Developing a packaging design can be a tedious job or a cherished art. It all depends on who you ask. While some see boredom, talented packaging designers seize this opportunity to express their creativity.
However, when designing a packaging box, creativity must respect the arrangement’s most vital objective: to reflect and enhance the product it shelters.
What differentiates brilliant from good is the ability to represent the brand’s mission, values, and visual identity through the right colors, prints, typography, and materials. Think of all the mentioned elements as pebbles. A masterful box packaging design separates a bunch of rocks from an elevated mosaic.
Here are some examples of the stunning box packaging designs that reflect their brands perfectly:
Table of Contents
- Inch Blue by Dora Laszlo
- Regina Hazelnuts Dark Chocolate Packaging by Gaspar Costa
- NATURALS by Sarah Johnston
- Coral Club Oils by PaninDesign
- MERCOVE by Erica Fierro
- MEDIAKOS by Daniel Soto
- Mahalakshmi Sweets by Studio Ayanah
- Mysterious MAMOOR by MAROG
- Prima by Project M Plus
- When in the woods - Oasyhotel by The6th
1. Inch Blue by Dora Laszlo
Standout Features:
- Cutout window
- Sustainable materials
- Cute, monochrome illustrations
Inch Blue is a leather baby shoe manufacturer based in the UK. More precisely, the brand’s headquarters is deep in the Welsh countryside, where they handmake their shoes with love and care. Inch Blue follows an ethical code of making toxic-free and eco-friendly products for newborns. The same goes for their packaging design.
Dora Laszlo understood the need to steer clear from plastics, so the leather shoes were placed in a custom-made cardboard box. The box is not painted, indicating a sustainable and safe approach. However, it’s full of cute monochrome illustrations that children would love.
One of the drawings includes a big mushroom in the center of the box. The mushroom head is cut out, emphasizing the product. Above it, you’ll find the brand’s logo print and a rope handle to help carry it around like a bag.
2. Regina Hazelnuts Dark Chocolate Packaging by Gaspar Costa
Standout Features:
- A minimalistic, vintage design
- Hand-drawn elements
- Depicting the ingredients
Regina is a renowned chocolate brand bellowed by many. Gaspar Costa is one of the loyal fans of the brand. And while he enjoyed the product, Costa concluded that the packaging design didn’t do it justice. So, he designed an alternative concept in an attempt to improve it.
Costa chose the dark hazelnut chocolate and opted for a complete visual representation of the fruit, stimulating the connection between the chocolate and the raw hazelnut taste. Through a vintage design, Costa reminded us of the long legacy of this brand.
The design is clean, decorated with a hand-drawn picture of hazelnuts on a tree, lush nature, and muted colors (green and brown). The centered illustration is cleverly outlined by a thick black frame, providing more depth.
3. NATURALS by Sarah Johnston
Standout Features:
- A clean design
- Eco-friendly materials
- Embossed typography
NATURALS is a perfect example of the old Latin phrase, “Nomen est omen,” since the name signifies the brand’s values and identity. Naturally, the packaging design needed to reflect this as well. Sarah Johnston helped the brand reinvent the packaging design to show how important sustainability is to the brand.
The new design is based exclusively on recycled materials and a cotton card from the textile industry fabric off-cuts. Laminates and foils were removed or replaced with vegetable oils to preserve their total and easy recyclability.
The packaging shapes vary, but there’s a ubiquitous note – each package maintains a clean design that takes advantage of the positive space. It’s decorated with soft and gentle font choices, so the overall atmosphere of the design is soothing.
4. Coral Club Oils by PaninDesign
Standout Features:
- Liquid and abstract design elements
- A pastel color palette
- A prominent label
Coral Club Oils produces high-end biologically active additives like shark, tuna, and plankton oils. And PaninDesign made sure its packaging design was as transparent and premium as the brand’s products.
Each bottle contains a 360-label wrapped around it. The label is prominent in color, visuals, and text. It is full of vital information about the oils, including the dosage, recommended ways of consummation, and a thorough list of the ingredients.
Variations are differentiated by the color of the label and the intriguing visuals that represent the marine life crucial for the production of the particular item. The labels feature pastel colors – Bordeaux red for plankton oil, purple for tuna, and blue shark oil.
