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As a consumer, what do you think it is that most attracts your attention to products on the shelf?

Chances are good that "packaging design" instantly popped into your mind. Although some entrepreneurs find it surprising, well-designed packaging actually can tip the scales in their favor. Those who treat packaging as an afterthought or as merely a utilitarian matter definitely are missing out on valuable branding opportunities.

Packaging design is critical to success, but do you think that it is the text or the images that have the greatest impact? The truth is that both can be powerful. However, images, such as illustrations, sometimes are more valuable than a block of dense text.

That's because an illustration can convey, without words, many informative details. In fact, an illustration can grab a consumer's attention so firmly that they don't even see the other products on the shelf.

If you are ready to see how illustrations could affect the success of your business venture, get in touch with Mid-Atlantic Packaging. We help brands both large and small upgrade their game with custom packaging.

Packaging Can Guide Consumer Choices

No matter what your products may be and whether they are sold in brick-and-mortar stores or online, the packaging that you choose will have a major impact on your success. While packaging must be functional in order to protect the items inside, it is capable of doing so much more for your brand.

Essentially, great packaging design can be the differentiating factor when a customer is choosing between one of your products and that of your competitor.

This means that your goal with custom packaging is to increase the likelihood that consumers will want to interact with your packaging. The more impressed they are, the more likely you are to make a sale.

Custom packaging can be decorated in many ways, but custom illustrations are one of the most certain methods of capturing a customer's attention.

Think of an illustration as being like a visualization tool. Relying on art and design principles, illustrations elevate your brand's character and reputation. Illustrations may be one of the foremost ways to convey the personality and emotions that you want to emphasize with your brand.

Why Use Illustrations on Packaging?

It definitely pays to ensure that your packaging is unique. This means that it can serve as a reliable source identifier. Basically, you want something that is original enough for people to be immediately able to pick out your products from a sea of competitors.

That's not always easy to do, especially if your products are in a crowded market space where there could be thousands of competing brands.

Using custom illustrations on your packaging is one way that you can get consumers to pay attention to your brand.

Why use illustrations on packaging? It boils down to reasons such as:

• Creating a memorable brand identity that consumers can identify and recall in an instant
• Forming deeper, more meaningful connections with your customers
• Weaving a visual story that involves your brand, your products, and the value you promise
• Humanizing your brand
• Conveying complex concepts in fun and accessible ways
• Leveraging packaging design to communicate your brand personality

Now that you know how valuable illustrations on custom packaging can be to your brand's success, you're probably beginning to feel some excitement about incorporating illustrations into your packaging.

However, there's more to uncover before you're ready to jump into creating a design. Let's take a look at some popular illustration styles, any of which might be appropriate for your brand.

Custom Illustration Styles

When it comes to using custom illustrations on packaging, you have lots of design choices. One of these is the style of illustration that you select. Some of the most popular and widely used illustration styles include:

• Pop Art
• Comic Strip
• Illustrated Branding Elements
• Flat and Spot Illustration
• Doodles

Appealing to a younger demographic, pop art is creative and whimsical. Using this illustration style will always paint your brand in a positive light. With the pop art style, the artist draws inspiration from elements of modern popular culture. This means that both the images and the color palette chosen are firmly rooted in what's popular in the moment. Pop art can be an ideal choice if your brand's audience are keen consumers of pop culture.

If you really want your custom packaging to tell a story, then opt for the comic strip illustration style. Comic books are huge today, and they are more familiar to a much broader audience than ever before. No one at the store will be able to resist picking up your product to read the comic. If your illustrations tell a compelling enough story, the consumer will buy it too. This also is a solid approach for eCommerce companies. Comic strip packaging helps your customer feel connected to your company in a meaningful way.

With illustrated branding elements, you have a unique opportunity to combine your brand's name and logo in an unforgettable design. Make your logo stand out from the crowd with the flair of an illustration. Perhaps you'll choose a hand-drawn logo that demonstrates your commitment to quality craftsmanship and customer service. Illustrated branding elements do not have to be large and complex. Something small and minimal can have a major impact when it's done well.

Flat illustration involves sharp, clean edges and a variety of bold and bright colors. With just one or two critical elements upon which to focus, the message conveyed is always clear. The simplicity of a single illustrated element is supremely easy for customers to recall, making it an impactful choice. When the illustration appears to be sketched or hand-drawn, it is commonly referred to as spot illustration. Like flat illustration, spot illustration is engaging, bright, and clean.

If a more free-flowing, abstract illustration style sounds right for your brand, then go withdoodles. These have become incredibly popular in recent years. Doodling foregoes one central element in favor of conveying a sense of brand personality that doesn't necessarily communicate a specific message. It is a fun, irreverent, and interactive choice for a company that holds similar values.

Customizing Your Packaging with Illustrations

The sheer number of choices that you have when designing custom packaging can seem overwhelming. Accordingly, Mid-Atlantic Packaging has put together this concise guide for helping your brand to customize its packaging with illustrations.

Begin by considering your products and the customers who are most likely to buy them. Without doing this step, it is impossible to select the most appropriate illustration style. The more you can define your audience, the greater your success is likely to be.

Next, reflect on your brand's identity and personality. Is your brand seasoned, experienced and serious? If so, then pop art may not be the best choice. Something that is more tasteful, nuanced, and subtle is better in keeping with your brand. Your brand identity is created through your knowledge of it and the customers who are your target audience. Keep this identity in mind as you consider illustrations.

Now it's time to make technical decisions concerning your packaging. What kind of material will the packaging be made from? What kind of printing works with the material you've chosen? What shape or configuration will your packaging be? Before you can get into the illustrations, it will be necessary to choose packaging that will protect your products and showcase them to their best advantage.

With all of these decisions made, it's time to focus on design. You can create illustrations yourself or hire agraphic designer to do them for you. Use what you discovered in the previous steps to inform your choices as far as illustrations.

Where Can You Use Custom Illustrations?

The most obvious place to include your custom illustrations is on the exterior of the boxes and bags in which your products are shipped or sold. However, you do have additional options that are worth considering.

For instance, what if you had custom tissue paper designed for your products? Tissue paper is ideal for filling up space in packages, it's easy to recycle and it's perfectly suited to printing. Any illustration style could be perfect for your brand's unique tissue paper, and you might be surprised at how easy it is to get it done with Mid-Atlantic Packaging.

Have you considered custom ribbons for your products? It may be possible to add illustrations to some ribbons to give your items an extra-special touch. You also might consider custom tags and labels, each one featuring a custom illustration.

Ready to Get Started?

Regardless of your brand's identity, you can convey it with illustrations on your custom packaging. Get acustom packaging quote when you contact Mid-Atlantic Packaging today.