Packvertising had intended to be a separate and more cost-effective alternative to traditional ad placements. Brands included flyers, vouchers, and promotional stickers in the box for added ways to connect and engage with consumers.

When COVID-19 struck, social media became flooded with at-home unboxing videos. The trend elevated the packaging box as an extension of every product, coming under the same scrutiny as its content in vlogs and influencer videos. Many brands now compete by showing off their product’s primary and secondary packaging in paid advertisements.

In light of this development, you may wonder: is it really worth investing in not just branded packaging but ads that include your product boxes? How can you make your packaging ad-ready?

This article answers these questions as we discuss improving your packaging ROI through ad placements that feature your custom branded packaging.

What Is Packaging ROI?

Your investment in packaging includes payments for design, packaging material, printing, distribution, and promotional activities.

How to calculate packaging ROI

You can apply the basic formula for ROI in calculating your product packaging ROI. That is, divide your net profit—the amount you earned from an investment or the investment cost minus its present value—by the investment cost and multiply the result by 100.

ROI =  (Net profit / Investment Cost) x 100

However, other factors contribute to packaging ROI. They include the following:

Damage reduction

A solid, structural packaging design results in savings for shipping and replacement of goods returned due to dents, breakage, or other damage. By protecting fragile goods, you can avoid processing returns, which can run up to 59% of the item’s original price.

Improved environmental profile

A quarter of consumers prefer buying from brands that use sustainable packaging, which Statista lists as the second top consideration among American shoppers after coupons and discounts.

Higher sales

Consumers have become more careful about how brands influence their buying decisions. 82% of shoppers in a Razorfish poll said they favor brands that stand for a greater societal purpose, which brands can achieve through packaging that conveys their intended contributions to the community. Your sales performance after your new packaging design’s launch is a good indicator of your ROI.

Recurring customers

When shoppers are delightfully surprised or satisfied with their initial purchase, their positive experience leads to what is called a “brand halo” effect. As a result, they’re likely to buy again and tell others about the product. American subscription box companies combine the power of packaging’s visual appeal with anticipation in keeping and growing their client base, which stands at 61 million. 

Top 3 Reasons to Include Custom Packaging in Your Ad Campaigns

You can double the influence of packaging over your target audience in the following ways when you incorporate them in your ads:

1. Packaging enhances your social media presence

Before the pandemic lockdowns, businesses used packvertising as a standalone marketing channel. They relied on extra features such as multi-page labeling and inserts containing rebates, discount coupons, and product information to attract buyers and engage customers.

When self-isolation mandates took effect, brands didn’t only ramp up their shipping and delivery procedures. They also ensured that their packaging would make up for the excitement and pleasure derived from in-store shopping. Their strategy included packaging in their content marketing and advertisements, mainly on their target market’s preferred social platforms. You can apply the same tactic to your online promotions. 62% of consumers tend to buy products a purchaser features in an image or video post.

Although unboxing videos reportedly started as early as 2006 (featuring a Nokia E61 phone), the contemporary content creators’ commentary covers the entire package—literally—from the box to its contents and fillers.

2. Packaging helps manage your customer’s expectations about a product

Advertisements featuring your product with its packaging promote transparency. Such ads can promote trust if you’re selling high-end products. As they say: the higher the price, the higher the customer’s expectations.

Potential buyers discover the item’s dimension and how large—or small—it is compared to its box. These visuals are more mentally digestible and retainable than a written description.

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3. Packaging allows you to receive immediate feedback

Why not hit two birds with one stone by asking your followers to comment on your packaging when you publish your social media ad?

How to Optimize Packaging for Advertising Success

You can succeed at including customized packaging in your advertising strategy by taking these steps:

1. Conduct market research and analysis

Market research and analysis help you discover more about your target market, competitors, and the packaging industry. Your study should ideally give insights about:

• Who belongs to your target market and their pain points
• Where your target and existing buyers research to discover and learn more about products and services
• Which of your rivals does your target audience turn to for options and information
• What influences conversions and purchases among your target audience
• What aspects of your competitors’ packaging are working for them
• Whether there’s a demand for your business initiatives
• Underserved or unaddressed consumer needs your business can turn into a selling opportunity
• What’s trending in your industry in the buyer’s eyes
• Consumer attitudes toward a particular topic or consumer issue, a brand or product, and pricing
  

2. Identify your goals and metrics

Surveying your target audience and industry helps you define or clarify the objectives and success indicators for your packaging.

Goals should reflect what your brand identity wishes to convey—a message (such as your unique selling point) and emotion (your brand personality)—besides growth objectives, such as increasing awareness, loyalty, and referrals. Meanwhile, success metrics include brand recall, conversion, retention, and word-of-mouth.

3. Pick the appropriate design, packaging materials, and box style (Proceed to points 4 or 5 if you have existing packaging)

Your design, paper stock, custom box style, and coatings must suit your product type and function. For premium products, you may want to use luxury materials and extra features.

4. Design, test, and evaluate your packaging’s performance

You can use prototypes when testing your product packaging with small markets or focus groups. Gather people’s opinions through surveys or interviews so you can determine your packaging’s strengths and areas for improvement. Here are some tips to follow:

• Limit the number of questions to ask, as they are open-ended ones.
• Provide participants with a demo or prototype.
• Ask them how they feel about your pricing.
• Ask for their views about your competition.
• Give them a chance to air any questions, concerns, or other comments at the end of the questionnaire or feedback session.

5. Adapt your packaging-related ad materials to the requirements and expectations of each advertising method

Around 55% of B2B and B2C product suppliers’ marketing budgets go to digital campaigns. However, traditional channels like print, TV, and billboards continue to be viable options.

If you’re allotting a large chunk of your budget to online marketing as well, familiarize yourself with the image sizes for product photography and video lengths required for website or social media ads. Our cheat sheet below is a handy reference.

Besides great visuals, the best social media ads have a clear call to action so your followers know what to do next, such as “Buy now” “Add to shopping cart,” “Sign up,” and “Learn more.”

6. Include your social media icons on your packaging

Invite ongoing engagement with your customers by including your social media handles on your company info. Doing so can raise your chances of upselling opportunities and referrals. 

Social Media Ad Specs Cheat Sheet

Here’s our cheat sheet for social media ad specifications. Aspect ratio (x:y) refers to the ratio of an image’s width to its height.

Social Media Examples Featuring Product Packaging

Here’s how some businesses featured their personalized packaging in social media ads:

ThreadBeast

Streetwear brand ThreadBeast showcases their subscription boxes directly in their Facebook advertising campaigns.

Jam Cellars

Jam Cellars’ Butter Chardonnay brings on some “better beach time” based on the brand’s YouTube video featuring the wine with its bright yellow-labeled bottle, can, and packaging box.

Crest

This Instagram image ad of Crest 3D White Strips directs the platform’s users to Amazon.

Corkcicle

A TikTok subscriber included the packaging in the unboxing video of the insulated tumbler by Corkcicle, which she received on Mother’s Day.

Purolator Inc.

Purolator made a LinkedIn post to announce its limited-edition holiday boxes. Like the Canadian courier, you can end your written ad with hashtags to widen your reach. Although you can use up to 30 hashtags, marketers advise using only a few of them. Three to five are enough according to the Instagram Creators account.

Know Your Other Advertising Channels

Through market research, you can focus your ad budget on your target audience’s preferred channels. Nevertheless, knowing the various advertising channels below makes you aware of additional venues for sourcing product promotion ideas.

Moreover, consider that although the average American broadband-connected household has 13 connected devices, 28 million households can’t afford the fees for internet access.

Television

Advertisers forecast a 10.4% growth in ad revenues amid an expected increase of connected TV (CTV)—or traditional TV connected to the internet that allows video streaming and web browsing—adoption from 2023 to 2028. Moreover, 50% of Americans connect their smart TV or CTV sets through their in-built mechanism.

Minimum CTV ad costs range from $20,000 to $50,000.

Print

Newspaper and magazine ads, flyers, and posters are all part of print advertising. Their tangibility gives them an edge over online adverts, the oversupply of which has taught netizens to ignore their presence, resulting in so-called “ad blindness.” Moreover, internet users can use ad blockers for privacy. Top Media Advertising reported that a digital ad’s effectiveness rises 400% when combined with print ads. 

Newspaper ads can cost between $50 and $2,700 and up for full-page ads.

Outdoor advertising

Billboards and public transportation ads are examples of outdoor advertising. Billboard fees—which cover four weeks—are worth $850 (for static) or $2,100 (for digital) on average. Meanwhile, transit advertising shares the same average cost as static billboards.

Email ads

Your brand can place an ad on a third-party email newsletter in exchange for an endorsement. The sponsorship cost depends on the newsletter’s industry, subscriber count, and audience engagement. Advertising charges can start at around $15 to $30 per sponsored email. 

Make Your Custom Box Packaging Ad-Ready

Selecting an expert custom box manufacturer with an eye for design is crucial when you decide to make product packaging design a part of your advertising projects. Your box provider should help deliver what you promised consumers in your image or video ads in whatever medium.

Refine Packaging can print branded boxes that will delight your customers beyond what they see in traditional or digital ads. Our happy customers can tell you all about it.

Moreover, our seasoned in-house design team can ensure that every step in your packaging development journey with us targets optimal client satisfaction from discovery to conversion. Contact us today to request a free consultation about your ad-ready packaging requirements.

The post How to Increase Your Ad Campaign’s ROI By Showcasing Custom Packaging (6 Steps) appeared first on Refine Packaging.

When you think about packaging and branding, it’s likely that logos, typography, colors, and photographs come to mind first. But as you’ll discover in this article, you can also use patterns to further connect with and influence your target market.

So stick around to learn about pattern design basics, where to source ideas, and how to use patterns for standout product packaging.

Elements of Pattern Design

Before we go deeper into the use of patterns, let’s examine the customizable parts that make them suitable for your packaging purposes:

1. Motifs

Motifs refer to the individual elements in a design, such as geometric shapes, lines, florals, and so on.

2. Color palette

Your pattern’s color combination should match your official brand colors.

3. Spacing

Patterns involve motifs with spaces—typically precise distances—between each other.

4. Layout

You can lay out motifs in the following ways:

Layout Pattern	Example
Directional: one-way (you can view the pattern only one way) or two-way (the pattern looks the same if you turn it 180 degrees or upside down)	One-way directional pattern Two-way directional pattern
Non- or multi-directional: the pattern repeats from any angle	Non- or multi-directional pattern
Tossed: random placement of motifs	Tossed pattern

5. Repeat

The various repeat patterns include:

Why Use Patterns in Packaging Design

The repetition of symbols and colors in a harmonious order is relatable, often producing a pleasurable experience. You can harness this characteristic of patterns in the following ways:

Enliven your design

Minimalism is appealing, but pattern and repetition also draw attention by adding texture, depth, and movement to your primary business symbols.

Improve brand recognition

Choosing a pattern that aligns with your brand story and color palette—considering that color boosts recognition by 87%—can give the public something to remember about your company besides your logo and the product’s name.

Besides being more memorable, patterns can distinguish your product from others in the same category.

Reinforce your brand values

Your pattern’s shapes and colors communicate what your business stands for—whether it’s elegance, playfulness, or sustainability—and the personality you wish to project. Research shows that such brand consistency can increase business revenues by 20%.

12 Websites to Find Stunning Patterns

While you can hire a packaging designer to create a pattern customized for your brand, you can start searching online for the most prevalent styles and see what you can adopt for your packaging. Get ready for a pattern overload from these websites:

1. The Pattern Library

Graphic designer Claudio Guglieri and creative developer Tim Holman set up The Pattern Library as an ongoing project, where creatives can share and derive tileable patterns. The site allows you to download the tile image in gif format.

2. Vecteezy

Over 1.6 million free and Pro (subscription-based) vector graphics await you when you click “Vectors” from Vecteezy’s main menu and choose “Pattern.” Some of its categories include seamless, line, wave, retro, kids, camouflage, geometric, and abstract patterns.

3. Canva

Typing “patterns” on Canva’s search bar will display templates you can freely use or purchase to tailor-fit your business and serve as a box template that can help frame your packaging artwork.

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4. Spoonflower

Spoonflower is an online print-on-demand company that customizes design prints for fabric, home decor, and wallpaper. Its community includes 25,000 independent artists, interior designers, small business owners, and DIY hobbyists.

5. Patterncooler

Graphic artist Harvey Rayner is behind PatternCooler, another online resource for editable patterns (300 by 300 pixels). The website’s color and theme generator tabs have sliding tools for customizing the pattern’s colors, saturation, and motif randomness. License plans are available if you wish to use any of his patterns commercially.

6. Patternbank

Patternbank is a surface pattern and textile design website with a filter system for searching ideas—over 75,000 of them. Surface design refers to images showing artwork patterns for decorating various surfaces.

Under its “Giftware/Stationery” link, you’ll find options such as ethnic, conversationals (novelty print featuring recognizable objects), camouflage, texture, tribal, and border.

7. Artlandia

Artlandia’s Pattern Central has a collection of patterns from various categories, including naturalistic, abstract, and geometric. It also developed plug-ins for making repeat patterns in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

8. Dinpattern

Dinpattern describes itself as an “ever-growing” seamless pattern library maintained and updated by designer Evan Eckard. Image files containing the motifs are free to download, but they’re for screen use only.

