Your packaging has a few seconds to convince someone to pick your product off the shelf, or click on it online. It also has to meet legal requirements, fit the manufacturing process and protect what’s inside. That’s a lot of jobs for a box.
Step 1: Start with the shelf
Where will it be sold? Supermarket, boutique, online, at markets? Look at what competitors are doing. Your goal is to stand out while still signalling the right category.
Step 2: Get the hierarchy right
Shoppers scan packaging in a predictable order. Decide what they should notice first, second and third:
- Brand
- Product name or type
- Key benefit or variant (flavour, scent, size)
- Supporting details
If everything shouts, nothing gets heard.
Step 3: Work with the dieline
A dieline is the flat template showing exactly how your packaging is cut and folded. Get it from your manufacturer before design starts. It shows panels, folds, glue areas and safe zones.
Step 4: Cover the compliance
In Australia, depending on your product, packaging may need ingredients, allergens, nutrition panels, country of origin labelling, barcodes, recycling information and specific warnings. Check the requirements for your category early. Retrofitting them later is painful.
Step 5: Choose materials and finishes
Board type, paper stock, coatings, foils, embossing and windows all affect cost, feel and sustainability. Your printer can advise on what’s achievable within budget.
Step 6: Prototype
Always see a physical sample. Colours look different on screen, text that seems readable can be tiny in real life, and folds can crack artwork.
Step 7: Prepare print-ready files
Final artwork needs correct colour modes, bleed, outlined fonts, high-resolution images and any special finish layers set up exactly as your printer requires.
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