Packaging design built on the real dieline.

Part one is the dieline and the material. Packaging design starts from the flat template your packaging supplier gives you: panels, folds, glue flaps, cut lines and safe areas. We design on that dieline, never on a guess, and we ask about the material and print method early, because kraft board, white board, film and glass all show colour differently, and some finishes your design might want aren’t possible on them.

Part two is the front panel. A shopper gives a pack a second or two, on a shelf or as a small photo on a phone. So the front says, in order, what the product is, which variant it is and why it’s worth picking up. Brand, product name and variant are readable from the distance people browse. For online stores, we also check the pack in a square product photo and a thumbnail.

Part three is the required information. Labels have rules, and they differ by country and product type. In the US, for example, the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act regulations at 16 CFR Part 500 define the principal display panel and say it must be large enough for the mandatory information without crowding, with rules on where the net quantity statement sits. Food, cosmetics and medicines have their own regulators. You supply the regulated text, checked by whoever is responsible for compliance, and we place it as required.

Part four is barcodes and claims. Retail barcodes come from GS1, the standards body behind EAN and UPC barcodes; GS1 US, for one, explains that its barcodes identify your company as the brand owner. We place the barcode at a scannable size, in dark bars on a light background, on a flat panel. Environmental claims need facts: the FTC’s Green Guides allow an unqualified “recyclable” claim only when recycling facilities are available to at least 60 percent of consumers or communities where the item is sold. The FSC labels can only be used with certified material, so they come from your supplier’s certification, not from us.

Part five is the range and the files. We design the first pack as a system, so each new flavour, size or product follows the same layout with a clear variant colour or marker. Print files are built on the dieline with bleed, a separate layer for cut and fold lines, spot colours and special finishes marked, and the colour profile your printer uses. We design; you print. We deliver print-ready files made to your printer’s specification (size, bleed, colour profile and file format), and you place the print order with the printer you choose, so you see the printer’s price and proof directly.

Before print, we check a printed mockup made up from the dieline, folded by hand, because a box that looks right flat can hide the logo on a flap. We also make realistic mockups for your website and pre-orders, labelled as mockups until real photos exist. See AI product mockups for how we keep those honest.

Where AI helps: exploring illustration and pattern ideas, building mockup scenes and making variants for a range. Where it doesn’t: the regulated text, barcodes, claims or the dieline, which a person sets and checks before the file leaves us. Client work is shown anonymously: see real client results on our results page.