Chapter 10. Packaging Design

Ready to create some three-dimensional designs? Packaging design is a fascinating and challenging niche for a graphic designer. What makes a product stand out on a crowded shelf? What makes it attract the eyeexciting customers, informing them, and motivating them to buy?

Packaging designers understand how to visualize a carton design in three dimensions and make it stand out on the store shelf. They are adept in the differences between mass-market and prestige products and know how to use the visual language of a product category to reach a target audience.

In this chapter, we'll explore some important concepts of packaging design. Focusing primarily on carton design, you'll learn concepts for visualizing a package in three dimensions, designing for the mass market and prestige audiences, and working within an existing brand or product line.

COURSE DEVELOPER: LAURA SCHWAMB

This chapter is based on a lesson developed by Laura Schwamb, a cosmetics industry veteran, cofounder of Steam Design Group, and founder of Sign Off, a press-check quality control company.

Figure 10.1. A conceptual design for a fragrance bottle explores sensual shapes and lighting effects.

In this chapter you will:

• Learn some general principles for designing three-dimensional packages.

• Examine the major types of 3D packages a designer may be asked to create: cartons, bags, and bottles.

• Learn about the principle of counter animation.

• Learn how a product's category, target audience, and placement affects the design process.

• Learn the important roles of visibility and consistency in packaging design.

• Explore the differences between mass-market and prestige packaging design.

• Redesign a mass-market package as a prestige brand.