Packaging design for small brands: what to brief and what to check

The short answer

Packaging design combines structure, materials, graphics and required printed information into one object that protects the product and helps sell it. Brief a designer on the product, customer, sales route, brand files, required text and production limits. Before printing, check a proof word by word, test a physical sample, scan the barcode and name one person to sign off.

What goes into packaging design

Packaging design is the shape, material, graphics and printed information of whatever your product comes in. It looks like one job, but it is four layers handled by different people, and a small brand needs to know which layer is which before it asks anyone for a quote.

A branding designer is well placed to handle the graphics layer, because it applies the brand identity to a physical object. Structure and print production usually involve a packaging supplier or printer as well, and the designer should be willing to work with them.

Start with the job the packaging has to do

The right design depends on where the product meets the customer. A box that sells from a shelf has seconds to be understood from an arm's length away. A box that ships to a home has to survive handling and still look good in the customer's photograph of it. A gift product needs the opening to feel considered. A food or cosmetic product needs clear information close to hand.

Rank these jobs for your product before you brief anyone: protect, transport, sell on a shelf, sell on a screen, delight on opening, store at home, and carry required information. The top two or three should drive the design, and the rest become constraints. Brands that skip this step end up with packaging that photographs well but arrives dented, or survives the courier but disappears on a shelf.

What to put in a packaging brief

A packaging brief is shorter than a full branding brief but more physical. It should tell the designer what the object has to do and what limits apply.

Ask the designer to tell you what is missing from the brief, not just to start work. Most packaging delays come from information that arrives late, usually the legal text and the final product dimensions.

Logo, fonts and words on the pack

A pack gives the logo less room than a website header does, and often a curved or folded surface to sit on. The shape of the mark matters here. A long horizontal wordmark can suit a wide panel and fail on a narrow one, while a compact emblem may stay readable on a small tin. The overview of types of logos helps you judge which kind fits your pack, and it is worth asking the designer for an alternative arrangement of the logo if the standard one will not fit.

Type has to work at a distance and at close range. Choose a clear face for the product name and a plain one for supporting text, and check them against the guidance in choosing fonts for your brand. Very fine lines and thin letters may be hard to read once printed on textured board.

Keep the words short. A line on the front panel should do one job, such as naming the product or stating the benefit. If you plan to print a line under the logo, decide first whether it is a permanent tagline or a campaign slogan, because a slogan that changes next season should not be printed into a large order of boxes.

Colour, print method and finish

Screens make colour from light, and print makes it from ink on a surface, so the two rarely match exactly. A bright colour on a monitor can look duller on paper, and the same ink looks different on coated board, uncoated board and plastic. Ask the printer which colour system the artwork should use, and ask for the exact codes your brand uses so they can be matched as closely as the process allows.

Finish changes the feel as well as the look. A matt surface reads as quiet and a gloss surface as bright. A textured paper adds character and may soften fine detail. Embossing and foil can add emphasis to a logo, but each adds production steps, so ask the supplier what is practical for your quantity.

The most reliable step is to see a sample on the real material. A printed proof on the target stock tells you more than any screen preview, and it is worth waiting for.

Information you may have to print

Many products must carry specific text, and which text depends on the product and the country. Examples include ingredients, safety warnings, quantity, who made or imported it, instructions for use and recycling information. Some products need no regulated text at all. Others, such as food, cosmetics, toys and electrical goods, are tightly controlled.

Rules differ between the USA, the UK, the UAE, Australia, Singapore and Japan, and they change. Do not copy another brand's label and assume it is correct for your market. Check with the official regulator or trade body for your product type, or ask an adviser who knows labelling in the country where you will sell. If you sell in more than one country, plan for separate versions of the information panel and allow for translation.

Retailers and marketplaces may also ask for barcodes or specific labels. Ask each one what it requires before the artwork is final, since a barcode added late may not fit where the design has left room.

How to check packaging before printing

Errors found after a print run cost the whole run. Work through this list with the printer's proof in hand, and do not rush it.

1. Read every word aloud, panel by panel, and compare it with the approved copy. Do not rely on a spell checker for product names and codes.
2. Have a second person read it, preferably someone who did not write it.
3. Check every required line against the list from your adviser or regulator, including language requirements for each market.
4. Confirm that the dieline, the flat outline showing folds and cuts, matches the supplier's current template and that panels face the right way when folded.
5. Look at the bleed and the safe area. Bleed is artwork that runs past the cut line so no white edge appears, and the safe area is the margin inside which text and logos must stay.
6. Check that no text, barcode or key image crosses a fold, a glue flap or a seam.
7. Scan the barcode from the proof or a test print with a real scanner, and confirm that it reads the right product.
8. Build a plain sample from the real material and put the product in it. Check fit, closure and how it opens.
9. For shipped products, test a packed sample against the movement it will meet: stacking, shaking and a fall from a reasonable height.
10. Look at the printed proof in daylight and in shop lighting, next to the product itself.
11. Get the final specification in writing: size, material, finish, quantity and colours.
12. Name one person who gives the final sign-off, and keep the signed proof.

Common packaging mistakes

• Designing only the front panel and treating the sides and back as an afterthought.
• Crowding the front with claims, so that nothing is read first.
• Making text too small for the print method and the material.
• Copying the look of the category so closely that the pack is lost on the shelf.
• Approving the design from a screen PDF without seeing a physical sample.
• Finding out about legal text, barcodes or translations after the layout is finished.
• Ordering a large run before testing a sample.

If a mood board is useful for agreeing a pack's feel before layout begins, the guide to a brand mood board shows how to make one. If the pack no longer matches the business, the signs a brand identity needs a refresh can help you decide whether the packaging is the symptom or the cause. The branding services page from Liftup Technologies describes the identity work that packaging graphics are built on, and it is honest to say that structure and printing usually need a packaging supplier as well.

Related guides

• Branding and logo design
• How to choose fonts for your brand
• Tagline vs slogan and how to write one
• 5 signs your business needs a brand identity refresh
• Retargeting explained for small businesses
• Retargeting explained for small business

Questions and answers

What goes into packaging design?

Packaging design has four layers: the structure of the pack, the materials and finish, the graphics, and the printed information. Different people often handle each one. A product's sales route, protection needs and legal text should shape all four from the start.

What should I brief a packaging designer on?

Tell them the product's size and weight, who buys it and where, how it is sold, your brand files, every line of required text, production limits and the timeline. Add photographs of competing packs. A designer can only work to the constraints they know about.

How do I check packaging before printing?

Read every word against approved copy, check the dieline and fold positions, look at bleed and safe areas, scan the barcode on a proof, and test a physical sample with the product inside. Compare printed colour in daylight and get a named person to sign off in writing.

What is a dieline?

A dieline is the flat outline of a pack, showing where it is cut, folded and glued. Designers place artwork on it so that each panel ends up in the right place. Get the current template from the supplier, since sizes and fold positions differ between makers.

Do I need a barcode on my packaging?

It depends on where you sell. Many retailers and marketplaces ask for one, and requirements differ by country and by seller. Ask each seller before the artwork is final, and check the current rules, so the code has space and prints cleanly.

Who designs the structure of a pack, a graphic designer or a supplier?

Usually a packaging supplier or structural designer, since structure involves materials, strength and manufacturing. A graphic or brand designer applies the identity to that structure. Make sure the two receive the same brief and the supplier's template.

Does packaging for online orders differ from shelf packaging?

Yes. A pack that ships needs to survive handling and often looks best when opened, while a shelf pack must be understood quickly from a distance. Rank the jobs your packaging does before you brief a designer, so the right priorities drive the design.