I get reminded of the power of packaging design every time I travel abroad and shop at a convenience store. Say I’m getting for a bag of chips. Almost always, I don’t have a preferred brand since I’m not familiar with local ads nor product popularity. In short, I’m looking at the market from a fresh perspective. And though the price and ingredients are significant factors, one element makes a stronger impact on my decision: how the packaging speaks to me.

As it turns out, it’s not just me. A study conducted by the Paper and Packaging Board and market research specialist Ipsos revealed that 7 out of 10 consumers say packaging design influences their purchase decisions.

Indeed, getting expert graphic design is tantamount to creating a product that not only looks great but also stands out from the rest. 

Here are a few ideas to give you a dose of packaging design inspiration as you brainstorm for your product.

 

1. Highlight the Logo

If you spent time, money, and energy on a custom logo design, then you might as well use it well. That said, this design is a great example of how you can highlight your logo without botching the visual aesthetics.

 

2. Choose the Right Typography

Just like in typography ads, the right combination of fonts can make your packaging stand out without being overwhelming. As seen in this image, the designer used a retro-style decorative font for the product name. Aptly, he kept the rest simple so as not to compete with the main text.

 

3. Draw Inspiration from Culture

This is a packaging for a Greek olive oil brand named Skoutari, a word that means “shield” borrowed from a 17th-century Cretan romance by Vincenzo Cornaro. The design drew inspiration from the literature and incorporated the element of jousting as well as Ancient Greek black and terracotta figure ceramics.

 

4. Play a Little

Some people are at their most creative when they’re playing, and this design literally shows that. The name of this olive oil translates as “the die is cast,” because the olive grove is near an Ancient Roman ruins site where they found coins and evidence of games of chance.

 

5. Put Advocacy at the Forefront

When you’re advocating for something, you need to let people know from the start to get them on board. This tissue box, released by a social enterprise, aims to raise money for COVID-19 patients and NHS staff and volunteers.

 

6. Add Natural Elements

These perfume bottles exude a relaxing and pampering vibe because of its natural wood elements. Before you jump the gun and go with a natural material though, make sure to check packaging design guidelines first for products within your industry.

 

7. Create an Eye Candy

Washing your face gives you an instant refreshing feeling. And that experience is embodied by these facial foam and scrub tube designs.

 

8. Sell the Feeling

These jars are the Spring edition release of a German jam brand. It’s the type of concept you won’t get from a packaging design software. Why? Because it sells the feeling of enjoying fruity goodness on freshly baked bread as you sit in the garden and enjoy the music of birds chirping.

 

9. Less is More

There are instances when less is more and this bottled water proves that. The plain black design gives emphasis to the brand’s clever logo that shows the name 70 while also illustrating a 70 percent pie chart. 

 

10. Break the Mold

If you look at packaging design templates for Mezcal, a Mexican agave alcoholic drink, you’ll see a lot of vintage browns and neutrals. However, this bottle design breaks the mold and makes Tequila’s cousin look a lot more hip and exciting. 

 

11. Keep it Simple

This beauty drink packaging is a great illustration of how a design can be ornate but clean at the same time. The theme colors of blush and pale turquoise, along with print design, covers 30 percent of the box while the rest of it is white. 

 

12. Highlight the Product

This food packaging design shows great Japanese graphic simplicity. The plain white background draws attention to the curvy lines that imply a bowl of hot ramen.

 

13. Pay Tribute

Paying tribute to a group of people is not merely patronizing them to support your brand. Rather, it’s calling upon the community to appreciate the hard work and service to mankind. This bottle for a craft beer salutes frontline heroes fighting the COVID-19 battle.

 

14. Material Counts

This design shows why it’s crucial to pay attention to the material during the packaging design process. Bscly is a clothing kit that delivers basic garment sets for people who don’t have the time to think about their wardrobe. Since the clothing offered is sustainable, they also made it a point to pack it in eco-friendly sugarcane boxes. 

 

15. Go Abstract

Who says water bottles need to be boring? This brand takes pride in being more than your regular water; it has an alkaline solution associated with health benefits. And to draw attention to that, they used a colorful abstract that’s hard to ignore when placed side by side with plain, austere flasks.

 

16. Focus on Ingredients

If there’s any special component in your product, don’t be shy to flaunt it! This skincare line uses images of their main ingredients to help consumers appreciate their organic offerings at a glimpse.

 

17. Blend Art and Science

This burger box is for Koby Grilled Burgers, a delivery restaurant in Barcelona. The box looks sleek, yes, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. The fancy holes are meant to keep airflow while keeping the burger hot as it gets delivered to the customer. In addition to that, each box comes with a cooling rack inside to keep the bread from being soggy from the heat.

 

What Does it Mean for Brands?

Simple. Alongside brand visual assets such as web graphics and advertising design, you need to pay special attention to packaging. An awesome design could be that one thing that would make someone (maybe a clueless tourist like me) reach for your product instead of a dozen other bags of chips on the shelf.