7 things to consider when creating your artwork 

Starting a creative process from a blank page is daunting and scary. We know the struggle. We have compiled a list of things for you to consider to create a great artwork for your product. We hope this will give you a great start in your creative process and reworks due to minor forgotten elements will be eliminated.

Think from your customer‘s perspective

Amazon‘s founder famously leaves an empty chair in his meetings to represent the customers point of view. We at Lprint believe this is a great strategy to start with. You might think that increased sales is your target, but it is actualy making customers happy. And a side effect of happy customers is increased sales amongst many other benefits.

It is a great idea to create personas for your products and personalize who is your target audience. There are plenty of good tools online to do that or at least give you a head start and this is beyond the scope of this article.

Consider these things:

• What are the demographics of your target customer? Male/Female, Age, Location, Income, Education level, Salary
• Where would they buy your product? Online/retail/subscription
• How environmentally conscious are your target customers? Would they pay a premium for a sustainable product or package?
• Are they price sensitive?
• Is your product unique or a commodity? How can you make your product unique and relevant to the target customer?
• What marketing channels do your target customers consume? How can you integrate this in your packaging?

Gather information from these and similar questions, create your personas and with that in mind you can start creating the actual packaging design.

Key aspects to create an effective packaging

 1. Function

Above all else, packaging‘s most important function is to protect your product from the environment so that your product would have usable shelf life. Consider how sensitive is your product to environmental impacts and think what kind of protection from oxygen, water vapour and UV it needs. Afterwards, think how easy is to handle your product? How easy is it pack and transport it? How much can you pack in a pallet?

 2. Form

Consider how customers will puchase your product. Does it have to stand on the shelf or will it lay flat or hung on a hook? Or maybe it will be sold only online and retail presence is not that important?

 3. Necessary add-ons for easier use

Will your product be consumed in its entirety right after it is opened or does it need a reclosable zipper to keep your product fresh longer? Tear notch should probably be added for easier opening.

 4. How will your packaging be disposed off?

If you are already at our website you are considering sustainable packaging options. There are 3 main options to choose from: recyclable plastic, reclyclable paper and compostable packaging. Each have its strengths and limitations and not all products are suitable for every material type. For example, liquid or wet products cannot be packed in a compostable pouch. 

Furthermore, different countries and municipalities can have different recycling recommendations. Even if your packaging is recyclable in theory, but if there are problems in collecting, sorting or recycling, then your packaging is as good as non-recyclable. 

Feel free to consult with us what would be the best option for you.

 5. Size

Think about how your buyers will consume the product – will it be a single use or multi-use? Smaller packaging and portion control is a great way to reduce food waste.

 6. Product information

There are usually quite a bit of information that you have to provide on your packaging that is required by law. Research what is required from your type of product and think about these things:

– Quantity and/or weight

– Nutritional value, allergens and ingredients

– Barcode

– Company information

– Batch number and expiration date

 7. Artwork, branding and budgeting

Up to this point your packaging might have looked like quite boring and non-descript, but here you start adding your branding, colours, typography and start rearranging all the necessary components mentioned above. Here you should also consider about the budget that you have for your final pouch and how it will be marketed.

Utilize digital printing benefits – if your product is sold in multiple countries, there is no need to cram everything into a single artwork. Use packaging localizations and use information only what you need and have plenty of space for design elements. Test new markets/designs/concepts with small batches.

Your packaging is your marketing tool. Think about creative ways that you could utilize this. Be the first to react to new trends. 

On this note our team at Lprint hopes that you have found these tips insightful! And as always – if you have any questions, feel free to contact us or book a free consultation.