9. Pinterest

Because you can pin almost everything on Pinterest, the visual discovery engine has a wealth of pattern design inspiration, pattern art, and pattern illustration. On its search bar, type “surface design” then bookmark or save your favorite image pins for future reference. 85% of Pinners use the platform to start a new project.

10. Dribbble

Graphic, web, and UX designers have portfolios on Dribbble. Because designers retain rights to their work, you must get permission from the pattern’s designer before using their artwork.

11. Behance

An Adobe platform, Behance provides another online community for creative professionals, including surface designers.

12. Eye on Design

This website—run by the American Institute of Graphic Arts—has several sections on everything about design from the professional community, including the latest updates about branding and patterns.

2023 Top Trending Patterns in Packaging Design

The websites above showcase talent from across America and the world. However, as a business owner, you may be wondering if there are specific patterns currently enjoying widespread adoption. Packaging design circles say these three patterns are gaining popularity among brands:

Wrap-around pattern

Health, beverage, cosmetics, and personal care brands are leading the pack in using this pattern, which features lines and waves that cover the entire surface of the product’s retail packaging. Curiosity motivates shoppers to pick up the item and explore the design 360 degrees or from every side of the container. You can apply this pattern using custom labels or print the wrap-around pattern design directly on sleeves, custom paper bags, and other box types.

Memphis pattern

Making a comeback is the 1980s Memphis pattern style characterized by bright and multiple colors and oversized geometric shapes, curves, and lines. A group led by Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass a.k.a. Memphis Milano developed this retro aesthetic to oppose the 1960s minimalist design and 1970s modernism. Fashion brands and interior designers were behind its resurgence to evoke nostalgia, cheer, and individualism.

Folk botanical pattern

Current designs feature flowers, fruits, leaves, and vines drawn in unrefined, shaky doodles with rough textures and unexpected color combinations.

How to Choose a Pattern for Business Branding

How can you find the right pattern to improve your existing packaging design? These four steps can get you started:

1. Establish your brand’s visual identity

What needs does your product or business fulfill for your consumers? Understand your brand identity thoroughly, then choose a motif that aligns with your branding.

2. Research

Visit the websites and platforms we listed above to discover trends. Also, observe what’s around your home, your favorite hangout (diner or coffee shop), and your neighborhood—your surroundings can be rich sources of ideas.

Most importantly, check out your competitors’ product packaging to ensure you come up with a distinct pattern design.

3. Choose a concept or theme

Once you’re done with research, choose a motif, pattern layout, and repeat type.

4. Experiment and refine

Try different shapes, layouts, and color combinations. Designers use software such as Adobe Illustrator and Procreate for their digital sketches. Meanwhile, you can create a mood board (a physical or digital one) where you can compile illustrations, photography, color swatches, stationery pieces, or even fabrics representing what you want to incorporate in your pattern.

Although you should ideally use your brand’s color palette, you can experiment with shades other than your official colors when using patterns. However, your chosen hues should still be relevant and enticing to your target audience. For instance, bright-colored stripes would be more pleasing to younger (or young at heart) and fun-loving consumers, while a more mature or high-end crowd would prefer muted colors or even a monochrome color scheme.

Another color contrast tip: you can render older brand motifs or symbols in their opposite tone (a duller tone of your original bright pattern and vice versa). With 75% of companies rebranding since 2020, your business may want to consider this idea when adding patterns or revitalizing your visual identity.

Also, examine your negative space or background and see if you can add something new, such as texture or smaller motifs.

Then create a mock-up and test the pattern, getting feedback from colleagues or clients.

Pattern Generators for Experimenting

Besides visiting the sites we recommended above, you can use online tools to create your patterns, even without design experience. Try these user-friendly platforms and let your creative side run free.

Patternizer

Are you planning to feature stripes on your packaging? Patternizer lets you play with two colors and its slider controls to manipulate opacity, width, gap (distance between stripes), and offset.

Pattern Monster

Pattern Monster is your go-to site if you want to discover and experiment with patterns featuring lines and geometric shapes.

Tabbied

To explore ideas using Tabbied, browse their gallery, then choose an artwork to “redraw” using their tools to change the color palette, motif size, and repeat style. You can then download your final pattern design as a .png file.

Repper

Repper is a pattern creator that lets you create patterns using tile images from the website or your collection. You can select from various effects and color adjustment options.

WowPatterns Pattern Maker

WowPatterns has 27 categories of over 2,500 handcrafted patterns and a pattern maker with tools that allow you to alter the tiling style, rotation (angle), and color adjustments of the motifs, whether from the site or your files. You can download the pattern’s tile or surface image in .png or .jpg format with a maximum resolution of 5,000 pixels.

How to Use a Pattern Design Effectively

For your chosen pattern to work on your packaging design, remember these tips:

Balance it with other details

Pick a pattern that doesn’t overwhelm your other packaging design elements, such as your logo, product name, or product description. This way, the written text and visuals can still be easy to read and understand.

Let patterns highlight other elements

While you can use patterns to bring together various shapes and other symbols of your design or offer aesthetic comfort (because repetition creates familiarity and consistency), patterns can also direct the consumer’s vision toward portions of the package you want to emphasize, such as text describing your product’s top features or its ingredients.

Differentiate product variants using pattern designs

Do you have several variations of your product? Choose colors and textures to represent or signify variants of goods, such as chocolate, coffee, soap, and fragrances.

Make your pattern scalable

Ensure your motifs, colors, and layout stay sharp when applied on a larger scale. Designers typically render patterns and line art in vector format to retain their high quality regardless of resizing. 

Pick an Expert for Your Packaging’s Pattern Design 

Businesses will continue to compete against each other through packaging, with recent data showing that budgets are set to rise 5.4% between 2022 and 2024 after a 3% rise from 2020 to 2022. Brands can expect patterns to stay influential as a design element in the years to come amid the thriving surface design industry. While US-based statistics aren’t available, over 3,000 designers worldwide belong to the Surface Design Association.

By following our tips, you can also use patterns to boost your branded packaging. Whether your idea is just germinating or a designer has developed a pattern design for you, Refine Packaging can make your motifs and colors come alive with our custom boxes and high-quality printing.

Our team can discuss your project given your artwork and preferred materials. We also have in-house designers ready to assist you if you haven’t finalized your desired pattern yet. Moreover, Refine Packaging can produce a mockup of your packaging box to ensure that the outcome fulfills your purpose. 

Refine Packaging is the top choice for the world’s Inc 5000 and Fortune 500 companies. With super fast production times, affordable pricing, and a sky’s the limit attitude, we’ll help you turn your custom packaging into a competitive differentiator. Contact us today and a dedicated packaging specialist will guide you through every step of the custom packaging process without breaking a sweat.

The post Where to Find Remarkable Patterns for Packaging Design appeared first on Refine Packaging.

At a time when thousands of new companies—and, therefore, new products—enter the market annually, businesses rely on these experts to see their products enjoy their day in the sun. The food industry alone welcomes 15,000 new products every year.

But with so many freelancers and agencies offering their design services, how would you know who can translate your unique selling proposition (USP) onto your brand’s visual identity?

This article will discuss how you can prepare for your collaboration with a packaging designer, including the factors to consider in selecting the one who can support your goals.

Before we dive in, allow us to show you some stats for insights on the consumer market from a wider angle. The figures below show how important it is to take product packaging seriously and seek the right path toward customer-centric packaging.

Impact of Packaging on Sales

Attractive packaging design remains at the heart of the unboxing experience. According to a Macfarlane poll, branded packaging made up 59% of all boxes shipped by merchants in 2022. Moreover, 41% of respondents said that printed packaging produced memorable moments, which made them want to buy again.

The outcome of this UK-based survey reflected similar sentiments of American shoppers in Dotcom Distribution’s study. 47% of participants who bought luxury shoppers over the past year said that “visually appealing/gift-like” boxes (32%) and personalized packaging parts (15%) made them share photos or videos of a purchase. Meanwhile, 24% valued sustainable packaging that is eco-friendly and paper-based.

Project Brief: Clarifying Your Vision

Packaging designers would ask you to share the details of your project in a project brief (also called a design or packaging brief). It lays the foundation of understanding between you and the designer or design agency by establishing your project’s purpose, scope, timeline, and budget.

The brief can take time to write, but it’s the most effective way to organize your thoughts and make the most of your meeting with your chosen designer. The document will serve as your playbook and prevent your designer from saying, “We didn’t realize or know you needed that” midway through the project.

Here are the sections to include in your project brief:

Project overview

Start the document with a short project description to help your designer envision what they need to deliver. Include the name of your brand and product, its back story, your USP, and how you want to communicate with customers through packaging.

Describe your product’s physical qualities, including its fragility, its appearance, smell, and so on.

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Company profile

This section describes what your company does, its values, and general objectives.

Goals

Discuss your reason for getting the designer’s services. If you’re launching a new product, your goals may include brand awareness, ensuring shelf appeal, and providing a pleasurable unboxing experience. 

However, if you’re hiring a designer to improve your existing packaging, identify your current problems—for instance, high production or transport costs, weak box structure, too simplistic design compared to rivals, or poor print quality. 

Share your competitor’s design or packaging to help your designer or agency grasp how you want to carve a unique presence in your market or niche.

Providing your designer with the above information will deepen their insight into your needs, possibly giving them a list of factors to eliminate when they start brainstorming your design.

Target audience

Define your target buyers—their demographics, preferences, and buying behavior. Be specific: trying to reach senior citizens who want to safely use their home bathtubs is different from trying to reach bathtub owners of any age.

Scope (design, material, and dimensions)

The scope covers your project’s technical details. Specify the style (box type), shape, measurements, preferred material (including any sustainable aspects or methods you wish to apply), and finish or texture. Remember to provide your brand style guide: logo, color palette, and proprietary artwork. Also, include all legal or mandatory copy you want to appear, such as ingredients, manufacturing information, warnings, and barcode.

Are there any elements that you don’t want your packaging to have? Incorporate them in the brief to help reduce revisions in the future.

If you’re changing your existing packaging, tell them about its shortcomings and get their feedback on how to improve it. Also, tell your designer about your shipping, distribution, and display methods so they can recommend suitable materials.

Timeline

Set your target dates, from when you want to see the design studies or samples to your expected delivery date of the printed boxes. Divide the timeline into stages depending on the urgency and output volume.

Budget

State your budget, but be open to discussions with your agency so you can balance quality with cost-effectiveness.

Deliverables

List the items you expect your designer to produce: mockups, digital files of the design, quantity of boxes, and any extras you may need. Discuss and agree on the approval process—ask how you expect them to deliver their output for your approval for each stage.

Contact information

Your project’s success will depend on regular communication between you or your team and the design agency. Include phone numbers and messaging contact details where your designer can reach you.

After your initial discussion, you may need to review the brief with your designer again to explore any changes. Amend as necessary and work together to ensure both sides share the same understanding of the brief. 

Where to Find Designers or Design Agencies

There are several places you can search to find a designer or design agency:

• Google (type “top or best packaging design agencies/firms” or “top or best packaging designers” + your location)
• Freelance networks, such as Fiverr and Upwork
• Portfolio sites feature designers’ past works, such as Behance and Dribbble
• Crowdsourcing sites, such as DesignCrowd and 99designs, operate like a design contest—you can post your project and receive proposals from around the world. Clients only pay for submissions they like. Refine Packaging has partnered with 99designs to provide brands an easy way to match with design experts to create world-class product packaging at an affordable price.

Which Is Better: A Freelancer or Design Agency? 

Freelance designers are experts in their niche and work independently—typically on a contract basis. Being a one-person team and their own boss, freelancers communicate directly with you or your marketing head. Meanwhile, design companies typically have several members, such as graphic designers, brand strategists, and market research specialists. Agencies can offer an array of services given the diverse skill set of their team.

How do you choose between the two? Your funds, project scope, and sense of urgency are top considerations.

Hire a freelancer if you have a small, lower-budget project that you need to complete fast. Meanwhile, choose a design agency for larger projects requiring more strategic planning to go into your packaging design, such as market research and mockup development. 

Agencies charge higher and assign you to an account manager. However, they have access to more resources and follow an established process, enabling them to finish your project within your deadline and scale when necessary.

Factors to Consider When Selecting Your Agency or Designer

To determine the designer or agency most suitable for your needs, evaluate your prospects with these criteria:

1. Track record

Designers can have various specializations—select the one who specializes in packaging. Not all graphic designers work with dielines. Research the person or company online to verify their track record. Read their case studies and what reviews say about them. Ask for references from past clients if possible.

Seasoned designers can recommend the packaging type that will work best with your product. They can also suggest the design and imagery, which will make your package eye-catching, given your preferred box size, shape, and material. Moreover, such designers know government compliance requirements on labeling (origin claim, FDA guidelines, and others).

Whenever possible, pick a designer who has package manufacturing experience. Those who do can go alongside you from design concept to production and box delivery. They are also familiar with the average production time for different box types.

2. Portfolio

Does the designer or agency have experience working in your industry or niche? Check their online portfolios for past work related to your sector and see if their output aligns with your taste. You can also request them to show you samples of their past projects.

