Out of all the graphic design streams, packaging design is one of the most complex and challenging tasks. Given how complicated packaging design can get, not all graphic designers can be good at this art. Many designers refuse to take up this work upfront. Packaging designing is about being creative and about being able to visualize the final package with the product in it. Because even if they get the visual design right, but if they get the packaging dimensions wrong, the whole design can go waste. On top of it, brands may end up spending developing wrong-sized packaging prints.
Designers need to keep in mind that when they are designing packages, they are not just creating visually appealing boxes. Rather they are developing a customer experience, and this is very important for the brand. Nobody likes a shabbily packed product with an ugly design. Nowadays, people prefer more functional packaging, which is easy to unpack and dispose of. The trends keep changing every year in terms of design, with minimal designing and sustainable designing being the most recent ones. Though package designing may seem a tough task, anyone can get good at it with a little bit of learning and experience. To help you in this process, we have shortlisted a few good varieties of tutorials that you can watch for free and learn.
1. Box Packaging Design Full Process in under 10 minutes
The first one on the list is a resourceful tutorial that talks about the entire process of packaging. The best part of this tutorial is that it does not rush you directly to the software. Rather it also talks about how good designers approach the entire package designing process. This first starts with the research part. As a designer, you can’t just start designing without properly understanding the product, the market, and the competitors. It is best to search the internet for similar products and what other products are doing in terms of packaging. It also talks about how you can find the right inspiration for your package design.
Then just like other graphic designs, it nudges you to sketch your design first and then only start work to translate it on the software. It does not detail out the entire designing process step by step but what it does is explain the design thinking involved in the entire process. The video also mentions many do’s and do not’s, which are worth noting down. The best part is that the video is just around 10 minutes long, which makes it a quick watch, and given it is loaded with information, it is definitely worth the time and effort.
2. Designing a Product Label & Packaging
This video tutorial by Abi Connick focuses on multiple aspects of package designing: Labelling, product branding, and box packaging. It nicely explains the process, the thought process, and the step-by-step flow for executing the above. This makes the video very useful. Just like the first tutorial, it starts by explaining the thought process. But then it quickly jumps to Adobe Illustrator, where we can see Abi creating the entire package design from scratch. We can see her explaining the rationale behind what she is doing, which helps us understand the process better.
She has taken up the project of fancy candle designing. It may be simple, but given the creative bandwidth in the project, designers may at times get stuck. A point worth mentioning about the video is it shows how organized she is in designing. This is good learning for the designers. The video is over 17 minutes, but it becomes very engaging and informative with her interaction.
3. Packaging Design ProTips by Adobe Creative Cloud
A tutorial coming from Adobe Creative Cloud will always be of a good production value and full of information. In this tutorial, designer Tanya Kar guides us through the entire process of package design. She has taken up the project of designing packaging for a gummy multivitamin brand. For this, she toggles through Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create a stunning design for the package. A word of caution here – the video is an Adobe Live event and almost 2 hours long. But on the flip side, it is well classified, and you can skip the intro part and jump to sections of your interest.
What Tanya does throughout the video is detail the process that packaging designers should ideally follow. This starts with understanding the brand and establishing its tone and visual identity, followed by researching what the competitors are doing. Then it also dives deep into technical aspects like selection of fonts, shapes, psychology of colors, box dieline, exploiting the pen tool, and much more. The video may be a bit long but is full of very useful information.
4. Luxury Packaging Design Basics | Tips From Louis Vuitton
First, this video does not contain a tutorial explaining the steps of packaging designing on any software. For that, we have included many other tutorials in the list. But this video has been included as it throws light on how premium brands go about their package designing. If you are already a well-established packaging designer, you will enjoy this video and enrich your knowledge. Mariah Rone shows us how big brands like Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co, and other premium luxury brands go about creating a distinct packaging experience.
Mariah does a fine job explaining how designers can create a ‘wow’ effect on the customers through their packaging. She also talks about the potential of package design for building brand loyalty and enhancing their consumer experience. The video is only 7 minutes long, but within the short span, Mariah can give out many tips and hacks for package designers, which makes the tutorial a must-watch to enhance their overall understanding of package designing.
5. Box Product Packaging Design in Illustrator
Box product packaging is always a tricky business. You need to first understand how the box is created, the different sides, and their dimensions. You also need to keep in mind the different folds and their impact on the packaging. Once you have got these right, you need to create the base structure and then start the actual creative process of designing the packaging. This video tutorial is a perfect watch for new designers starting into the field of package design. It takes up the project of designing a package for a Trimmer.