5. MERCOVE by Erica Fierro
Standout Features:
- Natural vibe
- Soothing messaging inside
- Sea world variations
MERCOVE is a swimwear brand looking for a way to express the essence that inspires its products. It needed a way to show its vibe and let the customers form a connection with the shared values. Erica Fierro helped the brand by encapsulating the feelings and atmosphere in a unique, feminine box packaging design.
The box is decorated with calming illustrations representing the wildlife of the sea world. Various colors and shapes printed on the main panel and on the inside help convey the message that women should accept their bodies and all of their unique natural qualities.
The combination of the natural and feminine soothing atmosphere is crowned by sweet messages about MERCOVE placed on the inner side of the packaging.
6. MEDIAKOS by Daniel Soto
Standout Features:
- Leveraging simple geometry
- Abstract patterns
- A clever combination of warm and cool colors
MEDIAKOS is a brand that provides entry of innovative products into the highly competitive pharmaceutical distribution market across Germany. The brand’s success is due to visually appealing designs that help MEDIAKOS’ products stand out on the shelves. Check out our article on the best pharmaceutical packaging designs.
Daniel Soto helped the brand by designing a modern box packaging design. Abstract yet simple and comprehensive, the layout relies on basic geometry and prompts various interpretations for the viewer. Through the clever combination of warm and cool colors, the packaging design grants a unique artistic atmosphere to the customer.
Soto took the “Sun” from the brand’s logo and used it as a base for the mosaic-like patterns inspired by Greek art, once again staying in touch with the brand’s name (etymology) and its visual identity.
7. Mahalakshmi Sweets by Studio Ayanah
Standout Features:
- Minimalist illustrations
- Colorful and clean
- Indian symbolism
Mahalakshmi Sweets has a unique line of candies devoted to celebrating a royal festival based on a local mythical tale. Studio Ayanah paid homage to this occasion by creating a packaging design with an old, fairy-tale theme.
The city of Mysore is decorated with various folk motifs in times of the Mysore Dasara. The packaging design features ornaments found on the town's streets during the festival and elements included in the town's daily life.
The illustrations are clean and minimalistic, decorating the unicolored box packaging lid's edges and center. A rectangular golden outline near the edges acts as a frame for the story told inside it.
8. Mysterious MAMOOR by MAROG
Standout Features:
- Epic and mystical deep forest symbolisms
- Art Nouveau style-inspired
- Spooky, gothic atmosphere
Mysterious MAMOOR is a restaurant inspired by dense and deep forests' arcane and cryptic spirit. MAMOOR is an Armenian word for moss. So, the lush green can be found on everything in the restaurant, including the packaging designs by MAROG.
The combination of an almost pagan-like vibe with the lush deep green forest symbolism is brought to life through an authentic rendition of the Art Nouveau style. The art on the packaging engulfs you and makes you want to look at it more and more, every time finding some new beautiful element. The gothic atmosphere is a bit spooky yet endlessly entertaining.
The visual identity used in the packaging design relies heavily on a female figure that embodies the spirit of the deep forest. But apart from her, ravens and trees with long branches are also there.
9. Prima by Project M Plus
Standout Features:
- Prominent logo design
- Soothing color palette
- Minimalism
In the words of Project M Plus, "Positioning Prima and designing its brand identity was a deep dive into the CBD wellness space and a truly collaborative effort". The result of this plentiful collaboration is a beautiful line that not only brings the brand's premium CBD products but one that effortlessly stands out.
Everything, from the evocative color scheme to minimalistic design tendencies is used to accentuate Prima's (primary) values - rooted in hemp, heart, and real science. Simple, convenient, and soothing, just as it should be.
10. When in the woods - Oasyhotel by The6th
Standout Features:
- Modular boxes
- Origami-inspired
- Classy typography
“When in the woods…” is a convenient pack-to-play project created for the guests of Oasyhotel, a luxury cabin resort in Tuscany, Italy.
The welcome kit, courtesy of The6th, consists of 7 boxes that contain 7 different, individual objects for the guests, from honey to raincoats, crunchy biscuits to compass. When combined these boxes form a tangram game (classic dissection puzzle game), so the guests can play to recreate the locale's wildlife. The packaging's playful aspect doesn't stop there as each one is adorned with a subtle clue on the sides of what's inside.
The objective is to use all the shapes, without overlapping them, to create an original minimalist design representing animals, objects, or actions. You'd be surprised by how many shapes you can create with just 7 pieces.
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