Packaging Design Workflow (Beginners’ Guide)

The process of producing packaging is not easy as some people think that it takes just a few minutes to think and design packaging for a particular product.

You may go to design your packaging for the first time, so it is really important for you to understand the design workflow of the packaging.

The workflow which is used to design a packaging includes several factors that required money, time and practice.

Different guidelines and techniques are used for packaging designing, packaging testing, as well as its manufacturing, which is not an easy process.

This article will provide you with a great handy guide through which you can be able to understand that how can you design a packaging.

You can get advantages of this guide because it will also you to get your desired results efficiently.

 

Key Personnel Includes in Packaging Design

There are three main parts of your packaging design workflow.

Before moving towards the designing phases here, we are going to tell you about this three personnel.

The Packaging Engineers

In some kinds of packaging designs, the engineers play an essential role, especially when you are producing a packaging like bespoke.

They will help you to get a standard shape by choosing the best material for your product that you want to pack.

Packaging Manufacturer

They are another important part of your packaging designing.

The manufacturer will help the brand owners or companies to produce excellent packaging according to the requirements of the brand’s owners as well as consumers.

Packaging Designers

This is one of the more crucial parts of your packaging.

Designing is another best way to communicate with your consumers.

If the design is attractive and unique, it can quickly grab the attention of potential consumers.

Designers are responsible for designing artwork or any pattern on your packaging.

Moreover, to know about the workflow of packaging design will allow you to get more information that how can you grab the attention of your potential customers.

So continue the reading.

Select a Best Designing Software

This is one of the first and most important things that you should need to consider when you will take a step to your packaging designing.

You have to think about which software will be the best option for the designing of your packaging.

You can also discuss it with the designer that you will hire to design packaging for your product.

Majority of packaging designers prefer the vector format, and they use the same format to send 2d artwork to the manufacturer of the packaging design.

The vector programs such as Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator allow using different shapes and line tools to create an efficient design.

The designs that are created in vector format are, and they will enable the manufacturer to produce dieline templates by using the different tools easily.

Well, there is a bit complication because most of the vector software is designed and used to produce 2D images.

So, it will be a bit difficult for you if you want to see your packaging design as a 3D product.

But you don’t need to get worried about it because there are several plugins as well as programs that will help you to visualize your design in a 3D image.

There is much other software in the market that allows your designer to create the best design.

They also allow them to rotate the packaging design to visualize it form the different angles.

Some designers used different software such as Cinema 4d that offers them to get an excellent design into 3d Format.

However, it will depend on the demand of the brand owner that what they want to produce for their product.

Creating Dieline

A dieline is another important part of the packaging designs workflow that allows producing a flat template design.

Usually, the designers put these flat templates together into a vector program.

Just like the Illustrator software that is using some shapes and lines to create a vector design for packaging.

A dieline must be able to tell you that where you need to cut the template of the packaging and where to perforated it.

For the printer, Trimming (Cutting) and folding (perforation) lines these are used as two separate forms of the information.

It is really important to place them as spot colors and on different layers.

It means that the process of cutting as well as the trimming will perform at the various stages.

The Illustrator file that you will create, It will be better for both designer and manufacturer to rename the layers of dieline.

It will help the manufacturer to understand which layer will be used for which purpose.

It will also help to avoid confusion and risks.

Maybe it will difficult for you if you are going to create your dieline for the first time, but it can become better with continues practice.

 

Design and Development of the Artwork

When you are reached to this phase, the next thing that you should need to consider is the artwork of your packaging.

There are some important things that you have to prefer before creating artwork for your product’s packaging design.

Don’t forget that your product packaging is the first way through which your consumers can communicate with you.

It will help your customers to pay attention to your packaging and make a decision to purchase your product.

With the help of unique artwork on your packaging, you will not only get popularity to infect, but your sale will also automatically increase.

So, don’t stop reading, let’s continue and know that how an artwork can be excellent for your packaging design.

 

Visual Identity of your Brand or Company

Before starting your packaging journey, you should need to become a brand that has a visual identity in the market.

