5 Ultimate Product Packaging Design Tips!

Recall your birthday party last year when your friends surprised you with lots of wrapped presents- some boxed, some tied in a ribbon while others had colourful wrappings.

Close your eyes and think of that perfect moment when you were presented with so many gifts- what was your immediate reaction? What was it that made the moment blissful.

Of course, you were happy, overexcited, brimming with astonishment, anticipation, and joy filling the air.

Now, let us fast forward to the present day. Would you agree with me if I said that you would feel the same if someone gifted you a simple brown box enclosing your gift?

Of course, you would be humbled with gratitude for the present but there are chances that the immediate appearance of the gift when you first hold it won’t really appeal your mind. Am I right?

While our definition of happiness and essence of joy changes with time and experience, the same excitement and anticipation is still there when we first get our hands on a product that we buy online although we know what the packaging contains.

When you get your product delivered, what is that you are holding after all?
Merely a box..Isn’t it?

Well, would you agree with me if I said that instead of the normal packaging of a brown box, you were delivered your product in a colourful box with blobs of paints as design all over? Wouldn’t this affect your instant emotion immediately?

Now blend this positively emotional moment with the physical box that you’re holding, and you will realise how product packaging design plays an important role in winning your admiration and making a good first impression.

By using custom product packaging design, you create a gateway to induce a positive and colourful emotion to your customers and play a vital role in influencing it directly.

In this article, you’ll discover the impact of custom packaging designs in building that positive emotion, how it fosters customer choice, as well as other branding options that a blank packaging canvas opens up for your brand.

Let’s now dive in to explore the best product packaging design tips that we have in store for you!

Custom Product Packaging Design Impacts not Distracts

Before we get deep into understanding branding and packaging, it’s significant to mention that packaging plays a vital role and can’t be discarded away, but the contents of the box are what’s most important.

From the perspective of branding, product packaging design needs to enhance your product rather than simply being there as a covering.

A well-designed product packaging, above all else, do two things:

• It increases the joy, your customer already feels once they receive their product.
• It presents the product in a way that adds essence when your customer unboxes it.

Exclusive Unboxing Experience

Anyone who has been stuck in the loop of watching “Unboxing Videos” on YouTube knows how addictive they can be and how one video is followed by another video and on and on. So it should come as no surprise that unboxing videos, along with beauty product announcements, are some of the most-watched videos on YouTube that yield millions of views immediately after release.

To add your surprise, Unboxing Therapy earns approx. $4.4M USD each year just from the revenues generated by YouTube.

So let’s imagine for a moment that if your product is endorsed by a trusted personality that your target audience regularly watches. What will the outcome be?

The answer is simple.

Creating an unforgettable unboxing experience is the key – not just for an unboxing video, but for every consumer who gets his hands on your product.

So while unboxing videos playing a critical role in brand awareness and marketing, it’s time to discard the conventional way of plain box packaging.

Here are a few ideas to help build your unboxing experience:

• Print cheeky graphics, witty one-liners, or even a simple greeting inside the box that can brighten up the day.
• Wrap your products carefully with extra packing paper for security, and to prolong the excitement of finally seeing the product.
• Add in a hand-written thank you note, or freebies like goodies and stickers.

Give in your best

When was the last time you received the best customer service in your life?

Being the absolute best in catering to customer needs and prioritising their satisfaction and user experience is just another way to stand unique from the rest of the crowd – so mention this clearly on your product packaging design.

What can happen is that your happy customer will spread your good name amongst friends. Isn’t that a bonus that will add to your brand marketing?

Undoubtedly, it is.

Choice of Brand Identity and Packaging

Once you’ve discovered a suitable choice for your packaging the next step is to devise ways in which you can present your brand to the world.

What are your moral values, ethical policies, and unique selling points?

These concepts no doubt were an integral part of your product design, but they can also influence your product packaging design.

Consider for a moment, a brand that sells organic garments.

People want to buy this product because they are natural, biotic, and approved.

No harmful pesticides were induced during cotton production, no cruelty to animals, and also no nasty chemicals used in the dying process of the final clothing.

If such a product is sent to a customer in a recyclable, petroleum-based plastic bag, that will tarnish the brand’s ‘organic’ image.

So, it’s here where the secret lies- your brand’s packaging should sync with its values.

Maintain a clear and concise tone

While talking about your brand identity guidelines, you should maintain a clear and concise tone throughout.

The tone of your brand’s voice on the product page shouldn’t be just about the product, it should be about the busy, fast-paced lifestyle that consumers have. This tone of voice must echo on your company’s website, on all communication and packaging as well. This helps in gaining customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has changed our shopping habits and reduced them to a mere necessity. Only very few people are going to step into a store to buy and bargain.

After reading carefully the above product packaging design tips, you must have noticed that there’s more to custom packaging than just a box. It’s a versatile blank canvas that ropes in with many other elements of your brand.

Packaging is a fantastic opportunity when it comes to marketing. When you nail packaging design, it adds guaranteed value to your brand, and makes your customer think, “Wow, I am going to purchase other products of this brand!