Almost three-quarters of Americans say their purchases are influenced by product package design.
That’s how important package design is, but it’s the thing that you leave to the very last item on your launch list.
Instead of learning how to design a package for your product, you throw something together at the last minute.
Learning how to package products should happen in the early stages of product development. It’s great to have a fantastic product, but if your package design is unattractive, your product will sit on the shelves.
Fortunately, you don’t need to go to design school. You only need to read on to learn about package design options.
In this article
1. Learn What Makes Good Package Design
Your package design education starts with learning about what makes good product design. Think about the times you’ve shopped and grabbed an item off the shelf because the product design got your attention.
That’s what you’re looking to accomplish with your package design. There are three things to bring to your product package design.
It has to be attractive to the eye. Colours need to stand out, the design needs to be clear and concise.
You have to convey your brand’s uniqueness. You can do that through text and images.
These items have to hit all of the senses, both online and offline. The packaging’s texture and visual appeal have to come through.
2. Product Packaging Goals
Set goals for your product package design. Do you want it to increase sales, and profit margins, or drive engagement?
It’s hard to measure the impact of a package design on sales. You’ll have to get creative in which metrics you’ll use.
This forces you to base your metrics on certain assumptions. If your marketing and sales costs decrease, you could assume that the product package design captures attention at the point of sale. That eliminates the need for marketing and PR.
3. Document Product Requirements
What are the specs of the product? You’ll need a product package that fits the product, protects it, and makes it easy for consumers to understand what the product is.
If you have candy or small items that need packaging, clear tubes fit the bill. You might have a heavy product that needs more support.
Decide if there are extra padding requirements or if you want to include promotional information about your company.
Look at different materials that would meet your needs. Keep these in mind as you go through the next steps of designing the product package.
4. Conduct Market Research
Market research is an integral step of the buying process. The best product packages reach the right buyers.
What are the characteristics of your target market? That will influence your package design.
An elegant, premium product that targets women should have a design that appeals to that audience. The colours should be bright and bold. Use a sans-serif font to convey elegance and modernity.
You should also look at your competition. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of what they offer because you need to set your brand apart.
You might be able to highlight a feature that your competitors don’t mention in their package design. An example of this is in food packaging.
Two cheese vendors may have the same product. They both try to appeal to health-conscious consumers. However, only one mentions their product has 8 grams of protein per serving.
That’s the one that people will buy.
5. Create an Experience
As you design the package, keep the product experience in mind. Technology companies do this for phones and tablets.
Find creative ways to make the opening of the package special for the consumer. They’ll be happy with their purchase and will return for more.
6. Price Materials
You should have a list of materials that will work for your product. The cost of the product packaging impacts your pricing and profits, so you need to have something affordable.
Price the different materials and compare rates at different vendors. Negotiate discounts for bulk sales. Some vendors offer discounts for advance payments, too.
7. Mock-Up Several Versions
Software design packages give you the ability to create a package design in 3D. Boxshot, ManageArtworks, Adobe Dimension, and Filestage are among the top design tools.
Some tools handle document management and let you engage different stakeholders during the design process. Others are geared toward non-designers.
It’s a good idea to create different versions of your designs. This makes it easier to track progress and compare different design ideas.
8. Test Your Designs
Test your design ideas by sharing your concepts with people in your organization. Take it a step further by printing a small batch of product packages.
Test these designs with potential customers. Get feedback to understand what works and doesn’t work with your product package designs.
Take the feedback and make adjustments. You’ll do this a few times before you finalize the package design.
Once you have approval from key stakeholders, it’s time to take the design to the printers.
How to Design a Package in 8 Steps
You cannot ignore product package design and leave it to the last minute before shipping your product to retailers.
It ensures that customers are likely to ignore your product and pick up your competitor’s product instead. You’ll have to spend more on marketing and public relations just to get your brand noticed.
Learning how to design a package is like learning to sell. You find out what buyers want and need. You make your design stand out in the marketplace.
You then create something so appealing and unique customers have to try your product. Your sales and revenue will boom as a result.
Are you ready for more tips and advice to grow your bottom line? Click on the Business tab at the top for the more helpful content.
