Inspiration sources<\/h3>\r\n

\r\n \t
1. Go to Pinterest, search keywords related to your company's values or products, then browse through boards and pin images to help generate inspiration.<\/li>\r\n \t
2. Flip through online and offline magazines and newspapers to see ads for products that speak to your own.<\/li>\r\n \t
3. Build a physical or digital mood board compiling different elements that match the visual aesthetic you\u2019d like to build into your brand\u2019s packaging. Make sure to select different types of artifacts, including photography, 2D illustrations, fabrics (this works much better with a physical mood board), textures, color swatches, sketches, packaging samples, stationery pieces, among others.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

   Get specific about your audience<\/h3>\r\n

   \r\n \t
   • Who are they?<\/li>\r\n \t
   • What do they do for a living?<\/li>\r\n \t
   • How do they spend their free time?<\/li>\r\n \t
   • What colors do they prefer?<\/li>\r\n \t
   • What design trends influence them on a daily basis?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nOnce you've done all of the above, you can write down a brief description of your brand's style. It should be a quick guide that allows you to make decisions about visual brand applications like packaging, stationery, and beyond. If it\u2019s helpful, use this template to describe your overall visual direction:\r\n

     [Your brand name] helps [target audience] achieve\/solve\/satisfy [need or desire]. Our visual style will reflect that value proposition by combining [describe type choice] typography, [describe color palette] hues, [describe patterns] patterns, ] and [describe illustrations\/photography\/iconography] imagery.<\/em><\/p>\r\nGranted, describing visual decisions like your type scheme, color palette, pattern, or imagery directions can be challenging. Here are some helpful design descriptors you can use to pinpoint your preferences. This list isn\u2019t exhaustive by any means, but it provides a good starting point to get more precise about your brand\u2019s visual aesthetic.\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

     Type descriptors<\/td>\r\n	Color descriptors<\/td>\r\n	Pattern descriptors<\/td>\r\n	Imagery descriptors<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
     Modern\r\nGrotesque\r\nThin\r\nRetro\/vintage\r\nHand-drawn\r\nScript\r\nCalligraphy\r\nLayered\r\nElegant<\/td>\r\n	Warm\r\nCool\r\nVibrant\r\nWorn out\r\nDesaturated\r\nMonochrome\r\nVintage\r\nEarthy\r\nFuturistic<\/td>\r\n	Minimal\r\nGeometric\r\nRandom\r\nArtistic\r\nFloral\r\n60s\/70s\/80s\/90s\/00s\r\nEthnic\r\nNatural\r\nHandmade<\/td>\r\n	Flat\r\nRealistic\r\n2D\r\n3D\r\nIsometric\r\nHand-drawn\r\nRustic\r\nOutline\r\nVintage<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n Step 2: Curate and Select Patterns that Match Your Style<\/h2>\r\nOnce you've clearly articulated your brand's visual style, start gathering inspiration and design assets to apply those principles in your packaging. While you can design these patterns from scratch, leveraging pre-designed assets that are ready to tweak can help you beat the blank canvas syndrome and get a head start.\r\n\r\nTo begin, browse through available patterns<\/a> that seem to match the style you've defined for your brand. Use the descriptors you selected in Step 1 to get more relevant search results. Favorite the patterns that you like best, or create a collection to save them for later.\r\n\r\nHere are some great pattern options to consider for your packaging projects. They were created by independent designers around the world, using various techniques that fit different kinds of visual styles.\r\n 180 Sublime Surfaces<\/h3>\r\nBlixa 6 Studios created 180 Sublime Surfaces<\/a> to be used in a wide variety of projects. These 180 versatile textures are inspired by ancient Japanese design. Consider these textures if your brand has an East Asian feel.\r\n\r\n\r\n Elegant Patterns & Illustrations<\/h3>\r\nChoose Elegant Patterns & Illustrations<\/a> by Lara\u2019s Wonderland if you're trying to convey elegance and sophistication. This set comes with 70 unique designs.\r\n\r\n\r\n Terrazzo\/Granito Seamless Patterns<\/h3>\r\nNew Public's Terrazzo \/ Granito Seamless Patterns<\/a> are fun and funky. There are 7 patterns to choose from, all inspired by an intricate flooring technique called Terrazzo.\r\n\r\n\r\n Owls & Floral patterns<\/h3>\r\nWork nature into any project with Pinata's Owl & Floral Patterns<\/a>. This set comes with 20 vector patterns that contain delicate elements like ferns, owls, pine cones, and more.\r\n\r\n\r\n Boho Patterns Collection<\/h3>\r\nYouandigraphics' Boho Patterns Collection<\/a> is undoubtedly boho chic. This set of 20 seamless vector patterns is great for beauty or fashion brand packaging.\r\n\r\n\r\n Orient - A Chinoiserie Story<\/h3>\r\nTSTUDIO hand-painted Orient<\/a>, a watercolor pattern inspired by Chinoiserie style items. Created with extreme attention to detail, these patterns are ideal for clothing, stationery, gift, and makeup brands.\r\n\r\n\r\n Super Fun Geometric Patterns<\/h3>\r\nThis large bundle<\/a> comes with 85 unique textures, so it's a great choice if you want to look through multiple patterns or have different pieces of packaging to design. The designer recommends using these for children's products or d\u00e9cor packaging. They're bright, fun, and welcoming.\r\n\r\n\r\n Step 3: Customize Colors, Textures, and Text to Fit Your Brand<\/h2>\r\nSpend some time making sure that the packaging design you end up with is all yours because it helps to ensure that your product\u2019s packaging won\u2019t be confused with another brand\u2019s. On the other hand, you also want to be mindful of the design asset\u2019s license<\/a>, which requires some transformation of the original file in the cases listed above.\r\n\r\nHere are some ways to easily customize your packaging<\/a>, making it one-of-a-kind:\r\n \r\n \t Apply the colors associated with your brand.<\/li>\r\n \t Make sure the pattern is unique and appropriate for what you're creating and add more layers of texture or distress to make the graphics even more unique.<\/li>\r\n \t Add text to your brand\u2019s typeface of choice.<\/li>\r\n \t Include your logo in its original, minified or monogram version.<\/li>\r\n \t You can also add individual graphics like illustrations<\/a> to enhance and customize pre-designed patterns.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nPackaging design is an incredibly effective vehicle for brand messaging. The materials, patterns, and design elements you decide to combine will leave lasting impressions on your buyers. Finally, I hope that the process, template, and tips included above inspire you to take a more hands-on approach when planning what kind of box will hold the product you\u2019ve so carefully designed.","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[38,6],"class_list":["post-216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-custom-packaging-tips","tag-design","tag-marketing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packlane.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}