From a box that holds the beer bottles together to the packets that carry M&Ms and the jars that attract customers to buy frozen items, packaging keeps the world engaged and organised. As they ensure that the item stays safe, attractive, and easy to access for the users, box packages inadvertently become as important as the product themselves. Therefore, before creating a box packaging design for an item, the company must answer these three questions:
- What is the product?
- Who is the customer?
- Where is the product sold?
These three basic questions help create a template about how the box packaging must look, the material it must be made of and the budget to invest in. Once they have a complete picture of what they are trying to sell, it is time to begin designing. The choices one makes in the packaging design tell the story about the product and the company, ultimately affecting client impact and sales.
1) Know the Packaging Layers
Box packages are typically made of three layers of packaging: the inner, the outer and the product packaging. Some products just need one, and some might need all three, and it is important to determine that during the early stage of designing. The outer packaging is the layer that creates the first impression on the customer. It protects the elements inside from external harm, including minor scratches and accidental spills. Inner packaging keeps the product intact inside the package, including tissue papers, peanuts, or sealed bags that preserve the product’s integrity. Inner packaging contains the actual product, like the bottle that beer comes in or the wrapper that chips come in.
2) Picking the Right Type of Packaging Material
Picking a packaging material might seem like a no-brainer, but it can be hard. The company must consider the product’s material, whether it is a solid, liquid, precious or delicate item, edible or inedible etc. They need to pick the one that keeps the product safe from external harm and not contaminate it. They must consider what research says about the recommended packaging material for the product and design it to make the product stand out. The budget also factors into the material of the packaging. For example, metals cost a lot more than plastic or fibre.
3) Create the Architecture of the Information and Determine the Lining
While developing the information and the content that goes onto the packaging box, it is important to consider the size of the box, the clients, the colour options, and the amount of information that the company wants to communicate to them. For example, kids products mostly have colourful cartoons to get their attention and help them figure out the workings. Most products have great photographic representations of the best versions of the product. They place the wordings and the pictorial elements based on the alignment not to clutter the packaging and keep it engaging and informative.
4) Get Feedback and Evaluate the Design
Deciding on one box package design does not happen all at once. After the initial design is created, it is tested out with different groups to understand the amount of clarity, representation, impact, versatility etc., of the packaging and feedback is taken to evaluate and make changes accordingly to get optimal results.
A reputable box packaging design would consider all this and create a design that perfectly fits the brand and places it in the spotlight.
