like a daunting task, just follow the basic steps outlined above and you&#;ll craft something great. If you&#;re working in-house, you can always ask for external help from design agencies or freelancers. Just be ready to make adjustments to your packaging as you find better options and suppliers, and as your products evolve.
Product packaging design FAQ
What are the 7 types of packaging?
- Chipboard packaging boxes
What is packaging design for?
Packaging design is a functional way to hold, transport, and store your products. Ideally, it should also appeal to your customers and speak to your brand.
How do you do product packaging?
- Identify who your customer is.
- Research the competition.
- Identify your product requirements.
- Create your package concept.
- Pre-press and print your package.
- Test the package.
Quality Validations in the Packaging Industry
You order your flexible packaging products with a specific purpose in mind with every expectation that they will perform as you need them to. But what guarantees do you have that your supplier will deliver a consistently top-quality packaging product every time? It&#;s vital that you understand the quality validations your products are subjected to (or not) so you know you have dependable flexible packaging. You might ask your packaging partner the following six questions:
- Is there a process methodology in place to control inputs and monitor outputs?
- What material considerations help ensure dimensional compliance?
- Do the fitment and dispense glands undergo hydrostatic testing?
- Are the liners subject to leak testing?
- Is there a 100% inspection per piece?
- What traceability measures are in place for the production process?
Let&#;s break these down and find out how the implementation of these six questions individually&#;and collectively&#;contribute to a reliable and comprehensive quality validation program.
- Is there a process methodology in place to control inputs and monitor outputs?
This seems like a given. Of course, companies have procedures to follow for every department, and each department hands off to the next, etc. Product gets made and shipped out, so we can assume things are getting done correctly to keep the needle moving. But should we make that assumption? We hear a lot about continual process improvement, but what does that mean or require? It can involve methodologies such as lean, Six Sigma, the Agile process&#;or principles of different systems combined. Whatever a company chooses to use, the goal should be to have a system in place to control the inputs and monitor the outputs. When you have the proper process structures in place to begin with, they drive more fluid and effective quality control efforts&#;and consistently positive results.
What we do: CDF uses Six Sigma methodology to keep tight control on all the input variables and monitor the performance outputs for production of our flexible packaging. As an example, when ordering material, we know exactly what our customer&#;s needs are and procure the material that will provide the specifications that the customer needs&#;FDA-approved material; size considerations, etc. Once on the production line, we monitor its performance through a variety of validation tests, measuring its output capabilities.
- What material considerations help ensure dimensional compliance?
Some companies only offer standard products in their portfolio, so you get what they produce, and hope that it answers your requirements for the product you want to fill it with and the subsequent dispensing, storing, and transporting of your product. If you had hoped to ship X amount in a case, but the supplier&#;s standard product allows for another amount, then you are stuck with that. The good news is that there is a sense of consistency and reliability in that, but what if you want to break into a new market, or consumer feedback tells you there is a demand for another way to offer your product? Is your supplier able or willing to perform the due diligence to enable a material change&#;ensuring they are sourcing from approved suppliers, getting the proper type, size, and dimension?
What we do: While we have some standard flexible packaging available, our specialty is custom flexible packaging. The rigorous protocols we have in place with all of our suppliers serves us and our customers well when sourcing for special or custom packaging designs. Because we have long-standing relationships with our approved suppliers, we know that they have been vetted and will deliver materials to our&#;and our customers&#;&#;exact specifications. If our customer wants packaging of a particular type and size, with consideration for how many will fit in a box, we can reliably source, produce, and deliver that&#;consistently and repeatedly. We also implement a 100% dimensional test validation on the production line to ensure that nothing recalibrated on the production line.
- Do the fitment and dispense glands undergo hydrostatic testing?
The questions above address some of the &#;input&#; measures a packaging manufacturer takes. Once production is underway, the focus shifts to monitoring and validating output. Even with the best processes, it&#;s necessary to validate that all the production variables remain optimal. The hydrostatic validation tests the quality of the seal of the film to the dispense gland. This pressure test ensures that the fitment and dispense glands are functioning properly and will not fail or leak under pressure.
