How To Come Up With Packaging Designs in 10 Steps
We are grateful to be complimented often for our packaging at Choco le`a and many times get asked “How do we come up with your beautiful packaging?” So for everyone curious, I’m sharing the process here to bring you some peace on where to start and how we move through it.
Let me begin this by saying I am not a graphic designer. However, as a business owner, I did take a stab at it, observed and learned the process, and so am able to greatly appreciate working collaboratively with one! Creating beautiful packaging and designs is really a team effort and I simplified it to just 10 steps below to help you understand and maybe even go through the it yourself!
Visualize - I start with the vision for the season/year and what we want the feel to be keeping our customers in mind. For example for this Christmas, I knew I wanted it to feel fresh and rich with greens and pines. I envisioned clean beautiful lines, traditional reds and slightly different greens, though for once mostly greens inspired by the Iron Wood trees from hikes. You see after the past couple of years of offering cheery fun designs to uplift spirits in the pandemic, this year, I wanted to encourage people to get outside to enjoy nature, appreciate the sustainable packaging we use and make here in Hawai`i, and to enjoy a fresh, rich, and luxurious taste of Christmas chocolates.
Plan It Out - Then I look at what we’d like the menu and flavors to be for the season, and plan out what packaging we will need. Is it boxes, packages, packaging tents, stickers, gift bags, ribbons? Knowing everything needed first will help to determine how many design or color variations are needed to make a complete and cohesive set.
Sketch It Out - Then I gather and send photos of my inspiration and my own sketches to our designer and talk through what I’m hoping for. This is where finding the right design partner is key because they have to “get you.” Either this is from years of working together, or if you find someone who’s style you just love, that could be a match made in heaven when you trust them to create something beautiful. I’ve been fortunate to find several designers over the years that are absolutely wonderful. But for this year’s packaging, I wanted to go back to our main lead designer, Stacey, who always gets me after 12 years of working together and not only that, elevates what I am thinking to another level!
Design - Then finally comes the design part! The designer does their thing and it’s helpful to give them as much guidance up front so there’s as little revisions as possible, or just let them have at it if you’re not sure and need them to come up with the inspiration. Clear expectations and deadlines here are very helpful.
Add The Details - As the designer starts drafting, we start gathering all of the necessary information to provide the text for the packaging, ingredients, best by dates etc.
Put It Together - Then we put it altogether. We look at the design and details and start looking at how everything will layout together. It is helpful to have someone else from the business, another pair of eyes not involved in the design and part of the production process, to check that the details are correct and who can help check the consistency in font, wording, spacing, sizing, etc. If you are working with a new designer, it is especially important that someone ensures everything is following brand standards and it can sit on the shelf next to other current products.
Edit - Then comes the tweaking! Colors change, some pine cones move, more leaves are added, another design may appear to compliment what has been created so far… Again, having a designer with an eye to help you here is key and so is having your production team involved who will actually work with the product. They look for different things such as the practicality of the packaging, production efficiency, and any potential problems or adjustments that can be made in this round of edits. Encourage everyone to speak up and contribute.
Check the Proof - At this point, everything is submitted to the printer for a proof. Forgot to mention at some point above, the decision on the material of the packaging must be made (eg: paper weight) and price quotes obtained. (I told you this is a pretty lengthy process we are summarizing to keep it simple). :p
Approve/Edit - Now you can review the proofs and either approve, or continue the editing round until you get it right, keeping in mind your deadlines and budget.
Print - Finally, it goes to print! When we know the outside looks as beautiful as the inside, we can get production going and finalize the numbers.
This is why when our final packaging arrives and we see it, we are smiling. Then when we wrap it around our boxes and attach them to our bags for the first time, we are smiling. And then when we take photos and preview it, we are smiling. When we fill up our display case for launch, we are smiling. When we see you walk out the door with them, we are smiling. Finally, when you show us your photos or tell us your stories of how happy it made others, we are smiling!
This whole process takes us months and the vision starts a year in advance so it is truly a labor of love, but I love it. Being creative, then creating to bring a vision to life using beautiful packaging and products to help others connect, sweeten relationships, and bring peace to our world, well, that’s how we want to design our packaging!
erin’s tip
If you are not a designer, find one who you absolutely love and get to work. And when you do, work on your relationship. It takes work and time before you’re synchronized and on the same page and then watch the magic that can happen when you work together! Also set deadlines to keep you both on track from drifting into forever fun design land! :p Shout out to my designer turned dear friend, Stacey Sakakihara!
