Packaging Design Archives – Lauren Rogers https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/category/packaging-design/ Brand Identity Designer Tue, 03 May 2022 04:10:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/cropped-favicon-2-32x32.png Packaging Design Archives – Lauren Rogers https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/category/packaging-design/ 32 32 Why your brand needs a style guide https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/why-your-brand-needs-a-style-guide/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-your-brand-needs-a-style-guide Tue, 03 May 2022 03:45:20 +0000 https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/?p=2071 The post Why your brand needs a style guide appeared first on Lauren Rogers.

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I Heart Brownies Style Guide

When you go to a designer to create your brand or logo, you are essentially asking them to create the “face of your business”. A logo can be enough to simply put onto a business card and get going, but if you’re a business that needs to sell your services you’re most likely going to need a brand identity, this is where the style guide comes in and I will explain why you need a style guide and best practices for using it within your company.

As a graphic designer I have realised with many years in the industry that creating a logo is not enough. Your customers are giving you money for a few reasons, they love what you do, they trust you and they believe you can supply value to them in some way. Yes you can have ana mazing product or service that does just this, but if you are lacking in the brand department and your logo falls flat you will not only seem unprofessional, but un trustworthy and your image may just down play the value you can provide.

But why do I need a style guide?

Let me explain in a few dot points below;

To create a vision for your photography and keep it consistent.

Having a page which outlines the style of your photography is a game changer, you will be shocked at how different people have different ideas of photography so outlining exactly how your brand uses photography will help keep all your touch points consistent.

To share your brand vision and mission.
You need to convey your story to multiple people, in a consistent way without losing the main purpose of  your brand. Sharing not only your vision and mission but in a branded guide will really cement who you are and create a strong impression on anyone dealing with you and your business.

To get everyone talking in the same voice.
Imagine this, you’re starting out and talking to web developers, designers, copywriters and trying to pitch your company. Imagine how easy life could be if you had one document you could send to all your touch points to give clarity around how the company’s tone of voice comes across. It explains the call-outs and words used in every day communication, and hooray you have a consistent brand talking to the right people.

To make sure your logo is always being used correctly and consistently.
Logo’s come in all shapes and sizes and if they are not used with consistent spacing and sizing it can look very unprofessional. One of the key ways your customers are going to trust you enough to spend their hard earned money with you is if your branding has a professional feel to it. A thorough style guide will help you always use your logo in a way that will make your brand feel trustworthy, consistent and it will also mean you’ll spend less time tweaking your logo, and just following the rules set out in your trusty style guide.

For easy reference to your brand colours, typography styles and brand assets.
So coming on from point 1, having all of your colours listed in an easy to copy and paste format is a life changer for consistency. You will be surprised how many people will try to guess your colours and you will end up with a mix matched brand which never looks professional.

colour palette in a style guide

For creating specific rules to keep your typography consistent.
Having style guide listing out all your fonts with the specifics on how to use them is so important. A well-thought-out style guide will outline spacing, leading, uppercase or lowercase and the weights used to keep the branding consistent. Without this you will be constantly looking for your font name and worse risk others using an entirely different font, which is really not something you want happening if you want to keep your branding looking professional.

style guide showing web typography

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The post Why your brand needs a style guide appeared first on Lauren Rogers.

]]> What to include on your food packaging design in Australia https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/what-to-include-on-your-food-packaging-australia/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-to-include-on-your-food-packaging-australia Wed, 07 Oct 2020 00:29:50 +0000 https://www.laurenrogers.com.au/?p=1816 The post What to include on your food packaging design in Australia appeared first on Lauren Rogers.

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Packaging Design Showing critical information

Read this article if you’re curious about the things you MUST and SHOULD include on your packaging design in Australia. I’ve included quick links so you can reference this article when you’re hunting for the information. It’s a tool I wish I had when I was designing my first packaging job. It can be a tool for you to use to help you better source the information you need to brief a designer.

As a Packaging Designer in Australia I have many times attempted to Google this information and this has led me on a goose chase around multiple Government websites to try and find the appropriate information. This is what has prompted me to write this article to hopefully help you with finding the right information for your food packaging and fast! There are various places to find the information you need as a start up or company launching a new product so, here it is in one place (most of it anyway). There may be things I have missed so please also do your own research but use this as a tool for the foundations to get started. Note: This article is written on October 2020 and information may date.

If we take a step back, generally the steps in the journey of your packaging design go like this;

  1. Decide on a product you’re passionate about and want to spend 1/3 of your waking hours working on.
  2. Hone in on your brand messaging, the why, what and who (I’ve written another post on this, go check it out.)
  3. Find an awesome brand identity and packaging designer to develop your brand.
  4. Read the article below to figure out what the heck to include on your packaging and what information you need to put on your packaging.

Information you SHOULD include

From experience here is a list of information I would recommend including if you’re a food startup business in Australia. This is broad and will really depend on your product and how you are positioning yourself. These are not required by law but are definitely nice to haves that will help move your product off the shelves and into your consumers baskets.

During my time as a graphic designer I have learnt alot about packaging design, I have summarised my view of the items that SHOULD be put on your packaging to give it the best chance of making it.