What we do: This test is considered a &#;destructive&#; one, which renders the product useless after testing, so we test one per hour. We plot and monitor the data to ensure it is above the specification. We look for the mode of failure; we want the film to stretch before it fails, before the seal pulls apart. We set a minimum value; if it is below this minimum value&#;that&#;s a problem, and the seal fails the inspection. In the event of a failure, we remediate immediately. Our full product traceability (which we will discuss further below) allows us to pinpoint where any problems might be.
- Are the liners subject to leak testing?
Along with all the other quality checks, the integrity of the liner is among the most vital for your product safety. Inflation tests ensure that the liner will withstand pressure and not leak or fail.
What we do: We also administer this validation on an hourly basis. To test the quality of the seal, we inflate the liner, and try to pull apart the seal. We are not monitoring pressure throughout the system, solely on the seals of the liner. We inflate it to a certain PSI. There may be some stretch in the film, which would indicate that the seals are holding. We let it stand for an hour and see if it holds.
- Is there a 100% inspection per piece?
This may sound like an unattainable goal, but it is very possible&#;and necessary&#;when we consider how important your packaging is to the safe delivery, usage, and storage of your final product. Ask your supplier what systems and processes are in place to validate that your products pass inspection off the production line. You want any potential problems to be eliminated prior to products leaving the manufacturing facility.
What we do: Each liner is inspected by at least two people, often more. When it comes off the production line, we have to fold it in a very specific way to do this correctly. Two operators inspect, fold, and pack it. They look for debris, &#;contamination,&#; and anything that might visually indicate that there could be anything wrong with the seal. If there is a crease, debris, or items that would deem it contaminated, it will get rejected. An example of contamination might be black particles that could be the byproduct of a roll change on the production line.
- What traceability measures are in place for the production process?
With all this talk about validations and quality check measures, what happens if there is a problem? How will your supplier expedite remediation? Does the production line stop, your delivery date get pushed back? This is why traceability measures must be in place. Not only will a full traceability protocol help to prevent problems, but when they occur, having the valuable intel readily available allows for quicker resolution.
What we do: At CDF, each liner has a shop order, and each liner has an individual sequence number. The sequence number gives a time frame when investigating problems. If a customer has a problem, we can narrow the gap with this timestamp of the potential source of the problem. Taking the example stated above&#;if something has black particles on it, that sequence number would reveal that its manufacturing time was 2 p.m. Our documentation also tells us that we performed a roll change on that machine. The indication is that everything before that should be fine; anything after that may be a problem. We can further investigate from there to confirm. Another situation may include suspect material that could be the result of a machine operator making an adjustment to a seal bar. We can quickly pinpoint and recalibrate as needed, and in real time, when possible.
Because all processes are documented and traceable, it is important for customers to retain any problematic products and send them back to us. I our assessment, we can match the product to its documentation and get to the source of the problem. Sometimes it involves improper handling once it leaves our facility, and that would be important for all parties to know so we can provide our evaluation on proper handling procedures to them, if needed.
Disrupting the Packaging Industry
We know how important it is for you to consistently deliver the variety of goods our packaging holds: food and beverage, paints, cosmetics, lubricants, and inks, among them. We&#;re committed to applying comprehensive quality processes to provide you with the superior, innovative packaging CDF is known for.
We set out to disrupt the packaging industry with concerted efforts to meet the needs of our customers while also taking care of the planet. CDF Corporation has a long history of innovation in flexible packaging, from accordion inserts to unique IBC liner valves. CDF&#;s high level of expertise and service ensure a reliable partner for custom food packaging. As an SQF-certified facility, CDF has your food packaging needs covered. Download our Meta KD8 with Smart Pail brochure and watch two videos for more details about this innovative packaging system.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website custom bag in box.