To attract and hold attention, inspire to purchase, to be remembered by a consumer — all these are tasks of a well-designed packaging.

Packaging design as a tool to increase brand loyalty

Consumer branding, as brand makers say, or packaging design creation in a simple language is the process of creating a visual cover for a product. The packaging and label design is the main and only channel of communication with the buyer and often helps him or her to make the final decision while standing in front of the display window.
In the era of the information noise, consumer receives hundreds of messages every day. He or she learned to filter and cut off everything irrelevant. So, specialists often question themselves: how to create packaging that will attract attention, sell goods and increase brand loyalty?
In this case it is important to keep in mind that person has an emotional nature. The most significant thing is to remember that each package and label must be created for a specific target audience. The consumer is the central figure to be studied. Often, the packaging designer creates a design for him or herself. This is obviously a non-working option. After carefully examining and analyzing the target audience, the brand strategist along with the art director should create a model that will speak the visually understandable language of the buyer. A potential buyer will pay his or her attention, remember the brand and, very likely, will buy a product (now or later).
But it is also important to remember that a good label design is only an element in the complex called “brand loyalty”, which helps familiarize the consumer with the product.
What is more, production should be of the expected quality. But no matter how attractive the design is, if the quality does not meet the expectations — the packaging will not sell itself again! And the not yet born brand leaves the market right away. There is also a flip side: high-quality products are unnoticed and gather dust on the shelves, because the design leaves much to be desired. In this case, restyling would make a lot of sense.

Packaging design: stages of the creation

Packaging creation is a fascinating and interesting process.
The stages of the packaging design creation are a certain algorithm for a consumer brand development:

• The product packaging development begins with setting goals and objectives that branding must solve, as well as understanding of the resources that can be used to launch a brand. As an example, I recall the PreTea brand development case. This is a young British startup with the limited budget. Their products include tea and nutritional supplements for athletes. The client initially wanted a doypack packaging with a complete custom imprint of design and color. The development of such packaging, of course, is possible, but, taking into consideration the small resources, it is quite expensive. Linnikov agency immediately noticed this moment and, as an alternative, we suggested to label ready-made doypack packages. Having learned the cost of the implementation of both options, the client realized that so far he could affort the second option. On the left is an example with a complete imprint of the packaging, on the right — a photo of the actual products with labels. This decision allowed client to significantly reduce the cost of packaging production, while all the information fits perfectly on the labels.


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• We examine the product (emotional and rational advantages, the price segment), the target audience (how our consumer lives, draw a portrait of each target group), who the competitors of our brand are, market / trends (dynamics review, growth opportunities). This stage shows what niche is better to occupy, the level of market saturation, what needs of the target audience are to be solved, what competitors do not suggest, what are the trends in the market.
  For example, the case “No strangers here”. Market research has shown a lack of consumption for fruits and vegetables as to the medical norm. There is also a trend in healthy living and a focus on local fruits and vegetables. Moreover, local competitors suggest limited product variety. The target audience has also been identified and investigated: a woman aged 21-30, who evaluates the products by their appearance, smell, and touch. An enthusiastic urban resident who cares about health but lacks time. A strategy was suggested for a convenient packaged products with a wide range of local fruits and vegetables.


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• Based on tasks and research, a metaphor is developed, and then — a brand platform. This stage gives buyer an answer — why should he/she buy these goods or this product. There is one clear suggestion — positioning. For example, the package development for Hipcup coffee. The brand is aimed at a narrow target audience — male hipster hedonists, bachelors, individualists, coffee admirers. Branding positioning — coffee as a way of self-expression. The development of packaging design in this case was appropriately “rebellious”: dark colors, as a central element — the illustration with the hipster in the manner of drawing, the information is freely placed on the layout. As a result – the revolutionary packaging.


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• Selection of the moodboards that would reflect the inner world of the core of the target audience.
• Brand naming.
• Development of ideas, concepts and sketching for testing and choosing the best solution.
• Development of the design is directly based on the research and the brand platform as well as the product line creation. People often ask: what program is used to create packaging design? It is optimal to use vector graphics (Adobe Illustrator) for ideal print quality, regardless of the type: box or label design. For raster images Adobe Photoshop is used and ready-made picture is inserted into a vector file. Examples of vector layouts with the insertion of raster graphics images (marble background) are shown in the Essentials brand.


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• Color proofing approval.
• Preparing the file for printing. Create files that are ready for printing in any printing house in the world. For example, the boxes design for the Te Gusto trademark, which were printed in Armenia.