  • Callouts. Up to 3 callouts on the front of your packaging. Why will someone pick up your product? After defining your target persona you should know exactly the sweet spots that will make them go… Oooooh I MUST have it.
  • Cooking Instructions. People like some help! Better yet a new recipe and a link back to your website and social media. People also love feeling apart of something so create a buzz. What?! Your mango juice can create a mango curry, I didn’t even think of that! That’s the reaction you’ll get.
  • Your brand story. Do you have a cool or authentic story to tell? If yes then share it, more likely people will connect with you and buy your product again (even if they don’t read it on the shelf they may read it when they get home while they are waiting for the kettle to boil). Put this on the back generally to invoke connection to your prodouct and brand.
  • Tips, advice or referral to another one of your products. People need prompting and if they know you also do other flavours that perhaps weren’t available at time of purchase this pushes up selling in a casual way.
  • Product benefits, maybe your customer buys your product for their skin and find out it also helps with digestion. Tell them, they won’t figure it out themselves.
  • Recycling information, sometimes this will help someone decide to buy a product if they are environmentally conscious. Again look at your persona and figure out if this is an important thing to them.
  • Health Star Rating is voluntary to put on your packaging design and help people make informed decisions about their health. This isn’t mandatory but most professional packaged food companies include this. Perhaps don’t include it if you have a low star item where this doesn’t work in your favour.

Health Star Calculator

  • A detailed description so at first glance they can see what’s in it or what it might taste like. I’d recommend bringing on a copywriter to help make it sound like the most delicious thing ever!
  • Photography, Illustrations or Cutouts: Asses your product and figure out if you want a photographed image of your product or if you want to show it through the packaging with illustrations. If your product doesn’t look that appealing best to go with photos of beautifully curated food images.

You can see 3 packaging designs I have designed below which have gone down different routes based on their product offering and target audience.

veef frozen burger packaging design

vEEF is a frozen burger pattie so won’t be appealing to show. In this case we have used the photo of a fully cooked burger with oozing vegan cheese to make the product appealing and picked up on the shelf.

plant based food packaging design

This product is a frozen but slightly more appealing product, as it’s a full meal people generally want to see what the actual product looks like. I have seen too many times the cardboard ripped from packages so we want to avoid this by showing a small portion of the product through a cutout area and adding freshness with basil leaves.

Cheese packaging design

Little Cove Dairy is a refrigerated product that doesn’t look overly pretty but customers want to see the grate size. In this case it is a food service product so a simple cutout area and clean design with colour being the distinguishing factor between cheese types enough.

Information you MUST include

Below is my list of must include items on your food packaging in Australia. This list may need to be added to but should get you started on your hunt for the information. Having this information from the beginning when you brief in your packaging designer will really help streamline the process and make sure nothing is missed.

I have summarised a list of items that MUST be put on your packaging to make sure you don’t run into trouble. Please note this is correct as of October 2020, please take this as a resource to add to your own research.

Name and/or Description of the food

Always outline the name of your food and a detailed description is recommended.

The weight

Always include the net weight on the front of your packaging, there are detailed specifications on the industry.gov.au website.

[button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/guide-to-the-sale-of-pre-packaged-goods/labelling-requirements” text=”Weight Specification Guide” color_override=””]

Ingredients list

Following the correct Food Standards guidelines. As this information is suuuuper bland I like to make it a bit fun. On the vEEF packaging we wrote “Ingredients… We Love” as the heading. This helps just inject your brand personality into every aspect of the packaging, even the super dry bits.

[button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/userguide/Documents/Guide%20to%20Standard%201.2.4%20-%20Ingredient%20Labelling%20of%20Foods.pdf” text=”Ingredient Labelling of Foods (PDF)” color_override=””]

Nutritional Information

[button color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/userguide/Documents/Userguide_Prescribed%20Nutrition%20Information%20Nov%2013%20Dec%202013.pdf” text=”Nutrition Information User Guide (PDF)” color_override=””]

Country of origin label.

It is required by Australian Law to outline the country of origin percentages.

[button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.business.gov.au/Products-and-services/Product-labelling/Country-of-origin-food-labelling-resources” text=”Product Labelling Resource” color_override=””] [button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.business.gov.au/products-and-services/product-labelling/calculating-australian-content” text=”Australian Made Percentage Calculator” color_override=””]

Distribution information

Name and street address of the supplier.

Barcode

The standard for retail in Australian is GS1. Tip: Make sure you get your barcode tested through GS1 before printing 1BILLION products (ok overexaggeration) but get tested. I promise you won’t regret spending the extra money. It’s like insurance for your packaging.

[button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.gs1au.org/how-to-get-a-barcode/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwn7j2BRDrARIsAHJkxmwLpSg07JOeAycLd1cNSHyw6zm5QZc2kePcXJ79piW2BYH7zQEmNfkaAuG8EALw_wcB.” text=”How to get a Barcode (GS1 Website)” color_override=””]

Warning or advisory Statements

Advisory statements must be provided for certain foods or ingredients which may cause health risks for some consumers. Below is the link to more information on what needs to be included and the minimum size.

[button open_new_tab=”true” color=”accent-color” hover_text_color_override=”#fff” size=”medium” url=”https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/advisory/Pages/default.aspx” text=”Advisory Guidelines (Food Standards Website)” color_override=””]

Best Before or Use by date

This is generally a white space where overprint of the best before or use by date will be printed or a sticker.

I welcome you to come back here to access the links you need, when you need them.

So in summary below are the should have’s and must have’s for your food packaging design in Australia. Do your own research and reference this article for the links to some of my most used resources.

Should have’s

  • Callouts
  • Photography, illustration or cutouts
  • Cooking instructions
  • Your brand story
  • Tips, advice or referral to other products in the range
  • Product benefits
  • Recycling information
  • Health star rating
  • Description

Must have’s

  • Name and/or description
  • Weight
  • Ingredients list
  • Nutritional information
  • Country of origin
  • Distribution information
  • Barcode
  • Warning or advisory statements
  • Best before or Use by date

Sign up for my newsletter to get helpful tips and advice straight to your inbox… or if you’re looking for a packaging designer to work with you on your packaging design make sure you check out my portfolio before you leave.

The post What to include on your food packaging design in Australia appeared first on Lauren Rogers.

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