3. Connection with printers

Designers or agencies typically have printing partners. Past collaborations hasten the process due to the agency’s familiarity with the latter’s quality and speed. They can also ask the printer about the minimum volume requirement for your preferred packaging.

Choose an agency that can liaise with the printer and follow your timeframe. Alternatively, you can recommend that your designer use a leading packaging manufacturer such as Refine Packaging for your printing needs.

4. Prototyping and testing

Can the agency supply you with a sample or mockup for review before mass production? Find one that offers prototypes as part of their service. Testing services—especially boxes for fragile products—will be a great plus.

5. Other services

Ask the designer if they can render your design onto other items in your product range. Consider specifying this in your project brief, as your other goods might have different dimensions and packaging materials.

Moreover, verify whether your designer or agency can offer copywriting and editing services for the text on your box.

You can also inquire if they’re knowledgeable about trademark and copyright issues. Otherwise, you might have to hire a lawyer to avoid legal issues.

Limitations of a DIY Approach to Packaging Design

New technologies allow entrepreneurs to design and print basic marketing materials by themselves faster and at a lower cost. However, if you want your product to stand up to the competition, you’ll need some professional help.

A DIY approach lets you practice your freedom of expression besides being in full control of the creative process. Immersing yourself in production can also educate you in graphic design, printing, and the box manufacturing sector.

But that said, handling packaging design yourself has some limitations, which a professional designer can help overcome:

1. Your design can be authentic but out of touch with your market

You may choose symbols, colors, and copy for your packaging representing your style and beliefs, which are close to your heart as a business owner. However, the design may not click with your target audience. For 63% of consumers, a product’s packaging is equally important as the brand itself.

Working with a packaging designer widens your perspective to include the factors involved in buying decisions. Designers translate their consumer knowledge, awareness of trends, and artistry into a unique design containing your preferred elements.

2. The hours you spend on package design can take time off your core tasks

You may also act as your company’s accountant, driver, legal liaison, and purchaser when you’re starting your business. Designing your package might get you stuck in an ever-deepening hole as you discover its intricacies.

A packaging designer can handle market research, competitor analysis, ideation, the creation of various design samples, prototyping, and more.

3. Your software may offer editable templates, but your final design can still look generic

The Internet offers a wealth of free and paid tools that design logos and stylize pictures, which you can print as labels or directly on paper packages. However, you risk finding a similar box template design on other products and appearing amateurish. Designers use more specialized software, which can generate an original design for you from scratch.

4. The quality of your home printer’s output can suffer with bulk printing

If you print your stickers and sleeves using your home printer, the output may eventually fade on some printed material over time. Quality printing is essential since more than 70% of consumers state that packaging design influences their buying decisions.

A professional designer works with commercial-grade printers to provide consistent print quality, which is crucial in branding.

5. Stock boxes may not be as sturdy and cost-efficient as custom boxes

Using stock boxes is more economical if you’re on a tight budget. Moreover, restocking won’t be a problem, unlike custom boxes, which your printer must replenish.

However, made-to-order boxes can be more financially sustainable in the long run if you sell luxury items or uniquely shaped items. Designers can develop the most suitable structure and choose the correct materials to hold up your product and preserve the box’s visual appeal until they reach their destination.

Well-designed boxes can make you spend less on padding (within or outside the box) and shipping. Moreover, it reduces damages, which lower product returns, which will also cost you. 80% of consumers also state that solid and sturdy packaging impacts their satisfaction with a product.

6.   Designing on your own can stretch your budget

Unless you’ve had previous experience with design, packaging, and printing, you might end up buying materials you might have to replace later on due to their low quality, inaccurate dimension, or incompatibility with your product. Meanwhile, you might stock up on expensive supplies only to discover later that more reasonably priced packaging is available.

Packaging designers consider your budget and apply their know-how and experience to ensure these issues don’t become your own during your partnership. 

Ensure Your Packaging Design Translates Beautifully on Your Custom Box

Any packaging design is only as good as its final version—the physical box. While it can look great from your designer’s study sample, your product can only have a fighting chance in the market through high-quality print packaging, which has the look and feel you envisioned from the start.

Refine Packaging has in-house designers who can assist you to this end. You can view our product gallery to learn about our capabilities. At the same time, you can get assurance from our testimonials that our team will be with you every step of the way in your packaging design journey. 

Contact us today to discuss your custom box project, whether you already have a basic concept, want to change your existing packaging, or need help from scratch.

The post How to Find an Incredible Packaging Designer (5 Critical Factors) appeared first on Refine Packaging.

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos found that:

• 71% of those surveyed said they were more likely to buy brands that package their products in paper or cardboard, rather than other materials like bubble wrap or plastic.
• 63% of those surveyed said that paper and cardboard packaging makes a product seem premium or high quality. 

Ok, so you’ve made the smart decision to package your goods in cardboard boxes, but is that enough to get your products noticed? Nope.  

You can’t just throw your goods in a nondescript box and call it a day.  No – in today’s world of unboxing videos and endless social media diatribes about the whole package opening experience, you’ve got to go above and beyond with ideas for your box design to stand out from the competition. 

Today’s consumers have so many options. They no longer have to rely on what’s available in their town – or even their country. They’re looking for a complete shopping experience – whether they’re checking out a store shelf, or browsing an ecommerce site. And they want the boxes their products come in to wow them. 

Think about what makes you buy a certain brand. Perhaps it’s word of mouth, or maybe loyalty, but more than likely packaging is also a major consideration.  

So, just how important is box design to your bottom line? Well consider this:

• A study by Ipsos found that 72% of Americans’ purchasing decisions are influenced by packaging design.
• 66% of those surveyed by WestRock said that they tried something new because the packaging caught their eye.

So, don’t leave box design as an afterthought.

It’s important to come up with a creative, yet practical, box design so you can fully leverage this powerful marketing tool.

Functionality Counts When Reviewing Box Design Ideas

Successful box design, like the custom boxes pictured above that we produced for Adidas, is much more than choosing your favorite colors to splash across the sides (albeit that is an important element).  

When coming up with your box design ideas and overall design plan, it’s essential to first understand the main functions of a box. 

Here are some fundamentals you don’t want to ignore with your box design when reviewing box design inspiration:

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Your Box Must Protect What’s Inside

First off – and most importantly – your box needs to effectively protect what’s inside. 

If nothing else, you’ve got to make sure your custom box design keeps the items inside safe during shipping.

This means your box needs to be sturdy and tamper-proof. No one is going to appreciate a beautiful box if their wine glasses arrive in shards, or their poster arrives crumpled. You want your items to get to their destination intact.

Your Box Should be Efficient

The structural design of the box can play a large role in your bottom line, as well. When deciding on a design think about things like shelf and storage space. You don’t want to have an oddly shaped box if it’ll be difficult to store in your warehouse. 

Also, consider transportation costs when designing your box. The box size and weight of a box can unnecessarily jack up your shipping costs if you’re not careful.

Your Box Should Be Informative

It’s important that your box clearly labels what’s inside. When people pick up a box they want to know what’s in there, so, if there’s room, go on and include information about the contents, such as ingredients, expiration dates, or instructions on how to use the product. 

Packaging boxes are also a great place to add specific company information. A custom box has only so much marketing real estate, but you can point consumers to other marketing avenues, such as your website or social media channels, where you can offer more in-depth information about your company and products.

Your Box Should Reinforce Your Brand Identity

Yes, your box must offer protection, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore how it looks. Boxes are a great way to make a strong first impression and pump up your brand recognition.

The box design is not a place where you want to skimp. To fully harness this powerful marketing tool, you’ll want to have your logo stand out and make use of shapes and colors that represent your brand.  

Make a Design Plan for Your Box

Once you understand the important functions of a box, it’s time to come up with a design plan. To help you formulate your plan, it’s helpful to ask yourself a couple of questions:

What are you selling?

Boxes come in all different sizes, shapes, and thicknesses, so to get the right box (or boxes), you’ll need to have a clear idea of what products you’ll be putting in the box.

The size of your boxes and weight of your items will dictate a lot of your box options. Heavy items may need to be put in strong reinforced boxes, whereas you may get by packing lighter, smaller items into thinner carton boxes. 

You’ll also need to take into consideration whether or not the items are fragile. You obviously won’t want to pack a piece of stained glass in a flimsy, unpadded box.  Likewise, it wouldn’t make sense to invest in double-wall corrugated boxes if all you’re ever boxing up is socks.

For most companies, it might be difficult to get by with a single size box since many sell products of various sizes and shapes. But even if you sell only one type of product, you should think about whether multiples can be packed together in the same box.  

Who is your target audience?

No matter what products or services you’re selling you likely have an ideal customer in mind.  Who are you trying to appeal to? Think of the demographics of your target market.  Consider things like the ages of your customers, their income level, their geographic location, and what they consider important. 

Maybe you’re looking to sell upscale cosmetics to millennials, or maybe you’re trying to market paper straws to eco-conscious customers? Whatever your product, your packaging needs to represent your brand. 

Boxes are an essential component of your overall marketing strategy. You want to be consistent across all of your channels – including your website, social media accounts, and retail packaging. 

Your customized box design should reflect what your brand stands for. Sometimes a box is your customer’s first interaction with your product. So your boxes need to represent your products in the best possible light.    

Understand Some Basic Design Rules

Sure, you want your box design to be unique and stay true to your brand identity, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn from other companies’ successes (and failures).

Here are a few tried and true design “rules” that will help get you started with your box design:

Color Counts 

When it comes to marketing your products, color plays a huge role. Studies have found that color increases brand recognition by 80% and that 85% of shoppers say that color is a primary reason for buying a particular product. 

Some colors are so iconic that if you look at them you know the company without seeing a logo or other brand identifier. Think of the classic blue Tiffany box that’s synonymous with luxury. Tiffany & Co. trademarked their “Tiffany Blue” in 1998.

Other companies have also successfully trademarked their colors, such as T-Mobile (magenta), UPS (deep brown), Wiffle Ball Bat (yellow), and 3M Post-Its (canary yellow).

Of course, not every company has a signature color, but successful brands know that certain colors evoke specific moods. You want your box colors to reflect the vibe you’re going for.  

In general, go for darker colors if you want to project a more staid, established look, lighter colors and pastels will give off a cleaner, more youthful look, or choose bright, bold colors to grab attention. 

Flonomics provides retail analytics to companies wanting to better understand how customers are interacting with their brand. They studied how different colors influence shoppers and their purchasing habits. They found that: 

• The color red stirred up feelings of excitement, passion, and energy.
• Blue gave off a trustworthy and reliable vibe.
• Green was all about nature, earthy feelings, and freshness.
• Orange was playful.
• And yellow was reminiscent of sunshine and evoked a warm mood.  

Put Some Thought Into Your Typography

How often have you seen a box with absolutely no words on it?  They’re out there, but pretty rare.  Most product box design involves some sort of typography. Typography is the arrangement of letters and words. It includes things like font sizes and styles. 

It can be fun to get creative with your font choices, but remember you want your words to both look good and be legible. Don’t overdo it with too many competing font styles.  That can just end up looking messy and clouding your message. 

Pay Attention to Quality

Put some thought into your materials. Flimsy, poor-quality paper packaging may be cheap, but is that the best look for your product? 

Definitely not, if you’re aiming to impress. Think about what you’re selling and have your boxes mirror the quality of your goods. Customers will expect their high-end purchases to come in a quality box. 

The same goes for graphics. A lot will depend on your budget, but try to use high-resolution graphics if you can afford it. An unintended, blurry image is not a good look.  

Don’t Have Too Much Going On

It helps to start with a focal point. If you have too many fonts, competing colors, and a hodgepodge of graphics, your message will get lost in the middle. You don’t want to overwhelm your audience with too many competing design elements. Instead, let your design elements complement each other and give them breathing space.

Of course, sometimes design rules are meant to be broken. Look at these box design tips through the eyes of your customer. The most important thing is to know your target audience and what look will appeal to them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Some Help

If all of this feels too overwhelming, seek another pair of eyes to look over your design, or hire a professional. Box templates (known as dielines) can often be found online, and you can find designers at almost any price point to help you come up with a captivating box design.  

If you’re on a super-tight budget, try Fiverr, or if you have a little more to spend try 99designs, Dribble, or Behance. 

If you need one-on-one box design support, the graphic designers at Refine Packaging are here to help. Contact us today for a free, no obligation quote on your custom box packaging needs and we’ll work with you to create a look and a package that brings together the very best of your brand personality, social appeal, and quality product design to create a look that is unmistakably your own. 

21 Box Design Ideas You Can Adapt for Your Own Packaging

Ok, you’ve got your plan and have a grasp of some basic design elements. Now, it’s time for the fun stuff. Let’s check out some box design eye candy. 

Here are twenty-one examples of companies who got their custom box design right by implementing various strategies:

Box Design Idea #1: Tell a Story

What better way to develop some rapport with your customers than to introduce yourself and tell your story. Stories are a great way to connect with your customers on a more personal level. Tell them who you are, where you came from, and what’s important to you.

