When you think of your favourite product, what pops into your head? Maybe it’s a sleek design, the funky colours, or the way it feels perfectly suited to your needs. This isn’t a coincidence – it’s the power of effective packaging design!

Creating standout packaging that not only protects the product but also entices the customer is a true art form, mixed in with a lil bit of science! So, what are the essential steps and considerations when designing packaging? We’ll be going over our top packaging design tips and tricks to help you along.

And hey, if you need a bit more help when you’ve finished reading, why not have a chat with our friendly team and let us work with you to design the perfect packaging for your project?

How to design product packaging: 7 key things to think about

Grab your notebooks because we’re kicking things off with a quick fire round of seven things every packaging designer should be thinking about when creating new designs. This is a great list to save and come back to for the future!

1. Get inspiration: Before jumping headfirst into the design process, gather inspiration from a wide array of sources. Look at competitors, unrelated industries, and even nature. This step will help fire up your creativity and identify trends that can be adapted to your product.
2. Know the product and its functional requirements: We would hope this one is pretty obvious but understanding the product inside and out is very important. Is it fragile? Perishable? How will it be stored? The packaging needs to meet these functional requirements to protect and preserve the product effectively. After all, a packaging can be the prettiest you’ve ever seen but if it does nothing to protect a fragile product it’s useless and you’ll end up with unhappy customers.
3. Know the target audience: Another obvious but key thing to think about! Who is the product for? Different demographics have different tastes and needs. Researching your target audience will guide the design to ensure it resonates with the right people.
4. Know your brand: This one should be common sense, but it’s worth a mention! You should know bour Brand and what it stands for in terms of are you creating something functional, or have you got a standout brand that needs something really creative for its packaging? Your packaging will be competing with many others on the shelf or online. That’s why you want to make sure it’s visually appealing and stands out to grab the customer’s attention. Remember, no one can do you better than you, so stay true to your brand and this will help you show your unique identity to your audience.
5. Keep It simple: The best packaging designs are often simple yet effective so try to avoid getting too in your head and overthinking it. Overly complicated designs can confuse customers and even water down the brand message as it gets lost in the noise of over-the-top designs. Aim for clarity and simplicity wherever possible!
6. Tell your story through colours & fonts: Every element of the packaging should tell a part of your brand’s story, even the colours. For example, at Be.Smart we chose Magenta as our colour because it communicates creativity, friendliness, and even spirituality through magenta’s link to the crown chakra! Choose colours and fonts that align with your brand identity and stir up the desired emotions from your audience. Your previous research on your audience mentioned above will help you out with this.
7. Watch your budget: Great packaging doesn’t have to break the bank. You should find a balance between high-quality materials and keeping costs reasonable. You want your packaging to look and feel great without blowing your whole budget on it.

Extra considerations for creating product packaging design

Now you’re armed with our checklist, let’s take a closer look at some more packaging design considerations.

Understand future product extensions

Whilst no one has a crystal ball to predict the future (wouldn’t that be nice?), you should still be trying to plan ahead as much as possible. For example, if your brand plans to launch more products, design your packaging with this in mind as you’ll ideally want them to flow together to stay cohesive with your brand image, or perhaps even be used with your previously launched product.

Global product considerations

If your product will be sold globally, cultural implications of design elements become important. Colours, symbols, and even text placement can have different meanings in different cultures so get that laptop out and do your research! You’ll want to double check that anything you’re selling abroad is culturally sensitive and appealing across various markets.

Translation and localisation

Speaking of selling abroad, for global products, you’ll want to consider how your packaging design will accommodate translations. Different languages have varying text lengths, which can impact the design layout. It’s a good idea to plan for flexible design elements that can handle these changes without compromising the overall aesthetic of your packaging.

Allow for author corrections

The packaging design process often involves multiple rounds of feedback and approvals – it’s a fun process but can be long sometimes! Allow room and time for corrections, ensuring the design can be easily tweaked and adjusted as it goes through internal reviews and production approvals.

Retail considerations

Don’t forget to think about where your product will be sold – online, in a supermarket, or a boutique store? Each retail environment has unique implications for packaging design. For instance, online retail might require tougher packaging that is able to withstand the to and fro of shipping, while supermarket shelves need designs that can stand out amidst a sea of competitors.

Customer needs and benefits communication

It can be easy to forget when you’re busy picking out colours and other fun stuff for your packaging, but it should still clearly communicate the benefits of the product to the customer. Understand what your customers need (that audience research we mentioned earlier is coming in handy again!) and highlight how your product meets those needs. This could be through informative text, persuasive taglines, or even through the visual design itself.

Need that extra help we talked about earlier to design your perfect product packaging? Chat to us today!