It starts by creating the base box structure in Adobe Illustrator. Then one by one, different design elements are loaded on the box to complete the package design. The video may be around 17 minutes long, but each moment teaches the designer different aspects of the package design. The best part of the tutorial is that it teaches how to create all design elements from scratch, including product features, instructions, and much more. The tutorial also offers open files and designs for you to try out and the video, which betters the learning experience.
6. Creating a Package Design in CorelDRAW
While Illustrator and Photoshop are the most preferred applications for package design, many designers use CorelDraw to design packages. This video tutorial is for them to further improve their designing skills. It is a 22-minute video but covers all the aspects of the design in detail. It has taken up the project of designing box packaging for a coffee brand. Starting from scratch is first to create the base structure and sides of the box. This part is important as it serves as the foundation of package design.
Step by step, it guides the user through the entire process of designing the coffee box package in the tutorial. It explains how to use the perspective tool, power clip, eyedropper tool, and much more. Though the final product may not be the best packaging that you have come across, the video is good for the detailed process. You can grasp the same and apply it when you take up the next package designing project as a designer.
7. Quickly Executing Product Package Design In Adobe Photoshop
The above tutorial showcased how designers can design packaging in Corel, and now this tutorial explains the process of executing product package design using Adobe Photoshop. It does not contain any voiceover and is to the point that it serves well to all designers looking for a video tutorial that details the technical aspects of the design. The good part of the video is that you can see all the actions taken by the designer in the bottom left corner.
For the tutorial purpose, the designer creates a package design for a juice box. It starts from scratch and uses guidelines in Photoshop to create the box structure. Then one by one, the designer adds the requisite design and brand elements. Though the design is simple, it takes the viewer through the entire process and explains how to set up the barcode, user instructions, and more on the package design.
8. Package Design in Solidworks
In the above few tutorials, we saw how Illustrator, Photoshop, and even CorelDraw could create stunning package designs. Now, this tutorial introduces us to new software – Solidworks. Primarily this software is used for creating solid modeling and 3D CAD drawings; it can also be used for package designing. Most of the packages we have seen are of the paper board, but what if you need to design metal packaging like a coke tin. This is where this software can be useful. The only disadvantage of this tutorial is that if you have never used Solidworks, you may find it hard to follow.
The designer in the video uses sheet metal tools to create a package design. The good part is that because it is a 3D tool, you can visualize the design and its output together. This makes the design easy. However, this tool is far more complicated, and designers should avoid it if they do not have its working knowledge. Nevertheless, it is a good tool to learn and can open up your gateways towards 3D design.
9. How to Create Packaging Design (Box Design) in Adobe Illustrator
This video tutorial by Video 2 Graphis is to the point when guiding the viewers about the step-by-step process of package designing in Adobe Illustrator. For the tutorial purpose, it has taken the package design of a box for organic serum. The final design is menial as per the modern trends and looks beautiful. The process, however, is quite laborious, but the video does a fine job of breaking it down into parts for people to understand.
Starting from a blank canvas in Illustrator, it first creates the box structure. If you will notice, the box is not a simple one and has folds and hinges which need to be created with detailed dimensions. This is why the video spends almost the first 10 minutes on this. Once this is done, the designer imports the design. This is a new approach to packaging wherein the designer has created the design separately and is now just applying it to the package. This can be done by well-experienced designers or when designs are minimal, like in this video.
10. Ice-Cream Bucket Product Packaging Design in Illustrator/Photoshop
We all love ice cream and especially the fancy cup and bucket design they come with. Manufacturing companies spend a lot of time and energy ensuring the best package design to make the whole ice cream eating experience fun and memorable. Hence as a designer, you need to stretch your creativity for such products. This is where this tutorial can help. It takes the viewers through the entire process of designing an ice-cream bucket packaging.
This tutorial covers the basics of package designing and covers different aspects like designing the typography, adding creative design elements, the composition of labeling, and much more. One aspect that designers should notice is how the designer has created a notepad file containing all the requisite information regarding the brand design and product dimension. This is important to not make mistakes in design. By the end of the 20-minute tutorial, you will learn how to create visually alluring ice cream bucket packaging.
Editors Note:
If you’re considering using Adobe products in your design career, but haven’t decided if it’s the right choice, take a look at how powerful and affordable PhotoShop and Illustrator have become. As a leader in the design technology industry, Adobe products will take your design career to the next level. It might be time to take a closer look at all they have to offer [ Discover More ]
