How Do the Best Results in Packaging Design Emerge?

The Problem: Why It Often Fails Without Close Collaboration

Great packaging design is not just about aesthetics—it must fulfill strategic goals, convey brand messages, and appeal to the target audience. In reality, however, several challenges arise:

• Incomplete Briefings – Even detailed briefings often leave out important aspects that could influence the design.
• Lack of Expert Involvement – Marketing, product management, and sales teams have different perspectives that are often not integrated into the design process. Additionally, even within the creative process, specific requirements may arise that require expert input.
• Lengthy Approval Processes – Without early and intensive collaboration, designs may require time-consuming revisions later because important details were overlooked.
• Internal Politics – Decision-making is often delayed due to internal persuasion efforts, as interim steps are not aligned with all relevant stakeholders. When senior executives inject their personal tastes, the process can become time-consuming and challenging.

These obstacles lead to inefficient workflows and designs that fail to fully achieve their strategic goals.

The Solution: Close Collaboration and Regular Exchange

The best packaging design results arise when creativity is combined with client collaboration. Here are the key success factors:

1. Early Involvement of All Relevant Stakeholders – Collaboration should start as early as possible. Bring marketing, product management, and sales teams together to ensure that all perspectives and objectives are considered. The creatives who develop the concepts should also be involved from the beginning or at least be closely engaged in the process.
2. Regular Exchange – Opt for continuous dialogue instead of isolated work phases. Tools like Teams or other collaboration platforms allow for real-time adjustments to layouts and quick feedback loops.
3. Leveraging Customer Knowledge – The client knows the target audience, market conditions, and brand values best. This knowledge is invaluable for successful design. Open communication and shared expertise provide a solid foundation for the creative process.
4. Aligning Interim Steps – Present and discuss intermediate results with all involved parties. This allows for early adjustments and reduces the risk of misunderstandings or politically motivated rejections later.
5. Increasing Efficiency by Avoiding Political Roadblocks – Transparent communication and close collaboration help minimize internal resistance and unnecessary persuasion efforts. When all participants feel heard and involved, decision-making becomes more efficient.

Conclusion: Creativity Meets Collaboration

Successful packaging design requires not only creative excellence but also strategic cooperation. Open communication with the client and the involvement of all relevant departments lead to more efficient processes and better results. Those who prioritize dialogue early and closely align interim steps can not only deliver high-quality designs but also achieve strategic goals more quickly and effectively.