ORDERING A PACKAGING BOX DESIGN. WHERE SHOULD YOU START?

Beauty Packaging Design. A Step-by-Step Behind-the-Scenes Look at Our Process

Complex print production becomes much easier when the process is structured correctly. When clients come to us for packaging design, we don’t start by discussing visuals. The very first question we ask is: which printing house will handle the production?

For many people, this comes as a surprise.

It may seem logical to create the design first and deal with production later. But in reality, it works the other way around. We’ve repeatedly encountered situations where a design was already completed, but the printing house required the entire layout to be adjusted.

Why You Shouldn’t Start With the Design

Logo design also involves technical limitations, but packaging design adds another layer — production processes that directly affect the final result.

If you begin without considering real production specifications, several issues can appear:

• design elements shift on folds;
• fonts become too small or unreadable;
• important details end up in glue or trimming areas;
• the printing house rejects the artwork.

That’s exactly why we always begin with choosing the printing house first. And to make the process easier to understand, let’s walk through one of our real packaging design cases step by step.

Step 1. Preparing the Materials

To ensure the design process goes smoothly and without unnecessary revisions, it’s important to prepare:

1. The logo (AI or PDF format)
2. A guideline or brandbook
3. Final proofread text
4. Design preferences and references
5. The box template (dieline structure)
   IMPORTANT: the template must come from the printing house where production will take place

If you’ve already worked with us on branding before, we only need the template and the text. We’ll handle everything else ourselves since we already know your visual identity.

The most important element is the box template, and we never begin work without it.

A template (dieline structure) is a vector layout of the unfolded box with all cutting and folding lines already prepared. This is the foundation on which the design is built.

What Is a Die-Cut Tool and Why Does It Matter?

The template is used to create a die-cut tool — the production tool used by the printing house to cut the packaging shape. Every printing house has its own library of die-cut tools in different sizes and forms. That’s why even boxes with identical dimensions may require different structural layouts.

This is a crucial detail that is often underestimated.

Why We Don’t Create Templates Ourselves

Clients often ask us whether we can create a template from scratch if the box dimensions are known.

Technically — yes. Practically — it rarely makes sense.

Every printing house works with its own die-cut tools. Even if we create a custom structure from scratch, it will still need to be adapted to a specific production facility.

We’ve had situations where a client initially chose one printing house, we created the design using their template, and later the client changed contractors. The new printing house refused to accept the ready files and asked for the design to be rebuilt on their own dieline structure — even though the box dimensions were identical.

This creates unnecessary time and budget costs.

That’s why we always recommend choosing the printing house first and requesting the template directly from them.

Step 2. Post-Print Finishing

This is where packaging truly begins to influence brand perception.

Embossing, spot UV coating, foil stamping — all of these finishing techniques strengthen the brand identity and make the product feel more premium.

You don’t need to understand all of these technical processes yourself. We select and recommend solutions that enhance your brand positioning while fitting your budget.

In this particular project, we used embossed logo stamping on the box lid and spot UV coating on the front side. This helped emphasize the visual identity and create a more premium product experience.

Step 3. Design Development

Once all technical parameters are defined and the materials are prepared, the design process begins.

At this stage, we consider:

• the size and shape of the box;
• the opening mechanics;
• folding and glue areas;
• visual hierarchy.

This allows us to create not just a beautiful design, but functional packaging that works correctly in real production.

On average, clients receive the final design and visualization within 3–4 business days.

To avoid mistakes and unnecessary revisions, it’s important to follow the correct sequence:

1. Choose the printing house
2. Get the box template (dieline structure)
3. Send the materials to the designer
4. Develop the design
5. Prepare print-ready files
6. Launch production

Strong branding is always built on logic and systems. Even something as simple as a box can either strengthen a brand or damage its perception.

If you’re planning packaging design, a brand identity, or full branding for your business, it’s important to build the process correctly from the very beginning.

Want to see how working on brand identity can be easy, clear, and stress-free? Leave a request through our contact form or send us a message. We specialize in developing Logos, Brand identities, and Brandbooks.

Sincerely,
V.Rich Studio