Here you need to ensure that the packaging of your brand is best for your relevant audience that will allow them to communicate with the company via their product packaging design.

Min starting it can be possible that your business may not face it, but now this is the right time where you need to out your best effort to create the best packaging design.

If you are going to launch a new product in the market, developing all the important assets will give you more opportunity to play around along with the several awesome styles.

The designer who is going to design your packaging should be able to understand the nature of your brand and product as well.

Make a style by depending on the other visual assets of your brand.

 

The Purpose and Audience

This is another important thing that you should need to focus before making a creative artwork for your packaging.

You have to research for your competitors and keep your goal into your mind that will help you to get excellent artwork.

Before designing artwork for your packaging, you should need to know about the audience who are following you.

You also need to research what your competitors are giving to their audience in the market.

If you avoid these points, then your designer may design something that will appeal only 5-year-olds instead of 15-year-olds that is your actual targeted audience.

However, before jumping into the artwork designing phase of your product, you just need to understand what is the real purpose of your product or what do you want to give your consumers.

You need to consider some important question before starting this phase.

Things you need to consider before start product packaging

• What is the primary goal of your product packaging?
• Who are your competitors and what they are doing to make their packaging perfect?
• What is your targeted audience?
• How can you make these packaging awesome that can stand out on the shelf of a shop?
• What is the primary purpose of your product, and what message you want to deliver to your audience through your packaging?

Product Packaging Label Designing

After the previous step, when you will move towards this phase, you will have your brand purpose, audience, and competitor in your mind.

So now you can start thinking about your label.

Almost every product has a label that can provide you with information about a particular product.

So when your designer starts to design the label for your product packaging, he or she must use the breathing or white space of the packaging.

Don’t forget that the breathing space has more importance as compared to the filled area on the packaging.

You can also discuss this point with your designer.

If you want such a minimal packaging design, then using white space to design a label will be a perfect option for you.

You can create some unique and stylish artwork design by staying within the guidelines of your brand.

It will help you to get a creative design that also provides an attractive look to your consumers.

When you are going to choose a style for your product packaging label, you should need to go broad on the themes because it can be challenging for you to put all of your ideas only in one packaging.

However, there are some important tips that you should consider to create the best label design for your packaging design.

 

Do Research for Important Information

This is an important part of creating a label for your packaging.

You need to find which data is important that you have to give on your packaging label.

It is not possible to put all the information on a label.

Typography

Try to utilize several typographies with your art it will help you to combine someone new style that can make your packaging great.

 

Should be Easy to Read

Make sure that the label that your designer is creating is not full of mess.

It should be contained on minimalism design that can allow the consumer to read it easily

Add Patterns or Colors

It is another best way to make your overall packaging look attractive along with the label design.

 

Prototyping and Printing

This is the last and one of the most important steps of the packaging design workflow.

Here you should start to create with a dummy.

Print out the packaging in just smaller sizes and then try it for testing the quality of design.

It will help you to know that what you are working with or what you should need to do to make it even more attractive that can fit your customer’s vision.

However, this is a step where you will send your final design to the printing company for the prototyping after completing all of your important tweaks to an artwork.

A prototype is your packaging’s early model that will allow you to test concepts as well as to get a feel for the real thing.

This is one of the best things because it will allow you to test and examine your packaging design to avoid any risks, environmental wastage of disappointment.

At this point, you have to ask some questions that are:

• Are the packaging is best for your targeted audience?
• Is the artwork is according to your desire?
• Is the artwork merging properly on your product’s packaging?
• Is the color of ink is perfect?
• Is there not too much mess of information on the packaging design?
• Is the packaging is best to pack and protect the desired product?
• Is there any spelling mistake on the packaging?

These questions will help you to avoid the risks and get the best advantages of your packaging design.

Once you check all of these things, you can officially send your design for the printing process.

Conclusion

Well, the packaging design workflow is not an easy process to create an excellent and unique packaging.

Your designers and manufacturers have to put a lot of effort here.

We hope that after reading this comprehensive guide, you must be able to think like a designer who can create a creative packaging design.

Every company needs to follow this guideline to design packaging for their customers.