In 2016 organic breakfast cereal company Kashi introduced “stories,” on the back of their cereal boxes. These little vignettes had full-color photographs and explained how the food was made and where it came from. They highlighted real people, such as farmers, millers, and others involved in the process of making the cereal. 

Of course, you can squeeze only so much copy on the back of a cereal box. That’s why Kashi also included a link to their website where the interested consumer could watch a more in-depth video on the subject. 

Box Design Idea #2: Use Patterns

Try using various patterns on your retail packaging boxes. Chevron, stripes, polka dots, and herringbone are popular options. Use them on their own or in conjunction with other images.  

Box Design Idea #3: Use All Available Space

A custom product box is more than a single side. Why not get more bang for your buck and cover the entire box with meaningful graphics, sayings, or information about your brand.

There’s a reason, lifestyle brand FabFitFun’s subscription box designs are splashed all over Instagram and are featured in so many unboxing videos on YouTube.  

They change up their mailer boxes depending on the season, but they usually use bright graphics and take full advantage of the entire box – inside and out.

Box Design Idea #4: Keep it Simple

Dutch company Slopes & Town sells accessories, such as multi-purpose belts and socks made from bamboo fibers and recycled plastic. 

The company’s mantra is an emphasis on sustainability and keeping waste to a minimum. This includes its eco-friendly packaging, which is often made from kraft paper. There’s no excess with their custom boxes.

Box Design Idea #5: Don’t Forget the Inner Sections

The outside of a box may give the first impression, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore what’s inside. 

Tait Design Company’s Turbo Flyer comes in a box that doubles as a cardboard carrying case. The multiple pieces of the balsa model airplane kit fit neatly inside. So, whether you want to store it in your closet, or take it to the park, you know your airplane will be secure.

Box Design Idea #6: Use an Interesting Shape

Boxes don’t have to be cuboids. They’re usually rectangular for ease of storage and transport, but there’s no hard and fast rule saying you can’t have a triangular, hexagonal, or whatever-shaped box. Below is a prism-shaped box concept for a soap company. 

Box Design Idea #7: Remember Your Product

Always keep your product in mind. Your box and packaging should reflect what’s inside. Take, for example, the Australian company, Young Willow, which specializes in stylish, high-end baby gifts, including clothing, bibs, books, and little toys. 

One glance at their website and you can see the sophisticated look they’re going for. There are no garish primary colors to be had with this brand – everything looks soft and subtle. Their boxes further reflect their brand image. 

Baby showers are big business and what better way to elevate the gift experience for that mother-to-be than to present your gift in a gorgeous box. Young Willow’s gift boxes are so pretty, they sell them as a separate item on their site.

The custom packaging boxes come in soft muted colors, such as lavender, green, and pink pastels, with the brands’ name embossed on the top. Pop open the box and the muted color scheme continues inside. This is a box that will not likely be casually tossed in the recycling bin.  

Box Design Idea #8: Add Some Fun

Depending on what you’re selling a little frivolity can go a long way. A nice warm plate of cookies can bring out the inner child in anyone. Thelma’s decided to have some fun with their cookie boxes. 

Instead of packing their cookies into one of those ubiquitous, pink pastry boxes, they went for something much more memorable, a distinct oven box.  I can almost smell those cookies.  

Box Design Idea #9: Go Bold

When you think of mid-century modern design, iconic industrial designers, Ray and Charles Eames likely spring to mind.  They received numerous design awards and their furniture has been exhibited in museums throughout the world. 

So, it’s no surprise that a lot of thought went into the customized boxes housing a product as simple as children’s building blocks. 

Eames House Blocks are packaged in a carefully designed box that reflects the Eames’ sophisticated, but non-fussy brand. The box is a simple shape and the graphics aren’t very complicated, but it gets its boldness from the sharp geometric shapes infused with strong red and black colors. 

Box Design Idea #10: Make it Gift-Worthy

Sometimes a beautifully designed custom box is as much a part of the gift as what’s inside. In many cultures, tea drinking is a ritual. Teabox brings this experience into people’s homes with an assortment of beautifully appointed gift boxes.

Slide open the beautifully illustrated box and you’ll find two gourmet blends of Indian tea in glass vials nestled inside. The gift-like box design elevates the experience for the recipient.

Box Design Idea #11: Use a Single Bright Color

You don’t have to use a rainbow of colors to capture attention with your box. A single color can make a bold statement.

Kong Box sends out monthly boxes full of dog toys and treats. The goodies are shipped out in bright red boxes. You’ll also find this same vivid color throughout their website. 

Box Design Idea #12: Add a Packaging Sleeve

Often a company will use a packaging sleeve in place of a box since it can be a more affordable option. You’ll often see these sleeves used on a bar of soap or a pair of socks. But some companies incorporate this element into their overall custom box design. 

Mother E Essential Oils uses a standard box design to store their essential oils. Where they mix it up is with their packaging sleeves. They use different sleeves depicting various nature scenes depending on what essential oils are in that particular box.  If they ever want a new look, a sleeve is much easier to change up than a whole box redesign.

Box Design Idea #13: Experiment with Fonts 

Something as simple as using an interesting font can elevate the look of your custom box design. You can go modern or vintage, quirky or traditional, winsome or staid – just be sure to make it memorable and unique. The right font can help boost your brand recognition. 

Skoff Pies used several different fonts that compliment each other to come up with a retro vibe for their comfort food pies. 

Not sure where to get started? The internet is a treasure trove of fonts. Check out sites like Google fonts or Behance to find free ones, or, for a wider variety, splurge a little and buy one from Creative Market or MyFonts.

Box Design Idea #14: Use Product Photography

Photographs are a great way to showcase your product. If you decide to go this route make sure to use high-quality product photography.  

Anovo used a picture of their product, as well as small pictures of fresh-looking food, including steak, salmon, and asparagus on their nano precision cooker boxes. But the photos aren’t overwhelming. Anovo went with plenty of white space to make the colorful photos pop and appeal to both your eyes and your taste buds. 

Box Design Idea #15: Try Some Humor

Humor can be a little tricky since we all find different things funny.  But when it works, it works. Just remember to keep your target customer in mind. You don’t want to offend anyone.

Box Design Idea #16: Give ‘em a Sneak Peek

Cutout windows offer your customers a glimpse of what’s inside, and sometimes the option to touch your product. Cutout windows, which are accomplished through the window patching process, are often used for food items so you can see what you’re buying. Who wants to splurge on expensive cookies, if you discover they’re a crumbled mess when you open the box. 

Cutouts are also a good option if you have a colorful or textured product. Zandra Beauty sells a variety of artisan soap bars that come in different scents and colors.  Each variety of soap is a different color and comes in different cosmetic packaging.

The little cutout gives you a glimpse of the colorful bar of soap inside. You could make quite an attractive display on a store shelf with all of the different colors peeking out.

Box Design Idea #17: Make it Multi-Purpose

Sometimes the box is a work of art. Check out the latest beautifully illustrated box from CauseBox. CauseBox is all about curating socially conscious items for their subscription boxes. You’d feel bad tossing this box in the recycling. It would make stylish storage for old letters or other small mementos. 

Box Design Idea #18: Use a Limited Color Palette

You don’t have to use every color in the rainbow to make your boxes interesting.  For a softer and more sophisticated look try different shades of the same color. 

One popular design trend for custom boxes that’s been incorporated in everything from painted walls to cakes and hair dye is ombre. Ombre is when you blend one color hue to another, usually going from light to dark. Why not try it in your product box design for a current look?

Glossybox is a subscription beauty box service. They frequently redesign their ecommerce packaging boxes depending on the season. Their current holiday box beautifully blends different shades of pink for a cohesive look. 

Box Design Idea #19: Use a Custom Stamp

Sure, it would be great to have custom beautifully designed boxes with your logo embossed on the sides or printed in an array of colors. But that’s not feasible for every company’s budget.  But don’t fret, there are affordable design elements just about any business can incorporate in their cardboard box design.

If you’re strapped for cash, or you’re just looking for a simple aesthetic – then consider a custom stamp.

Etsy shop, HeirloomHomeStudio, designs and produces porcelain tableware that’s inspired by the farm-to-table movement. Their brand stresses simplicity and their products have a vintage look. This vibe is beautifully reflected in their understated stamped boxes. 

Box Design Idea #20: Seal Up Your Boxes with Something Pretty (or Practical)

Another affordable packaging box design option is colorful, or branded packaging tape. Packaging tape can be used for brand promotion, handling advice, reducing theft, or to advertise other products. Since you can order packaging tape in small quantities, any company can take advantage of this affordable, low commitment option. 

Box Design Idea #21: Use Custom Labels or Stickers

You don’t have to print your graphics on the actual box to get a professional, attractive look. Maybe you don’t feel like committing to a single product box design.  A well-designed sticker or label will look good and allow you to easily change the look of your boxes depending on your mood.

Nosejoy is a fragrance subscription box service. Each month, they send out four to five scent-filled items, such as candles, soaps, or lotions from upscale boutique brands. 

They completely change the look of the box each month by using a different sticker on the front.  One month it might be deep blues with a mermaid picture, the next month might be all about bright yellows with pictures of lemons.  

Get Designing and Bring Your Box Design Idea to Life

Your custom packaging should never be an afterthought. Boxes and other packaging materials are far too important a marketing tool to ignore. Thoughtful box design strategies like the ones mentioned above can help you attract new customers and retain your current ones. 

Keep in mind that various box design elements aren’t mutually exclusive. You can incorporate several into your design – just don’t let it look too cluttered. You may need to experiment a little to find the right fit. You want your message to shine through and be consistent across all of your marketing materials.

Everyone from small Etsy stores to giants like Amazon put a lot of thought into their shipping box designs. Quality design doesn’t have to cost a fortune. It can be as simple as a sticker, or as fancy as a multi-colored embossed high-quality box. The important thing is that your product box design reflects what’s important to your customers and your company.

The post 21 Box Design Ideas to Pump Up Your Packaging appeared first on Refine Packaging.

With 500,000+ Instagram posts tagged #unboxing, and an over 800% increase in YouTube video searches with unboxing in their title – the power of packaging on social media is bigger than you might think. 

But, what is it that makes packaging share worthy on social media? 

It’s important that your custom packaging creates a visceral first impression that ties in perfectly with your product, creating a seamless transition from unwrapping to enjoyment – all part of the ever important unboxing experience. Easier said than done, we know. 

Here are a few creative ways to drum up online engagements, until your custom packaging finally reaches social media shareable status.

Create an Amazing Experience by Knowing Your Customer

The best unboxing experiences begin with a box or package that is designed specifically for the target customer that’s opening it. Here, knowing the demographics of your audience is crucial. Not just their age and gender, but also things like what they believe in and what they struggle with. 

Your package can, believe it or not, communicate to the user through the proper use of color, typography and even material to show them that you believe in the same values as they do, and that your product will help them address whatever is keeping them up at night with worry or otherwise causing them to struggle. 

For example, soothing pastel colors and cursive fonts can evoke a sense of luxury or playfulness, while bold colors and serif fonts can give a sense of tradition or heritage. 

But boxes are much more than the color or font used on them. The shape and style of the box also lends itself well to creating the full experience. 

Craft the Message You Want to Convey – Inside and Out

Companies often understand the essentials of box design for remarkable product packaging when it comes to the outside of the box, but leave the inside barren and plain. 

What kind of impression does that leave on the customer? Will they share the package on social media to their followers and fans?

While you don’t want to cover up every available inch of the box to the point of looking cluttered, customize your box design with just as much care and attention that you did when designing the product itself. 

That might mean looking for a packaging firm that allows for double-sided printing, on both the inside and outside of the box. Or, consider featuring your logo on the outside, with an inspirational or funny message on the inside – something that makes the customer feel even more like “this company totally ‘gets’ me!” 

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There is a ton of packaging inspiration out there, start exploring! Just remember that the unboxing experience is a carefully orchestrated ceremony in a sense, with your product playing center stage. Little details can make a big difference and resonate with your audience. 

Keep in mind that people who are less familiar with your brand are seeing first-hand how that brand treats its customers on social media. Based on what they’re seeing, would they feel more inclined to buy from you? 

Color Completes the Mood

We’ve talked about color above, but I want to make a special mention of not just the role that color plays psychologically, but also in terms of how it is received by the audience. 

Large companies know just how important stunning product photography is, but let’s face it. Not every social media user has access to professional photo gear, and fewer still will use anything other than their mobile phones to shoot their unboxing videos and take their pictures.

With that in mind, having strong colors that show up and reflect the brand well in a photo or video is a major selling point. When users are scrolling down their social media feeds and see a product that they’re interested in, the more memorable and impactful your design is, the more likely it will be remembered and engaged with. 

Make Social Media a Part of Your Packaging Design Process

Beautiful packages aren’t designed overnight, but now, more than ever, social media is playing a key role in how packages are being designed and developed. Packaging has the dual purpose of wowing customers, as well as protecting the products throughout the shipping process before reaching the eagerly waiting customer’s hands. 

Consider, for example, perfumes and cologne. Commercials and social media posts alike don’t focus on the spritz or spray. They focus on the body and sensation that the scent evokes, but more importantly, they also focus heavily on the packaging. The shape and elegance of the bottle. The placement of the logo. The color and style. Everything lends itself to the brand and the impression that you want to create. That’s why successful companies choose custom branded packaging – and now, with social media, it has an even greater layer of importance. 