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Basic rules for packaging design creation

Product packaging creation is a complex and time-consuming process. Many factors influence on the design decisions. The following important points and rules can be distinguished:

• Provide rational ways to implement layouts at the customer’s choice. The implementation method should be as economical as possible.
• Use images and graphics without violating anyone’s copyright. Remember that each photo and illustration on the network has an owner. And this issue needs to be resolved beforehand. It is advisable to make subject photography of products, create copyright illustrations, or buy graphics on the photostocks.
• Determine who the consumer is and create design and communication for him. Use graphic techniques based on the psychotypes of the target audience, his or hers world.
• Packaging should be different from competitors. But at the same time, the design should be in the product niche. It is advisable to follow the trends that are present in the market.
• The information on the layout should be logically prioritized into a balanced composition. The consumer must immediately determine what kind of product is in front of him.
• When creating a design concept, think of how the design will be replicated on the assortment. Create an identity system that can be applied to various formats.
• Of course, before launching, you need to make a prototype and see how it will look like in real live.

And the main criterion for the test is sales — good packaging should sell goods! Meaning financial indicators are those which show that everything is done correctly, that we are moving in the right direction. If the product is not selling, you need to change something!
History of the Te Gusto packaging. After the redesign, sales grew 2.5 times. The packaging on the left is before the redesign, on the right — after we have completed the work. We changed composition, accents, information is now readable and ordered. We simplified and modernized the logo that unbalanced the previous layout. We used the hand drawn style (fonts, illustration) — which means that it’s done by hand, naturally. And it works perfectly for its target audience (urban residents who are enthusiastic about healthy lifestyle).

Cases for creating packaging design from Linnikov.agency

Successful companies’ cases can be seen in our portfolio. Each work was completed in accordance with the task and on time. If you are looking for examples of packaging design for inspiration, scroll down.

Packaging design for Aloe Vera drink, Nilo brands

Purpose:
To create a design that attracts attention from afar when a person walks past a display window. The layout should convey a premium feeling (the product is 10% more expensive than the average market price).

Result:
Our team suggested a clean white background with green accents. The matte lamination for the packaging tape was provided. We showed a photograph of aloe so the buyer can immediately «read» what kind of product is in front of him.

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Label for the Violmonde Berry blueberry wine, Blue Sauvage company

Purpose:
To create a label design for a unique blueberry wine.

Result:
Blueberries are special because it is difficult to turn them into wine. This is possible only thanks to the skill of winemakers. Blueberry wine is considered to be top of the line in winemaking. Accordingly, the cost of such wine is pretty high. Whats why, in the design developing, we wanted to convey the uniqueness, high cost, quality and complexity of making the wine itself. We provided a non-standard bottle shape, blue glass as a symbol of product originality. The complex pattern symbolizes the time-consuming manufacturing process. The handwritten font of the name emphasizes that the product is made thanks to the craftsmanship and handmade work of winemakers. We also suggested using gold foil to convey the quality and high cost of the product.

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Packaging for the Tandem coffee brand

Purpose:
To create a consumer brand for a coffee importer with limited resources.

Result:
Our agency suggested a logo that reflects the brand name Tandem, as well as designed the product line for four types of coffee. To implement this idea we selected label that is glued to the ready-made packaging in order to save money. This option won the French Favourite Design competition as the best packaging design.

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Cosmetic brand packaging redesign

Purpose:
To redesign packaging for the Herbal Essentials brand — skin care cosmetics.

Result:
A lightweight design based on typography and a marble pattern with the colors of nature. Design works for its target audience: women who care about themselves, make decisions for themselves and do not focus on the public opinion and other peoples’ experience. This woman is modern, energetic, confident and progressive. She is not afraid to experiment and try new things. This design was recognized as an innovative and the best one, and also set trends for the design of cosmetic products in 2019.

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Packaging design development — cost and terms

To answer the frequently asked question “What is the packaging design price?, you need to analyze several factors that determine the cost of the packaging design:

• Is there any data from the research phase? If not, we will analyze ourselves and the price will be higher.
• Do we need to create cutting for the packaging? Or will it be provided by the technologist from the production? The provided cutting will make work cheaper.
• Are there any restrictions? (logo, current corporate identity, guideline, etc.).
• Do you provide graphics? Do you need subject photography of your product or rendering complex illustrations?
• Is the project urgent? The standard term for the package development is 15–20 working days. If you need it faster, we are ready to implement such order, but the cost will be higher than the usual price.

“What is the price for a packaging design creation?” — this is one of the main questions of many customers. We have a fairly flexible pricing policy.

What do you get at the finish line?

In the process of creating a packaging, we will go through the following steps:

1. Consultations on any issue related to a packaging design.
2. Research and direction determining of how to build a design strategy. Moodboards making.
3. Development of a cutting, forms and materials selection for the implementation of the packaging.
4. If necessary – conduction of the subject photography, illustrations creation of any level of complexity.
5. We offer several (usually two) different design concepts to choose from.
6. The number of edits to the selected concept is not limited.
7. Development of the assortment line, if necessary.
8. Testing on focus groups as agreed.
9. Testing of the color proofs.
10. Preparing the file for printing — you just have to transfer it to the printing house.

Every month we create at least 5 packages and labels for a wide variety of brands, markets, shapes and applications. In 4 out of 5 cases, a whole assortment line is being developed.