The Complete Guide to Creating Optimal Packaging for Your Brand

In today’s competitive business landscape, packaging design has become an essential aspect of product marketing and branding. Well-designed packaging can captivate customers, communicate your brand values, differentiate products from competitors, and — most importantly — drive sales. As a business executive, you might be wondering: what makes good packaging design? In this blog, we’ll explore the factors that make an optimal package and discuss how it can impact your brand’s success.

The Role of Packaging Design

Packaging design has a huge impact on consumer perception and purchasing decisions. Consumers are drawn to visually appealing packaging. When they see a shelf or online store with numerous options, packaging that stands out with attractive colors, graphics, and overall aesthetics grabs attention and piques curiosity. Your packaging can also create a memorable brand identity, allowing consumers to quickly find and choose your product.

When you think of packaging design, you might just picture the graphics, colors, and overall aesthetics, but it’s more than that. The structure of your packaging also plays a huge role. Your packaging could look great, but if it doesn’t adequately protect your product, consumers won’t choose your brand. Therefore, your packaging must be both stylish and protective.

Knowing that the structure, colors, graphics, and more can dramatically impact whether a consumer chooses your brand is the first step towards creating quality packaging. Now, how do you put that knowledge to work for your brand? Let’s dive deeper into the key elements of packaging design.

Visual Appeal

The use of colors, typography, and imagery is incredibly important when creating new packaging. It should be simple in clarity and design while providing consistency with your brand identity and target audience. Consistency in packaging design across product lines also helps to establish brand recognition and loyalty.

Information and Communication

Effective packaging design should provide clear and concise information about the product. Your copy should convey the product’s purpose, features, and benefits in a way that is easily understood by your target audience. Simplicity and clarity in communication not only aid in consumer understanding but also enhance the perception of the brand’s transparency and trustworthiness.

You should also include important information like ingredients, usage instructions, and safety warnings. Of course, the rules about what you include on your packaging will differ depending on what kind of product it is. Thus, it’s always best to consult with an expert packaging  manufacturer and your team of lawyers before signing off on the final design.

Functionality and Practicality

As mentioned above, packaging design goes beyond aesthetics; it should also serve practical purposes. Designing packaging that is reusable goes a long way with consumers, especially in the food market. A recent survey found that a whopping 74% of consumers prefer reclosable/resealable packaging. If you can enhance your packaging with additional functionality or practicality, that could drive more sales for your brand.

Sustainability and Environmental Considerations

More consumers want brands to be more environmentally friendly. In fact, according to a recent survey, 66% of all respondents and 75% of Millennial respondents say they consider sustainability before they make a purchase. What better way to capture this market’s attention than by using sustainable packaging materials?

Recent advancements in packaging materials allow for more sustainable practices when it comes to shipping products. Recyclable films and inks, along with new water recycling and air quality incinerator systems pose less of an environmental impact and can greatly benefit your brand’s image.

The Future of Packaging Design

If you want your packaging to stick out even more in the mind of a consumer, you might also consider implementing forward-thinking design elements. Smart packaging, augmented reality, and personalized and customizable packaging draw the attention of consumers and can ultimately result in more sales for your brand.

Augmented Reality

There are multiple ways you can incorporate augmented reality to help your consumers better interact with your brand. You might consider adding a feature where consumers can scan the packaging with a mobile device, allowing them to visualize the product in 3D, rotate it, explore different variations or color options, or even see it in a real-life scale. You might also add a feature wherein consumers can see step-by-step  instructions or interactive demonstrations on how to use or assemble your product. The options are endless for adding augmented reality to
your packaging.

Smart Packaging

Smart packaging refers to materials that incorporate advanced technologies to provide additional functionalities beyond basic containment and protection. Examples may include QR codes and smart labels that can offer more information about the product to your consumer.

Personalized and Customizable Packaging

Personalized and customizable packaging refers to packaging solutions that are tailored to individual customers or  customized to meet specific requirements. Though it sounds impossible to personalize your packaging to your consumers, it’s actually a lot easier than it might seem. Think about Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” program. The company printed 250 common names, along with monikers like “BFF” and “Wingman” on their bottles; this project was credited for increasing the company’s U.S. soft drink sales by 0.4% year-over-year. When you consider that Coca-Cola is a multi-billion dollar company, that small idea generated a great deal of additional revenue.

Still Have Questions About What Makes Good Packaging Design?

Talk to the Experts

If you still have questions about what makes good packaging design, connect with the experts at PPC Flexible Packaging. Headquartered in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, we have steadily grown into a premier high-quality flexible packaging manufacturer. We are a dynamic team of design and packaging professionals dedicated to providing creative packaging solutions. We can walk you through everything from ideation to the final product, making us a one-stop shop for your packaging needs.

Let’s Get Started

If you’re ready to hear about how we can help you reach your packaging goals, set up an initial consultation with us today.