Shareable on the Shelf and on the Screen

So far, we’ve talked a lot about imagery and font, but what about texture? You may be surprised to learn that texture, although not a prominent piece of the packaging process, is vastly more important to men than women. Texture tends to lend itself well to products that want to present themselves as more natural, rugged and “of the Earth”.  And although the details of a package’s texture may not show well on video or snapshots, it’s nevertheless present, and gives a sort of tactile impression to the user which clearly stands out from among the everyday packaging material they know. 

That’s why it’s so vital to have packaging that’s shareable whether it’s on the shelf or on the screen. People have an insane amount of choices in this day and age, and both the big and small details that you can incorporate into your packaging have to work all the more hard to make your product stand out from the competition. Texture is just one facet that works to nudge your product out and away from its competitors. 

Making the Unboxing Experience Memorable

Remember that at the core of the unboxing experience isn’t just the technical aspects of the packaging that make it social media shareworthy. It’s the social part of social media. 

People like sharing positive experiences that they’ve had. When customers unbox a product, they’re taking the time and making the effort to showcase these products, often without prompting or sponsoring from the brand itself, while still helping to propel the brand even further through their efforts. 

It can be helpful to look at unboxing experiences, on Instagram and YouTube especially (look for videos tagged #unboxing and you’ll find hundreds of them), to help inspire you. Even if you have a concrete idea of what you want your brand to convey to the customer, you may be surprised in watching the videos that sometimes the feelings and senses you want to be associated with your brand and product don’t even come to the forefront of the customer’s mind. In other words, there’s a clear disconnect between what you want your customers to notice, and what they actually notice (and their reactions as a result). 

The right packaging can help prevent this, but also having a proper alignment of the brand, audience, packaging and social media presence makes this process far less likely to occur. Through your packaging itself, you can help guide the user into creating the kind of response you’re looking for – not directly, but rather subtly. 

Taking the Next Steps to Make Your Packaging Social Media Shareable

Making your packaging social media shareable involves a wide range of design and fabrication points to take into consideration. It requires some marketing know-how, some branding experience, and the expertise of a packaging company that understands how valuable your brand is, and the type of personality you want your product package to convey. 

Fortunately, at Refine Packaging, our years of experience, combined with our proven customization process for companies and brands large and small makes us the perfect choice to trust with your brand’s packaging process.

From our dedicated artists to our proficient printers, packaging professionals and branding specialists, we’ll work with you to help create a packaging “presence” that perfectly combines the attributes you want to have shine from the moment your package arrives to the moment the product is taken from its confines. 

We’re ready to help you make your packaging social media shareable. Contact us today by phone or online to learn more about our many custom packaging options. We can’t wait to learn more about your brand! 

The post How to Make Your Packaging Social Media Shareable appeared first on Refine Packaging.

It might be that distinctive, smiley box from Amazon, or one of those Blue Apron boxes that seem to crop up everywhere—or maybe it’s something you’ve never seen before.

Just the other day while driving in my neighborhood, I saw a bold, purple-colored box with the words “Purple Carrot” emblazoned on the side. What’s a Purple Carrot? I’d never heard of the company. But the vibrant colored box was enough to capture my attention and stick out in my mind.

Guess what I did when I got home? I googled Purple Carrot and found out they’re a plant-based meal delivery service. Talk about effective marketing.

By merely using distinct, recognizable packaging, Purple Carrot piqued the interest of a casual observer (me), and eked out a little free advertising too.

For businesses of all sizes, effective custom packaging can yield impressive marketing results.

Just consider these stats:

• In a Dotcom Distribution study, over 60% of those surveyed said that gift-like packaging gets them excited about what they ordered.
• 40% of these online shoppers said they would be more likely to purchase from a retailer again if the retailer used premium packaging.

And pretty packages can lead to social shares:

• 50% said gift-like or branded packaging makes them more likely to recommend a brand to others.
• People obsess over packaging. In 2018, there are more than 92 million “unboxing” videos on YouTube.

Suffice it to say, custom packaging is an easy way to spike interest in your products and build excitement for your brand. Not to mention that your competition is probably already putting effort into how they package their products. Don’t get left behind.

So how can your business stand out from the crowd?

Let’s take a look at how you can incorporate custom boxes and branded packaging into your marketing arsenal.

And fear not, there are price points that will work for every size business.

Why Go Custom?

Custom Boxes We Created For T-Mobile

Gone are the days of haphazardly tossing some goods in a post office box and calling it a day.

The physical box you put your product in is important, so put some thought into it. You only have one chance to make a first impression. Don’t miss this opportunity.

Making a memorable brand experience is especially relevant for one very important consumer group—millennials. Millennials now make up nearly 25% of the US population and possess an annual purchasing power of over $1.3 trillion dollars. For millennials, feeling a connection with a brand is of paramount importance when making purchasing decisions.

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Unique packaging is a great way to initially wow your customers and make them feel special. When done right, you’ll increase brand exposure, through social sharing, and directly pump up brand loyalty and sales.

Where To Start

It all begins with choosing the type of outside shipping box you need.

Boxes come in all shapes, colors, materials, and sizes, but cardboard and corrugated rectangular boxes are the most popular choices, because they’re sturdy and affordable.

When it comes to packaging design or box design, there are two main types of packaging to consider: Fully customized boxes and printed stock boxes.

Let’s take a closer look:

You can choose to go the fully customized route, but maybe a printed stock box will fit your needs. It’s always best to ask packaging companies for a quote. A lot will depend on your budget and the type of products you’re shipping.

With a custom box, you can pick any size you want, add fancy designs, fitted dividers, inserts, throw in some custom tissue paper, or make use of inner boxes and bags.

In other words, you can get exactly what you want and know that your brand will have something entirely unique.

When you design your custom retail packaging, don’t let the inside flap of your shipping box go to waste. Take a company like Loot Crate, for example. They use this piece of precious real estate by including “unboxing instructions,” as a way to encourage social sharing.

Successful packaging starts with a compelling design.

Your company probably already has a logo or a particular color associated with your brand. Try to incorporate these elements into your boxes or other packaging. It will promote brand awareness and help people remember you.

There are all kinds of variables that can inflate the costs of your packaging. When weighing your printing options, don’t forget to consider things like cutting dies, printing plates, flute size, dielines, and minimum orders.

Keep in mind printing costs are usually lower for bigger orders. So if you can, figure out what you’ll need down the road, and order accordingly.

And always get a printed sample proof before approving the job for production. You’d hate to place a large order only to have your company name misspelled, or the colors to be all wrong. That’s definitely not the kind of branding you want.

NOTE: We offer 100% free design for all of our customers who need help. Don’t have a design? Let us help you make it.

Choosing The Right Type of Box: Custom Boxes By Industry

You might be surprised to learn that there are custom boxes for specific industries. Some packaging is crafted to suit specific product box styles, and others to match unique retail box needs.

On A Tight Budget? Think Beyond The Box

Not every company has the budget to digitally print their logo on the side of their shipping boxes. But that doesn’t mean you have to forfeit all attempts at promoting your brand. The little things inside the box are an important component of adding that personal touch.

Looking for a little inspiration? It’s not hard to find.

Even a cursory search on Pinterest will have all kinds of packaging eye candy pop up.  Many pinners devote whole boards to packaging ideas.

Here are some ideas to consider:

Notes

How about the thrill of receiving a personalized, handwritten note?

If you find one of those tucked inside your product box, you’ll take notice. A simple thank you note can go a long way.  And it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. For mere pennies, you can print up some thank you inserts, and make your customers feel special.

You can get as fancy as you want, but if money’s tight, you can even print some out on your own computer.

Stickers

The post The Definitive Step-By-Step Guide to Custom Boxes (With 5 Real World Examples) appeared first on Refine Packaging.

As a retail player, your marketing strategy for the holiday season can be make or break. From Black Friday to the January sales, you have a huge opportunity to positively influence the bottom line. After all, research shows that holiday shopping has skyrocketed to over $936 billion in 2022. How do you stand out from the crowd in 2023? The answer may be surprising. You see, it all comes down to personalized holiday packaging. 

Let’s take a look at Starbucks. Each year, come November, Starbucks swaps its traditional branded cups for festive, holiday ones, along with seasonal drinks and decorations inside their stores. Also, all of the products that Starbucks sells, such as take-home coffee beans and reusable cups, receive a festive makeover. You might think Starbucks does this just to inject some holiday spirit into the atmosphere of its coffee houses. But this move is much more than that. 

In previous years, the Starbucks festive strategy has led to increases of up to 12% revenue for the winter quarter. It’s clear that investing in holiday marketing and gift packaging plays an important role in winning the hearts and minds of consumers during the holiday season. 

Plus, people are likely to spend more over the holiday period. Between buying gifts for others and the occasional impulse purchase, the average American expects to spend $998 on gifts, holiday items, and other expenses during the holiday season. Online shopping is also on the rise, with US holiday stats showing that, for 2022, online customers spent over $9 billion on Black Friday and Thanksgiving. 

2023 Holiday Packaging Trends 

While it’s clear that investing in holiday gift packaging is a must, it’s not as simple as putting a bow on your in-store items or bulk-buying red cardboard boxes for holiday shipping. You need to do more than just take part in the festive season. You need to stand out in it. 

Here’s a couple of things to bear in mind as you embark on your personalized holiday gift packaging strategy.  

1. Holiday Cheer By Mail

COVID-19 has drastically changed how people buy goods, even Christmas gifts. In line with this, Deloitte predicts that ecommerce sales will grow by at least 12.8% during the 2023 holiday season. They predict that, this year, ecommerce sales will generate at least $260 billion.  

As a retailer, this means that your ecommerce packaging strategy really counts. Personalization, combined with safe and quick deliveries, will be paramount to delivering festive cheer to your customers.  

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It’s also worth bearing in mind that with the pandemic far from over, many consumers may not venture to see their families for their usual holiday events this year. Instead, they’ll choose to send gifts directly to recipients via the mail or a delivery provider. 

This means that offering beautifully wrapped holiday boxes could be the difference between a consumer choosing your brand over another. People are looking for brands to help them spread the holiday spirit through their gift packaging, even if they can’t be there directly in person.  

2. Window Shopping on Instagram  

Deloitte also found that nearly a quarter of consumers plan to use social media to assist them in their holiday shopping. This could be scrolling on Pinterest for gift inspiration or finding a new brand on Instagram. To boost your sales, you’ll want to make sure your online marketing strategy is on point. In the digital age, a huge vehicle for this is unboxing videos. 

Take a look at the below stats:

• A study by Google found that 1 in 5 consumers have watched an unboxing video. 
• Over 90,000 people type “unboxing” into YouTube every month.
• Unboxing videos that have the hashtag #smallbusiness have an average of 141,735 views across 279 TikTok accounts.

Put yourself in the shoes of a consumer. You’re scrolling through Instagram, and then you come across an eye-catching video of someone opening a beautifully wrapped gift box. The packaging is festive on the outside, there’s a personalized card inside, along with tissue paper in the brand’s colors.  

These kinds of unboxing videos are amazing at swaying consumers into buying from your brand. They’re a chance to showcase the thought you’ve put into your gift packaging and highlight why your brand is a great one to choose during the holiday season. Your packaging is also the first impression a consumer gets of your company. An amazing experience can build brand loyalty and make your customer more likely to become a repeat shopper.  

Holiday Gift Packaging: The Basics 

The holiday season is the most important retail sales period, but investing in the right gift packaging approach doesn’t have to break the bank. A great customized holiday packaging strategy is all about preparation.

While Black Friday and Christmas might feel far away right now, time moves quickly in the retail world. If you haven’t started thinking about your Christmas packaging design yet, then the time to do it is now. 

However, before we jump into the how of creating your Christmas packaging boxes, we need to cover a few things first. These fundamentals will guide your overarching strategy and ensure that you create eye-catching holiday gift box packaging at the budget that’s right for you.  

• Budget: Earlier, we mentioned Starbucks. While they may lead the way in holiday packaging, the company’s marketing budget is way bigger than most. While we encourage ambition and creativity, it’s also important to balance this with budget allowances. This way, you can determine the best types of packaging and design options that are affordable for your company. 
• Forecasting: Buying Christmas gift boxes wholesale is a great way to keep prices low while covering your packaging needs. However, no one wants to be left with a surplus of gift packaging at the end of the season, especially because it can’t be used during other times of the year. It’s therefore important to forecast how many units you expect to sell over the Christmas season and then order your holiday packaging based on these predictions. 
• Think Long-Term: While Christmas is an annual event, holiday gift packaging design is often unique to the year. Depending on what’s happened throughout the period or if there’s been any brand milestones, many players choose to tailor their packaging so that it is specific and relevant to the year at hand. For your brand, it’s important to look at your strategy from a long-term perspective. Will the customized holiday packaging you create be for 2023 only? Or will it be a design you use year in, year out? 
• Think Beyond Red and Green: The thing about holiday gift packaging is that a lot of brands do it. While red, green, and gold are definitely festive colors, they can also be overused. In a sea of red holiday wrapping paper and gold baubles, choosing a color scheme that is starkly different can help you stand out from the crowd. Of course, the customized colors you choose should match with your brand. You can look at your brand guidelines for customization inspiration. 
• Don’t Forget Sustainability: According to CNN, there is an extra 1 million tons of waste produced over the holiday season, and a lot of it comes from packaging. By choosing recyclable options, like corrugated cardboard and paper-based packaging, you can help your customers make more eco-friendly choices over the holidays. Not only is this good for the environment, but it’s good for building loyal relationships, too. Research indicates that almost half (48%) of consumers hold brands responsible for increasing the amount of packaging that is recycled. So by demonstrating your commitment to sustainability, you’re putting your company in a positive light to your customers. 

