Artwork and Design in Packaging

Designing encompasses many different elements, but not all creations contain every element of design. It’s the purposeful choice of including or excluding an element that creates a design. There are also many considerations that go into designs. The elements of design are called design principles. Let’s look at a few design principles: emphasis, lines & shapes, texture, and contrast.

Emphasis can be created in many different ways, but it tends to be created alongside other principles. You can see the difference between Tropicana’s old packaging versus its redesign. The new package deemphasized the brand and put emphasis on the 100% orange. Tropicana’s redesign was one of the best-known branding disasters and they soon returned to their old packaging.

Lines and shapes are also important to design. All objects in designs are created through lines and shapes. In comparison to the previous package, this one uses inconsistent and uncomplimentary shapes and fonts.

Texture is used in many designs. Different textures can be created by various substrates, printing methods, or embossing. Unusual texture can attract the eye or even redirect the eye to a different element. A good example is Kraft paper which can be used to create a natural, recyclable feel to the product, as seen here.

Contrast can be created in multiple ways by using different colors, shapes, and sizes. This coffee product uses several different types of contrast. It uses color contrast between the dark brown background color and the bright yellow and white. It also employs typography contrast. The fonts are different enough to provide contrast, yet are tied together with a common color scheme.

As you can see, there are many principles to artwork and design that must be taken into consideration to design and print a package that is attractive and compelling. The proper use of these principles in package design will result in a package that draws the consumer to take a closer look.

Learn more about package printing at https://www.packagingschool.com/courses/package-printing-101