Packaging Design: Successful Product Branding From Concept to Shelf, 2nd Edition

Phase 4:Design Refinement

The chosen packaging design is now refined for the final time. The client may request changes to color, typographic treatments, or graphic imagery. The goal is to resolve the design so that it communicates the intended objective as best as possible.

WE TALK ABOUT the “brand in the hand.” Consumers need to be drawn to a brand's range of products and, hopefully, pick one up. This is when a more intimate connection is made and when the packaging design needs to work in more subtle ways to communicate the product's value.

—Marcus Hewitt, chief creative officerat Dragon Rouge USA

The final brand identity is given very careful attention. The shapes of the letterforms are balanced, and the kerning, tracking, and ligatures are refined. Structural dimensions, secondary copy layout and positioning, colors, and imagery are all reviewed. All copy, including mandatory copy, is proofread. All legal and regulatory requirements are checked by the design team and approved by the client's legal representative as necessary. Slight alterations of the chosen solution, based on a single design direction, may be developed into a few final comps for the final presentation.

RETAIL AUDIT

Before a product makes it into the hands of consumers, it lives in the retail environment. Designers and their clients too often make final design decisions that are not based on how the product will appear on shelf. The retail environment has a tremendous impact on a packaging design's success. ...