Customizing Your Holiday Gift Box Packaging

The beauty of customized retail packaging is that there are many ways to do it, from tailored ecommerce packaging to personal notes in your packages. It’s important to create holiday packaging that represents your brand, suits your price range, and ultimately delights your customers. 

First things first, you need to decide if you are going to go for a box or padded mailer. Both are easily customizable, but there are a few critical differences, which we’ve summarized in the tables below, showing the advantages and disadvantages of each. 

Customizable Printed Cardboard Boxes

Cardboard boxes and cartons are great for larger items and shipping multiple products. You’ll find that they come in a wide selection of sizes and materials, making them super easy to tailor for whatever festive creation you have in mind. 

Personalized Mailer Boxes for Shipping

If you order any subscription boxes, then you will have likely received mailer boxes. These nifty, lightweight cardboard creations are perfect for sending smaller items through the postal system. Like cardboard gift boxes, they are easily customizable. 

Holiday Gift Boxes: What’s Right for Me? 

Depending on what products you sell, you might choose to go for a hybrid strategy. For example, for one-item orders, you can use padded mailers. Then, for orders with multiple items or for gift sets, you can use customized shipping boxes. 

Decorating Your Gift Packaging 

Now that you know what kind of packaging you’re going for, it’s time to get creative and sprinkle some festive cheer in the form of design.

Your boxes or mailers can be customized in many ways. The colors, graphics, textures, and finishing options can all be edited to best represent your brand and what the holiday season means to you. 

We recommend first thinking about the color and texture of your gift packaging. If you’re an eco-conscious brand, you may want to go for a natural kraft-brown feel. Alternatively, if you’re aiming for a minimalist holiday design, then a shiny white might suit you better. Remember, no idea is too crazy, so get creative, search for inspiration online, and come up with an idea that you think your customers will love!   

Besides colors, you can choose finishing options like glossy or matte. Over the Christmas period, a glossy finish might be a great way to add extra sparkle to your ecommerce gifts. However, it’s worth noting that different colors and textures will suit glossy finishes better than others, so be sure to consult a design or packaging materials expert before finalizing anything. 

Graphics and typography are the next step to consider. Christmas wrapping paper is often adorned with reindeers, baubles, Santa, and so on—and so can your holiday boxes! Remember, though, to keep your graphics and colors in line with your brand guidelines. You want your package to stand out and represent your brand, not look like a generic holiday package. 

Add a Touch of Sparkle

Customization goes beyond the outside of your box or mailer. To make your products feel extra special during the holidays, you can add some personal touches, such as: 

1. Holiday-Style Packing Tape

If you’re on a budget or want to elevate your customized box even more, then look no further than holiday-themed packing tape. This is a great way to add some theater to your boxes and mailers, and really show off the extra effort your brand has put in over the holiday season.

2. Custom Stickers and Labels

Custom stickers and labels are a subtle and cost-effective way to embellish your packaging. Your stickers can combine your brand elements with holiday imagery, and you can create them in a range of colors and textures. 

3. Personal Notes

If you’re a small business, then a handwritten note is an amazing way to build a relationship with your customer while, at the same time, showing them the love and care that has gone into creating your package. If you are too busy to commit to handwritten notes, then typed cards can be used instead. Either way, these notes are a way to create a meaningful interaction with your customer and wish them a happy holiday season.

4. Custom Tissue Paper

Tissue paper is wonderfully versatile. Aside from adding cushioning to your ecommerce packaging, it can also add to the sense of excitement while opening a gift. Plus, it comes in a variety of colors and finishes, meaning you can personalize it to fit your brand. Finally, although tissue paper is relatively inexpensive, it can add a touch of luxury to your packages, which is perfect for sending a holiday gift.

5. Ribbons

A beautiful ribbon that you wrap around a gift is a traditional holiday emblem, and they are easy and inexpensive to incorporate into your strategy. Take Tiffany and Co. Their packages usually feature the classic blue box, delicately tied with a white ribbon. Over the holidays, they make one striking change that signals in the festive cheer; they swap the white ribbon for a red one. While simple, this move serves as a sign for Tiffany and Co. customers that the holidays are here. If your shop uses ribbons or decorations, then consider switching the color, like Tiffany and Co., for straightforward but effective customization. 

Remember Your Why 

We appreciate that overhauling your gift packaging design for a two-month period can feel overwhelming and like a huge amount of work, but it can also be extremely fun and rewarding. Ultimately, a great holiday packaging strategy can elevate your sales and build long-lasting brand relationships.

After all, we’re in the age of the unboxing experience. Your holiday gift packaging is a form of free, online marketing. In fact, consumers are 90% more likely to purchase from a brand recommended to them by someone they know, so encourage your customers to share their purchases and unbox them on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and so on. 

For all you know, your packaging could go viral, taking your brand to a new level of recognition and sales among consumers. Plus, at the very least, your customized holiday gift packaging will spread festive cheer, make your consumers feel good, and highlight your brand’s values. 

Refine Packaging is the top choice for the world’s Inc 5000 and Fortune 500 companies. With super fast production times, affordable pricing, and a sky’s the limit attitude, we’ll help you turn your custom packaging into a competitive differentiator. Contact us today and a dedicated packaging specialist will guide you through every step of the custom packaging process without breaking a sweat.

The post How to Design and Personalize Holiday Packaging appeared first on Refine Packaging.

You want everything to be just right, as you and your partner embark on your lives together. After all, this is a joyful event you hope to only do once, so you want every detail to be perfect.  

And honestly, weddings don’t come cheap.  

In 2017 – the average American wedding cost $25,764 – and that’s not including the honeymoon. Considering that the average couple spends between another $4000 and $5000 on their honeymoon, we’re talking about a major life investment.

You’ve probably spent weeks, or even months agonizing over every detail of the big day. You’ve hired your photographer and DJ, your florist is good to go, your wedding party will be decked out in the attire of your careful choosing, your champagne is ordered, and you’ve spent hours doing that oh so arduous task of tasting dozens of little cakes.

But are you forgetting about one of the smaller details to make your big day just perfect? Fortunately, this one’s a lot cheaper than a three-tiered tiramisu cake, or an exotic trip to the Bahamas.

Do you have a wedding card box?

Why Bother With a Wedding Card Box?

Sure, a wedding card box is not a necessity with a wedding. And in the grand scheme of things, it may seem like a trivial detail.  

It’s not like skipping the cake or bubbly. But, a custom box can make things run a little smoother at your reception and give you one less thing to worry about.  

Nowadays, a lot of wedding gifts are bought online and shipped directly to the happy couple’s home. But there are still many guests who will arrive at the wedding with gifts and cards in tow. Some people just prefer to hand deliver their gifts. You don’t want your guests having to awkwardly carry your gift around all night, or have to stuff it under their table.

You need a designated spot where guests can unload their gifts. This is where a gift table comes in handy.  Place your wedding card box front and center on the table, so guests have a clear place to deposit their cards.  

It will also give you a specific place to gather up everything at the end of the night – so you won’t mistakenly leave anyone’s thoughtful gift behind.

Of course, a custom box isn’t just meant to be some utilitarian item. A card box can help add a little bling to your gift table.

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Your gift table can help reflect the tone or theme of your wedding. And the wedding card box is a great way to add more style to your gift table decorations. Be sure to add some pretty signage to your table – indicating where cards go, or saying thank you – and further style the table with flowers or other decorations in keeping with your wedding style.

There are no hard and fast rules for your wedding card box. You can choose something sophisticated or whimsical. It’s another way to reflect your personal style.

Options for Card Boxes

The options are limitless for wedding card boxes. Check out these wedding box ideas to inspire you to get the perfect box for your wedding:

Repurpose Old Items

A wedding card box doesn’t have to be a box, at all.

Some couples choose to repurpose old items as a receptacle for their cards. Some popular options are a vintage suitcase, an old birdcage, or a decorated mailbox. These are great ways to add some fun and make your gift table memorable.

DIY

If you’re the crafty type, you can DIY your own wedding box.

If you’re stuck on where to begin, just peruse Pinterest for some inspiration. All it takes is a little imagination.  

You can go the traditional route, or try a playful option. Some couples have even made card boxes out of Legos.

Leave It To The Professionals

Of course, you probably already have enough on your plate with planning the big event.  

You may be short on time, or maybe you’re not feeling particularly crafty.  

For a professional polished look that incorporates the unique feel of your wedding, you should consider ordering a custom wedding card box. That way you get exactly what you want.  

You can pick the size, what colors you want, the box design, or any other embellishment you want.  

Added Security

On your wedding day, the last thing you want to worry about is someone stealing your wedding gifts.  

Sadly, it does happen more than you might think.

If you have your reception at a large venue, there will be all kinds of people milling about. There may even be more than one wedding going on at the same time, in which case, it would be easy for someone to quickly slip in and grab your loot.

With the typical amount that people spend on a wedding gift being between $50 and upwards of $100, the reality of sticky fingers is a strong possibility.

A wedding card box will ensure that all of your cards are in one location, which is much easier to secure.  If you’re feeling particularly wary about the security of your venue, you can even get a locking box.

After the Wedding

Keep in mind that your wedding card box shouldn’t be a blatant money grab.  

It can also be a place for guests to stick congratulatory messages to the new couple. Leave some note cards by the box, so guests are encouraged to leave you some thoughtful words. You will have fun looking over these notes in years to come.

Your wedding is just one day, but it will provide you with a lifetime of memories.  

Your wedding card box is the perfect way to keep all of your keepsakes in one place.

In addition to your cards, you can store your ceremony program, a garter, your something blue – or any of the other little mementos that will remind you of your special day.  

Think of the enjoyment you’ll feel years from now when you open your wedding card box to relive that day and share your memories with your future generations.

The post Wedding Card Boxes: Must-Know Tips For the Perfect Box appeared first on Refine Packaging.

Statistics show that it does, even if today’s shoppers are primarily concerned with fast and low-cost to free shipping.

Although nearly half of ecommerce patrons across all age brackets currently prefer sustainable brand packaging, about the same percentage pay attention to package design. Dotcom Distribution reports that 49% of shoppers aged 18-29, as well as 30% of sporting goods customers, are drawn to gift-like packaging.

Now, let’s cover the four primary aspects of quality product packaging design.

1. Product Security 

Product packaging should first keep the product clean, intact, and dry during shipment, storage, and display. Its material and construction should be durable and tamper-free as much as possible.

The best packaging design aims to lower or eliminate damage costs—as well as risks to user safety—that come with transportation, drops, or even theft. Creative box designs also aim to find a perfect balance between child-resistant containers and accessible packaging for aging customers.

2. Visual Appeal

Once you have a solid structure, the second top priority of every package design is to raise a product’s presentation quality. Its appearance should look irresistible to your target market. This includes the color, size, typography, illustrations, or imagery on the label or the packaging material itself.

Choose design or style elements that reflect your business values and at the same time connect with your customers’ values. They should evoke the emotion that you want your target audience to experience, such as nostalgia, comfort, or rejuvenation. 

Creative packaging designs also strengthen your brand identity. The placement and shape of your logo, the use of company colors, and the size of fonts should help make the brand memorable to customers. 

3. Product and Brand Information

Your product’s package design should educate shoppers about how they’re going to benefit from your product. It should include product contents, directions for use, expiration dates, and safety warnings. 

You can also use your package designs to tell more about your product and how customers can engage with your company through social media or your official website.

4. Differentiation

To attract customers, your brand packaging design should stand out when your product is placed on a shelf or appears on an app or website page beside other brands.

How Can Product Packaging Design Increase Market Value?

Unique product packaging design can help your products sell better by fulfilling the needs of your customers. These include:

1. Practicality and Safety

Shoppers will find a reason to buy your product and become loyal to it if it’s easy to use and convenient to handle or carry around. Conducting research on creative packaging ideas can help you identify which materials and shapes to use for your boxes or containers so that they’re more suitable to your target shoppers. 

Customers also feel that a brand cares about end-user safety when they see that the company uses sanitized, high-quality containers or boxes with a polished exterior and sturdy construction. Customers appreciate labels that don’t stain or get easily detached or washed off.

With the growing awareness for sustainable shopping, today’s customers also tend to pick brands that use reusable or recyclable packaging as well as containers that can help extend a product’s usability or allow customers to get the most content out of them.

2. Fun and Memorability

You can use creative packaging design to build a deeper connection with your clients by making the unboxing experience something they’d want to look forward to. Today’s social media influencers usually include this experience when introducing new products to their followers.

