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What Is A Package Design Company?

A package design company is a creative agency that designs visual identities for products with the aim to protect and preserve them.

This may include designing for any kind of packages that consumers can purchase including:

  • Bottles
  • Tubes
  • Boxes
  • Cans
  • Dispensers

Packaging plays a key role in enticing customers and ensuring better customer interaction. It is important in keeping brands fresh and attractive.

For a product to stand out, the business needs to convey its functions and benefits to its packaging effectively.

This is where packaging design companies come in handy.

Combining their creativity with cutting edge tools, they will create a packaging design that:

  • Conveys your brand promise
  • Reinforces your brand identity
An expert working on packaging design
Compelling packaging design influences consumers' buying decisions

What Does A Packaging Design Agency Do?

Packaging design teams usually operate within larger creative agencies. It means that their offerings will go beyond delivering the actual design for your packaging.

Their services will also include:

  • Market research
  • Branding and brand strategy
  • Product development
  • Graphic design
  • Marketing and advertising initiatives
  • And more

How Much Do Packaging Design Companies Charge For Their Services?

The most common pricing structure among packaging designers is the fee per hour.

You can expect to pay between $100 and $175 per hour for USA-based firms.

Packaging design companies outside the United States will charge you between $35-$75.

The key elements that will influence the cost, apart from the company’s location, are:

  • Project complexity
  • Company stature
  • Company size

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.

Why Hire A Packaging Design Company

72% of American consumers claim that packaging design influences their buying decisions. (Ipsos)

In fact, an interesting fact says that the luxury packaging market is expected to reach $22.37 billion by 2025.

As an increasing number of consumers are seeking out more sustainable lifestyle choices, brands prioritize environmentally friendly packaging designs.

But this is just one side of the story.

Your package design is the first element consumers notice when they see your products. It is the key differentiating factor between you and your competitors.

Outstanding package design will tell a unique story about your brand. It can make your consumers feel its taste, benefits or functionalities and show what values lie in it.

Attractive package design is a vital step to:

  • Bringing life and relevance to on-shelf presence
  • Driving customer loyalty
  • Generating engagement
  • Making sales

Consumers form their opinions in just seven seconds.

This is why brands need to ensure their packaging designs are unique and enticing since it is the key to taking a competitive advantage.

A professional packaging design company understands:

  • What consumers are spending more money on
  • What drives their buying decisions
  • What are their needs, likes and dislikes

They can gather meaningful data over your target market and design with it in mind.

In addition, these experts are always on top of design trends. They know what elements work and what are out of date.

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How To Choose The Best Packaging Design Agency

While the search for the best packaging design agency can be tricky, here are a few steps to take that will make this process easier: 

Step #1: Ask About Their 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 packaging design company with a strict process, a detailed timeline and a 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.

Step #2: Understand How They Measure Goals And Results

Packaging designers in the USA have access to cutting-edge tools 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 tools they use, what metrics they measure and even what a successful result would be for your specific project.

Step #3: Discover Their Prior Experience

It’s important to find a packaging design company that has experience in your industry or creating designs for businesses in similar sectors.

These companies understand your target market and audience well. This will help in faster project delivery.

20 Questions To Ask Packaging Designers Before You Hire The Right One

  1. Who will be working on our project and what is their experience?
  2. How dedicated will they be to our project?
  3. What role will they fulfill throughout this project?
  4. What successful projects have they worked on and what was their role?
  5. How long have they been with the agency?
  6. Have you designed packaging before?
  7. Are you familiar with our product or industry? How did your agency get that experience?
  8. Tell us about some of your favorite packaging projects? What did you learn, what went well, and what was the result?
  9. What business or marketing problems have some of your projects solved? What were the results of your work?
  10. How will you determine the timeline for the project? How do you plan to keep it on track?
  11. What is the creative process?
  12. How will you integrate the creative process with the logistics?
  13. How do you find packaging materials that are on-brand, functional and cost-effective?
  14. What criteria do you use to determine that a material meets these marks?
  15. Will the design process involve any other departments, such as branding or marketing? In what capacity?
  16. How will you charge us?
  17. What team members are we paying for?
  18. Is the number of meetings, calls, drafts and prototypes capped?
  19. Does your fee include the cost of the packaging itself?
  20. Can you help us find manufacturers or wholesalers for the packaging materials if needed?
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Takeaways On Packaging Design Companies

Packaging design companies keep brands fresh and authentic. They bring products to live by creating captivating packaging designs.

Packaging designers in the US typically charge between $100 and $175 per hour.

To select the best partner for your business make sure you:

  • Ask about their project timeline
  • Understand how they measure goals and results
  • Discover their prior experience

Best of luck!

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