What Does A Packaging Designer Do?
The best package designers create captivating packaging for your products. But these top-rated design agencies don’t just create packaging. They also complete tasks including:
- Branding and brand strategy
- Product development
- Graphic design
- Market research
- Marketing and advertising initiatives
- And more!
How Long Does It Take To Design Packaging?
How long your packaging design will take depends on how much other work needs to be completed.
For example, simply designing labels will be a much quicker process than conceptualizing unique packaging or incorporating new branding.
Overall, you can expect the package design process to take anywhere from one week to two months, give or take.
How Much Does Package Design Cost?
Again, the exact cost depends on how much additional work the package design company needs to do.
However, most package designers charge by the hour. Expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $175 per person per hour for U.S.-based package design firms, and as little as $35 to $75 per hour for package design agencies outside of the U.S. (like Eastern Europe).
20 Questions To Ask Graphic Design & Packaging Companies Before You Hire Them
- Who will be working on our project and what is their experience?
- How dedicated will they be to our project?
- What role will they fulfill throughout this project?
- What successful projects have they worked on and what was their role?
- How long have they been with the agency?
- Have you designed packaging before?
- Are you familiar with our product or industry? How did your agency get that experience?
- Tell us about some of your favorite packaging projects? What did you learn, what went well, and what was the result?
- What business or marketing problems have some of your projects solved? What were the results of your work?
- How will you determine the timeline for the project? How do you plan to keep it on track?
- What is the creative process?
- How will you integrate the creative process with the logistics?
- How do you find packaging materials that are on-brand, functional and cost-effective?
- What criteria do you use to determine that a material meets these marks?
- Will the design process involve any other departments, such as branding or marketing? In what capacity?
- Are we charged per project or per hour?
- What team members are we paying for?
- Is the number of meetings, calls, drafts, and prototypes capped?
- Does your fee include the cost of the packaging itself?
- Can you help us find manufacturers or wholesalers for the packaging materials if needed?
How To Choose The Best Package Design Company
The Best Package Design Firms Have A Strict Project Timeline
The best package designs aim to reach marketing objectives and should be treated with the same organization and strict timelines that any business initiative would be. It is in your brand’s best interests to find a top package company with a strict process, a detailed timeline, and dedicated project manager in place. An outlined course of action will keep your project on track and ensure you meet your deadlines.
Pro Tip: Confirm how many meetings, calls, drafts and prototypes you can expect as a client, and name a point of contact for both the client and agency side. Ironing these details out will ensure each company has the same expectations and ultimately create a positive working environment.
Package Designers Measure Goals & Results
Top package and creative agencies have access to the top programs that enable them to set concrete, achievable goals and track whether or not the end product is producing results.
Take the time to find the agency that is well-equipped to actually set these goals. Find out what programs that use, metrics that measure in, and even what a successful result would be for your specific project.
Product Packaging Design Companies Have Prior Experience
It’s important to find a great design firm that has experience in your industry or type of product. Do your own research to find out about the previous projects an agency has worked on. Then, ask the agencies about them, and encourage them to discuss successes, failures, and what they learned from difficult projects.
The Best Packaging Designers Understand Your Audience
The best packaging companies have top experts on hand to determine the exact audience and design with them in mind. As you search for the perfect professional partner to market your brand, determine if they have the expertise to identify your consumers and target them through design.
Achieving this balance requires a mixture of creativity and business acumen. Ask agencies how the conduct market research, what platforms or processes they utilize to reach business goals through packaging, and how they think through ergonomics-- the way in which consumers open and interact with packaging.
The best packaging designers are able to take your brand’s vision for your products and represent that vision through packaging. Packaging is a hugely important element of your brand’s overall design. It must be aligned with brand values and company mission, and be easily identifiable on the shelf.
Discover the top packaging design companies in the agency listing table above.