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3. Honesty and Trust

Being explicit about your product—its ingredients or contents and exactly what it can do—builds a foundation of trust. 

Customers appreciate brands that don’t exaggerate their product’s quantity or volume and capabilities, which explains the current trend toward clear product packaging or packaging with windows for a sneak peek into the product inside. This type of packaging, in a way, lets the product speak for itself.

Explaining the production process and including the place of origin also gives plus points for transparency. 

4. Distinctness

Well-designed product packaging will help your product appear distinct when placed on a shelf with other products. Research and testing are necessary to achieve a unique package design.

Recognizable packaging can be simple but can eventually have a strong loyalty base as it pops in an environment of similarly colored or patterned products. 

16 Creative Packaging Design Trends

With in-store shopping still widely restricted, today’s package designers and brand owners are working hard to give customers an immersive brand experience they can enjoy anywhere. Creative packaging design is still powerful, influencing 81% of consumers to try something new and 52% to switch brands. Why? Observers say that designs are shifting from a commercial look to a more creative, artistic approach.

For more packaging ideas, here are 16 of the most popular current trends in brand packaging design: 

1. Protective Solutions

With customers conscious about protection amid viral contamination risks, marketers and shippers are expected to prioritize protective packaging. Examples of these are hygienic sleeves for canned drinks and antibacterial surface coatings, such as Touchguard for carton boxes. Because paper-based products are made of porous materials, they’re considered less hospitable to viruses compared to plastic and glass. 

Meanwhile, as a growing number of brick-and-mortar stores shift their operations online, they’re expected to partner with a creative packaging designer to safely ship their unusually shaped products to customers, as in the case of plumbing supplies. 

2. Sustainability

A growing number of companies are looking at product packaging materials that are not just recyclable but also require less energy to produce. Additionally, some brands are responding to calls for non-plastic alternatives that can be repurposed. 

Carton designs are a popular option and can become an essential backbone branding element, with 73% of consumers considering the material as sustainable packaging. Eco-friendly packaging also affects consumer perception, with over 40% stating that such package types evoke “premium-ness.”

3. Miniature Formats and Tiny Patterns

From food to cosmetics to coffee packaging, brands are trying to lure shoppers through miniature portions or versions of their products. Small and compact that can fit in your pocket or bag is a great example of packaging that’s perfect for travel. Affordability is another high selling point of these portable products.

Also, small and intricate illustrations and patterns symbolizing the packaging’s contents will replace the former trend of having overwhelming images on the package.

4. Simple Geometry

Customers can expect businesses to incorporate abstract designs – simple but bold colors, fluid shapes, sharp angles, and clean lines—into their packaging design elements to create an impact.

5. Solid Colors

Brands are also using the power of color psychology, incorporating one bright and bold color with big typography (although slim fonts may also work) into their packaging design projects. In some cases, the use of an unconventional shade can quickly direct the shopper’s eyes to the copy.

The right combination of color and font style powerfully invokes a certain mood or feeling. How text styles and colors correlate also builds up excitement for seeing the product contents. Up to 90% of consumers’ perceptions regarding a brand are based on colors.

6. Color Blocking and Gradients

Color blocking is putting together two or three different colors—opposing or not under one tone. Instead of straight-edged boxes of color, you’ll find random-looking blobs, uneven shapes, and flowing lines. 

This technique is found in the product packaging and logo design of many organic brands, which uses contrasting, nature-inspired colors.

7. Vintage

With this trend, not only do parts of a packaging—logos, fonts, and colors—look old-school (19th to 20th century), but the entire material, label, and sometimes even the shape looks vintage

You can use this creative packaging approach to conjure nostalgia or to create a sense of longevity and proven quality. Products can also acquire an air of luxury through the use of traditional lettering, motifs, and a retro color palette.

8. Fine Art

Creative packaging design experts also draw inspiration from the realistic portraiture or abstract paintings of the Old Masters as well as fluid art techniques. Popular designs try to capture the effect of freshly poured resin and textures on newly painted canvas or long-dried oil paintings.

9. Anatomical and Technical Drawings

This refers to detailed pencil or ink-drawn illustrations that are reminiscent of books with yellowed paper found in museums or the library’s archive section.

10. Transparency and Windows

To achieve the opposite effect of solid color packaging, you can use see-through materials, so buyers will know exactly what they’re getting. You can also opt for a package design or style that incorporates windows to give customers a glimpse of your product. Revealing packaging can dispel doubts that shoppers may have about the content’s freshness and safety.

11. Flat Illustrations

Flat illustrations use two-dimensional drawings with simple, minimalist shapes and bright colors. The absence of shadows makes the elements appear clean and sharp.

12. Soft, Natural Colors 

Soft pastel hues can be visually refreshing. Colors and textures resembling stone, foliage, and nature are great packaging design inspirations with a calming effect. Throw in some contrasting elements to add inspiration to your gentle color palette. 

13. Storytelling

Brand mascots can tell the story of a business, many times doing the job faster and in a more engaging way. Many companies have presented their characters in cartoon form, turning their unique packaging ideas into what look like panels of a comic book. A business can also share its history or values through a series of illustrations on its package design to bond better with its customers as part of a unified brand strategy.

14. Experimental Fonts

Bold fonts are taking the place of images to grab attention. Many packaging designers will experiment with 3D fonts and typefaces with gradients.

But at the same time, buyers are also more likely to warm up to products with fonts that are easy to read, even from a distance. Clear typography helps customers decide more quickly, allowing them to shop faster during in-store trips. 

15. Textures

The power of sensation has been used in marketing as far back as the 1930s, when psychologist and design consultant Louis Cheskin coined the term “sensation transference.” He said that perceptions are directly related to aesthetic design.

Brands targeting a higher-end market aren’t only aiming for visual identity but also a tactile experience to reinforce luxury values. An embossed treatment, gold and silver foil, smooth and glossy finishes, or velvety surfaces are classic examples. 

Offering a positive tactile experience is also applicable for non-premium items, particularly packaging designs for products made for children or the elderly. Depending on one’s target age bracket, packaging designs should be convenient to handle besides looking fun or safe.

16. Tech Integration

Fun and unique packaging and labels can become customer engagement tools by featuring interactive content that shows off moving visuals, games, and more using augmented reality. But these cool packaging ideas aren’t just out to entertain the tech-savvy crowd—the elements should still support the product or brand’s story and purpose. 

Companies can design these phone-scannable labels to animate your logo and label elements or give more information about a product, whether it’s behind-the-scenes production, directions for use, special product features, or how to enjoy promos. The inclusion of QR codes can also support the ongoing campaign for contactless transactions.

Also referred to as connected packaging, this modern packaging design is expected to grow 7.4% until 2027

Creative Packaging Ideas: 8 Pitfalls to Avoid

Brand packaging plays an important role in persuading your target market to choose your product over others. When developing your brand packaging, it’s important to note these eight common pitfalls: 

1. Complicated or Hard to Open and Close

User experience is supreme when it comes to product design. So you need to consider a durable but simple packaging design to avoid frustrating customers, who might take their wrap rage to social media. Over 90% of online shoppers said their top pain point was opening a product or packaging.

Include unboxing in your package testing process and take customer feedback to heart. Make your product package tool-free as much as possible and reduce the number of steps to access the product inside. If your buyers are older adults, ease of use should be a primary consideration. Create a package design that’s easy to close and open. 

2. Not Eco-Friendly

In a recent poll, 73% of respondents noticed that the packaging of products they received was twice the size of what’s inside. Meanwhile, more than 90% received packaging with a lot of wasted space. This practice can erode shoppers’ trust and degrade their unboxing experience, not to mention dent your transport expenses. 

More than 50% of consumers check for sustainable packaging when making purchases. To support waste reduction, measure your product and choose the right box size. Most importantly, use compostable and reusable packaging and inner protection, such as recycled paper. 

3. Errors in the Copy

Spelling and grammar mistakes can ruin a solid design layout. Don’t rush the copywriting process—work with a professional with proofreading experience. 

Then get two or three others to review your packaging. It’s better to spot the errors before bringing your packaging concept to the printers for mass production. 

4. Misrepresentation of Products

Companies can mislead customers in other ways besides using oversized packaging. These include exaggerating contents or benefits, excluding health risks, unclear pricing, faking qualifications, and not putting pertinent business information. The latest report of food packaging provider Shorr shows that 34% of consumers avoid products with popular terms on their labels due to fear of being misled.

Check advertising guidelines issued by the US FDA and other standard bodies to avoid facing lawsuits, bad press, and criticism.

5. Forgettable Design 

The last thing you want to happen to your product is to see it “blend into the shelf” or look very similar to your competitors. While others turn to copycat packaging in hopes of riding on the look of successful brands, companies with integrity will design unique packaging around their own brand identity. Some points to consider include:

• How you want consumers to remember your brand

• How you want to convey your unique selling point with visuals

• What tagline you should use to represent the main benefit of your product

Conduct market research to check what your competitors are doing and what the current packaging trends are in your industry. 

Your findings will help you determine what packaging size and material to use to make your product stand out. Purchase licenses for any outsourced visual assets, whether they’re images, fonts, or both. 

6. Overwhelming Elements

Your choice of typeface, images, and colors should align with your consumer expectations. Too many colors and a wide variety of wacky fonts can make your packaging look cluttered. With fewer but more substantial elements to focus on, consumers can interact with your product better.

7. Artwork Mistakes

One common artwork mistake is using low-resolution image files. Images that look clear on a website or computer screen can look blurred or fuzzy when printed on paper. For printing purposes, images should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Images downloaded from the web are 72 dpi on average and won’t look crisp during printing. Images shot from digital cameras or mobile phones, which are usually saved in RGB mode, should be converted to CMYK format for commercial printing.

When outsourcing graphics, make sure to buy licensed images. This is a better option to take than getting images from ClipArt, which aren’t formatted for commercial use.

Another mistake to avoid is to lay out copy and artwork in Microsoft (Word or PowerPoint) or Corel Draw. These programs will do for desktop printers, but for commercial printing, artwork should be designed in Illustrator, Photoshop, QuarkXpress, or other professional applications. 

You also need to review your font choice and layout to ensure that shoppers won’t misinterpret what you’re really trying to sell. The hilarious packaging above could’ve been easily avoided with some design adjustments.

8. Lacks Product Protection 

Performance testing is necessary once you’ve developed a prototype for your brand packaging. It should be durable enough to withstand the trip to your buyer’s delivery address. Otherwise, you run the risk of incurring costs due to returns, refunds, and replacements. 

While over-packaging is not advisable, it’s equally unwise to minimize protection. Consider your product’s weight and how fragile it is. Besides picking the correct box size, select sturdy material. Include protective cushioning when necessary. To reduce ink smears, select the right packaging materials, labels, and printing ink formulation.

Creative Packaging Tips: Importance of Getting a Prototype Before Production

A prototype is a sample of what your final packaging will look like. Requesting a prototype from your packaging supplier can save you from getting into any of the pitfalls listed in the previous section. Here at Refine Packaging, we proudly provide 2D and 3D mockups at no additional charge for all customers.

At the same time, asking for a prototype or mock-up can help you achieve the following:

• Proper Fit: Receiving a prototype allows you to test if your product actually fits in the box according to the dimensions you set. It also lets you check if it can support your product’s weight as you envisioned it.

• Printing Verification: While 2D mock-ups are great for very minor design tweaks, 3D mock-ups can give you full visibility, especially for ordering new packaging in bulk. A custom digital sample can help you check how sharp your graphics, fonts, and images appear on your chosen packaging material. The look and feel of the artwork, colors, and finish are usually different on the actual box compared to what you see on a screen or a 2D mock-up. A 3D sample gives you full visibility, as you can view it from various angles.

• Content Proofing: A prototype gives you a chance to read the product description, instructions, and other text in a fresh way. You can check for errors in text alignment, spelling, and grammar. If you’re able to order several samples, try to send some to a small, loyal client base to get feedback.

Ask Yourself: Is Your Packaging Up for a Redesign?

Does your product need to change its packaging? You may want to consider redesigning your product’s packaging if your business is encountering any of the following:

1. Company Rebranding

When you’re renaming your company or product, your packaging has to follow suit. A redesign should also be integrated into your marketing plan if you’re targeting a new target audience, introducing a new product line, or overhauling your current product or service offerings. 

For instance, there’s a growing redesign trend that caters to those with disabilities. This comes amid data showing that only 1% of ads represented people with disabilities. Accessible packaging includes features like Braille on labels and special handles on the primary packaging, so users with disabilities can decipher and use them on their own.

2. Change in the Content or Structure of a Product

You can announce changes to your product’s ingredients or components by releasing the fresh batch with brand new packaging. Use your packaging to promote how the modifications will improve your product’s functionalities.

3. Advanced Technology

Modern labeling, printing, or folding can speed up packaging production besides updating your product’s image. Some materials are also worth trying if they offer better protection against the elements and prolong a product’s shelf life. Taking advantage of new technology is a wise move, especially if it can also save you money in the long run. 

4. Retail Packaging Requirements

Three-quarters of manufacturers surveyed by PMMI said that they’re already pursuing shelf-ready strategies due to its popularity. Retail-ready packaging or RRP makes it easy for retail establishments to display your items in bulk once they receive your delivery. 

