Packaging that works
Packaging has two jobs. It must protect the product from the warehouse to the doorstep, and it must make opening it feel like something. Most packaging fails at one or the other. We design for both and test both.
We work with brands whose box is the first thing a customer touches: cosmetics, fragrance, spirits, jewellery, gifts and premium consumer goods.
Structure and graphics together
The shape of a box and the artwork on it are one design. We draw the structure, resolve the graphics to fit, and make a real sample so you can hold it, open it and drop it. Inserts hold the product still. Closures feel right. The artwork lines up across folds.
Prototypes before production
A white-sample or a fully finished presentation case, made in our workshop, shows what a flat drawing cannot. We use it to test fit, strength and the unboxing, then correct anything before committing to tooling. That is cheaper than finding the fault in ten thousand units.
Production and freight
Once the sample is approved we help find the right manufacturer, brief them with the drawings and check the first run against the sample. We specify packaging for freight, including carton sizes, pallet plans and protection for export.
Gift sets and presentation cases
For premium and limited-run work we make presentation cases in wood, board, foam and fabric, with moulded or cut inserts and finishing that matches the product. Small runs are made in the workshop. Larger runs go to a supplier under our supervision.
What to specify in a packaging brief
A good brief names the product with its exact dimensions and weight, how it is sold, how it is shipped and where it will be seen. Say whether the pack must sit on a shelf, travel in the post, be unboxed on camera or be given as a gift.
Tell us the number you expect to make, now and later, because that decides the method. A few hundred rigid boxes are made differently from many thousands of folding cartons.
Add the practical limits: the freight route, storage space, the speed at which your team can pack, and any rules your retailer or carrier imposes on size or labelling.
Materials and structure
Board, rigid card, corrugated, moulded pulp, fabric wrap, foam, timber and metal each suit a different job. The right choice depends on weight, fragility, finish and how the pack is opened.
Inserts matter as much as the outer. A product that shifts in transit arrives damaged however good the print is. We design trays and supports to hold the item still, and test them by dropping and shaking a built sample.
Where the pack is part of the experience, we look at the opening sequence: what the customer sees first, how the lid lifts, how the product is revealed. Small details such as a ribbon pull or a magnetic closure change how the product feels.
Checking the first run
Before a full order is placed, we approve a flat visual, then a built white sample, then a printed sample on the real material. Each step catches a different problem: size, fit, colour and finish.
When production starts, we check the first pieces off the line against the approved sample, looking at registration, colour, glue lines, scoring and the fit of the product. Anything out of tolerance is stopped before the run continues.
We confirm how the packs will be delivered, in what quantity per carton and with what labelling, so they arrive ready to use.
Sustainability and sensible choices
A pack should protect the product with no more material than it needs. We look at weight, the mix of materials and whether the pack can be recycled or reused where it is delivered.
Plastic windows, foam and mixed laminates are used only where they do a job nothing else can. We tell you what each choice means for disposal and for the customer, so the decision is yours.
Reusable cases, which a customer keeps for storage or display, can be a better answer for gift and premium products than a box that is discarded.
What we design
Questions
Do you design the artwork too?
Yes, alongside the structure.
Can you make a sample before we order?
Yes. A sample is part of the process.
Do you manage the production?
We can find the manufacturer and check the first run, or hand the drawings to yours.
What is the minimum order?
That depends on the type of pack. Workshop-made cases can be one-offs, printed boxes need a run.
Can you help with sustainable materials?
Yes. We recommend the material and weight that protect the product with the least waste.
Can you design packaging for fragile or heavy items?
Yes. We design the inserts and outer to protect the item, then test a sample under realistic handling before you order.
What do you need to start?
The product or accurate drawings of it, your target quantities, your freight and retail needs, and any brand guidelines. We can work from a photograph and measurements if there is no drawing.