When working with retailers, your design team needs to know details such as shelf dimensions, automated warehouse system design, pallet type, and so on. By customizing your packaging to the store’s layout, you help reduce the time needed for your products to be set up on the shelves.

Here are several reasons why many brands are going for RRP:

• Secure and Cost-Effective Shipping: Individual items are well-fitted inside retail-ready boxes. RRP makers use pressure-resistant materials that can hold the products together throughout shipment and even the restocking process. Some packages are multi-layered, letting you ship larger quantities safely.

• Easy Restocking: With RRP, it’s easy to replenish stocks. Employees just need to open and place a new box on the shelf, as all the items inside are stacked and ready for display. Knowing your retailer’s shelf specifications will help ease this process.

• Easy Opening: Most shelf-ready packages come with perforated sections that allow packaging to be opened without using scissors or a cutter. Also, some products come with PDQ or “pretty darn quick” display trays or stands. Often found near checkout counters, these special boxes carry sets of eight small items or more. 

• Easy Identification: With their large and clear product names outside the boxes, RRP helps retail employees and customers easily identify your brand from a distance.  

• Convenient Shopping: Shoppers normally find it easy to pull out items arranged in shelf-ready boxes. The professional presentation can also entice the public to give the products a try.

5. New Regulations

Redesigns are necessary when new laws force you to change the way you produce your product, your packaging, or the content of your packaging. To make the most out of this kind of change, include any certifications or manufacturing changes in your labels, packaging, and digital assets like your website, app, or social media.

6. Outdated Design

If it’s been years since you last changed your packaging, it’s definitely time to compare your design with the most popular products in your segment to see how you can improve. To stay recognizable, revisions should be consistent with the brand’s identity and values. Nearly three-fourths of marketers rank consistent branding as the top priority when communicating with the current client base.

You don’t have to replace your brand colors and other elements just to match or upstage a competitor who seems to be succeeding with a total package design revamp. Maybe all that’s needed is a simple “refresh” of the logo, tagline, and other brand symbols that your loyal followers have an emotional bond with. The product volume or serving size, flavor, and any critical claims should stay intact.

7. Publicity Blunder

Changing your packaging design is one way to help your company recover from any negative publicity that your product may have recently received. A fresh redesign can be part of a new brand image along with improving your core product or service and customer engagement.

8. Budget Constraints

If you need to cut down on packaging costs to help your company weather a financial crisis, you can do a redesign that will simplify certain aspects of your packaging. This may include simplifying your colors, reducing the size of your packaging, and changing the type of materials used.

Creative Packaging Ideas: Steps to Take Before Redesigning Your Packaging

Think you need to revise your packaging design based on any of the conditions discussed above? Here are some steps you need to do first:

1. Decide On the Extent of Your Redesign

Sometimes all you need is to tweak your design. A designer would refer to this as an evolution change—it seeks to retain and enhance visual or structural elements that are working. Meanwhile, weak elements will be abandoned or replaced. 

You’ll need more time and planning when you’re letting go of many elements that your current clientele are emotionally connected to – like the color of a box or the way in which it opens or gets folded. A revolutionary change in packaging usually involves more preparation, including pre-launch campaigns.

2. Know Your Customer Base More Deeply

Revisit your buyer personas or segment profile details and get input from your sales team. You can use this information to create a questionnaire or survey that will help you understand the current attitudes of your customers toward your brand. 

You can also use social listening tools or hire professional marketers to gather public perceptions from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms. This can help you discover how your consumers view your brand (possibly in relation to your rivals), what their expectations are, and if your product meets their wants and needs. 

3. Get Your Company Executives’ Buy-In

Inform and get the consensus of your business stakeholders to gain the necessary resources to turn your redesign plan into a reality. Report on the results of your research and any trends that serve as the basis of the redesign project. Then be clear about your goals and the scope of your planned revisions, particularly if it involves logo and color changes. 

Also discuss any possible obstacles and growth opportunities that can come with the redesign.

4. Choose the Right Packaging Designer

A professional marketing agency can redesign your packaging using any preliminary research you’ve done. Or you can ask the agency to conduct the research needed to determine how your new packaging can stand out. Their grasp of trends and your industry—including the other players in your segment—will be valuable to your redesign process.

Validating Your Packaging Ideas: Eye-Tracking for Market Research

With 95% of human decisions being made in the subconscious, it’s important for brands and their marketers to use modern ways in making their products more appealing to customers. Eye-tracking has been used to test advertising and packaging since the 1980s. Thanks to digital technology, eye trackers can now do more than just record your customers’ gaze points when they shop. Eye trackers also help analyze shopping behavior and preferences. Insights from these devices offer 90% accuracy in terms of mapping human nonverbal cues.

Eye trackers are equipped with cameras that measure the pupil movements of the wearer. They come in three forms: wearables (eyeglasses or goggles) for in-store use, webcams for online use, and automated solutions (predictive eye-tracking). Tobii, Pupil Labs, and Eye Square are some examples of eye-tracking platforms.

Eye-tracking devices and their software gather the data below for analysis. They suggest how effective a packaging layout or design is. They also hint at the packaging elements that influence consumers to buy a product.

• Scanning Patterns: This information shows how users looked through your packaging or scanned and interacted with a webpage.

• Fixation Count: This metric indicates up to how many times the user gazed at your identified areas of interest during a test. 

• Fixation Points or Saccades: This information reveals which elements of your packaging were the most engaging or eye-catching.

• Dwell Time: This metric refers to the length of time a user spent on an area of interest.

• Revisits: This metric points to the number of times a user went back to an area of interest or other point in the packaging or webpage during the test. This can indicate a user’s pain point if a user experienced some difficulty in completing an action during website testing.

The most common eye-tracking technique is heat mapping. Heat mapping platforms use colors to show the areas of an in-store display or webpage, letting you know which areas a shopper interacted with the most. Areas with red spots are where users focus their attention the longest. Meanwhile, the lightest-colored spots receive the lowest engagements.

Indicators of Successful Packaging Redesign 

You may see improvements in essential aspects of your business as a result of a successful redesign job. These include the following:

• Sales: It will be natural for sales to dip initially after redesigning your package. But it will eventually rebound if it meets your goals and once customers get used to the new packaging. 

• Reviews: There’s a lot to glean from the feedback of your customers online. If you ran a social media campaign before the launch of your new packaging, expect a lot of reviews to come your way. You can use the comments for further refinements. You can also consider your packaging refresh a success if people promote your products or services to others. Being tagged in people’s social media posts is another positive sign.

• Website Visits: You can expect your website to attract higher traffic volume if you did a great job at redesigning your packaging.

• Returns: If your packaging redesign is successful, you should have fewer customers or retailers returning your products due to damages during shipment.

Turn Your Creative Packaging Design Ideas into Reality with Refine Packaging 

Good design is essential for business success, from the design of your product down to your product’s beautiful packaging. 

Refine Packaging has an experienced in-house design team that can help you launch your new product or refresh your current package design. We also produce 2D and 3D mock-ups for your review. With super fast production times, affordable pricing, and a sky’s the limit attitude, we’ll help you turn your custom packaging into a competitive differentiator. 

Contact us today and a dedicated packaging specialist will guide you through every step of the custom packaging process without breaking a sweat.

The post Top 16 Creative Packaging Design Ideas for Inspiration appeared first on Refine Packaging.

Beautiful and effective custom packaging can help you retain current customers, as well as attracting new ones. When done right your custom packaging can tell your story and evoke a positive emotional reaction in your customers.

Custom packaging can set the mood.

You know that feeling you get when you step into your favorite cafe and smell the coffee roasting, or when you visit an IT’SUGAR candy store and are accosted with rows of giant colorful candy.   

Use your packaging to replicate the real world shopping experience.

So, go ahead and be bold.  

Tell your story.  

Use your brand colors, a recognizable font, your special tagline, and of course your logo. Show the world what you’re all about with custom packaging that’s as original as your brand.

Get your customers excited to receive your products and motivate them to share their enthusiasm.

What Custom Packaging Will Work for You?

First off, you need to figure out what kind of packaging will work best with your products and company goals.

Consider things like the size of your items and whether they’re fragile. And nope – not all packaging is the same.

Let’s do a rundown on some of the popular types of packaging:

• Corrugated boxes: These are probably what spring to mind when you think of packaging. And for good reason. Boxes come in all shapes and sizes and can accommodate just about any product. The most common corrugated cardboard box materials are kraft – which is the least expensive – white, and Kemi, which is a premium clay-coated substrate with a glossy finish. For many cosmetic packaging and retail boxes, cardstock is a less expensive and more popular option as well.
• Padded/bubble mailers: These are more cost-effective than boxes and are ideal for smaller, non-fragile items.
• Mailer boxes: These are about the size of document envelopes, but thicker. They’re commonly used for subscription boxes, like these goody boxes for dogs and cats from Chewy.
  • Custom mailers:  These are flexible traditional mailing envelopes without padding. You’ve probably received everything from stationery to clothing in one of these.
    
    
  • Rigid envelopes:  Ever order photographs online? They probably arrived in one of these envelopes since they prevent flat items from bending. Yeah, a creased photo never looks good.

   

  • Check out more options for retail boxes, cosmetic boxes, boxes by industry and boxes by style too.

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  Pick Your Size

  Telling your company story is an awesome benefit of custom packaging, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.  

  You can’t forget the practical side of the packaging.  

  Ultimately your packaging needs to securely fit whatever it is you’re shipping. Choosing the proper size box for your items is essential.  

  Since shipping costs are determined by weight and volume, it’s important not to pay extra to ship an oversized box filled with air. USPS uses the following formula to come up with shipping costs: length x width x height divided by 1728 = cubic rate.

  Now imagine if you’re consistently using boxes that are several inches too long for your products. If you only ship out a few orders, you might not care. But paying a few dollars more in shipping costs on every order is going to add up fast.

  So play around with different size boxes to get better rates.  

  You’ll be surprised that by shaving off even an inch here or there can be parlayed into big savings. And don’t limit yourself into thinking a box is your only option. If you ship lightweight items, consider a mailer.  

  According to the USPS’s website, first class is the way to go if you’re shipping something under 13 ounces. It’ll get there fast too – within 1-3 business days.

  The proper sized box will also make sure you deliver your goods intact. If your items are swimming in a large box there’s a good chance they’ll arrive at their destination in pieces.

  Create Your Design

  Alright, now back to the fun stuff.  

  The design is where you can let your creativity shine and show off what makes you so unique. A powerful packaging design will make you more memorable and help build up your brand’s reputation.

  Nowadays, just about anyone can find a designer that will fit within their budget.  

  There are plenty of free online design tools, such as Canva to get you started. If you’re willing to spend a little more, Logojoy has varying price points to come up with a logo and offers tons of inspiration. If you already have a little desktop publishing know-how, InDesign is an extremely powerful design tool.  

  Perhaps design really isn’t your thing.  

  Well, don’t worry,  there are plenty of options to outsource this important job.

  Creating a design for your packaging is more than just a logo. You want to incorporate all of your branding elements into your packaging, including colors (keep it simple with just a few), and things like social media URLs or calls to action.  

  After you have your design set, it’s a good idea to order a sample box.  

  Having a prototype will make it easy for you to spot any mistakes or clashing elements, so you can make changes before you place a giant order. Plus, you can even use your sample box for product photos, to get a jump on this marketing opportunity.

  Get Those Boxes Ordered

  Great. So you’ve done your research, studied inspirational designs, and come up with an envy-inducing design. Now, it’s time to place your order.

  This is going to involve a little more research.  

  You’ll need to familiarize yourself with some new terms, such as:

  • Dieline: A dieline is a template to make sure you have the correct layout for the final physical package.  It has marks that show the folds and cut lines of the package in flattened form.
    
  • Cutting dies: These are based on your dieline template and do the actual cutting and creasing of the cardboard substrate.
  • Printing plates: These transfer your design onto a material.
  • Flute size: This refers to the thickness of the cardboard substrate. Some sizes are easier to print on than others.
  • Tooling charges: This is the price you pay for your cutting dies and printing plates, which are necessary with custom boxes.  

  Before committing to a large order, take some time to decide on a printer for your boxes. The cheapest option isn’t always the best.

  You’ll also want to consider things like:

  • Where the printer is located: If they’re nearby, that’ll reduce shipping costs.
    
  • Turnaround time: You don’t want to twiddle your thumbs and delay shipping your goods because you’re waiting for your boxes to arrive.  
  • Box and ink quality: You want the finished product to look professional.
  • Should you go with a digital printer:  This option is more expensive, but allows for small minimum orders. If you’re ordering fewer than 1,000 boxes, this is probably the way to go.

  And no matter what printer you choose – always get a price quote, so you aren’t stuck with unexpected charges.

  You probably want to know how much you should spend on your boxes. There’s no hard and fast rule, but many suggest aiming for under two dollars a box. But obviously, this will depend on what you’re shipping.

  Conclusion

  See, coming up with custom boxes isn’t so difficult.  

  And the payoff can be amazing.  

  So go ahead and send out your beautiful packaging to the world, sit back, and let it do its marketing magic.

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