It’s easy to overlook packaging, but the packaging of your product speaks volumes about your brand. It’s one of the first impressions a consumer has of your product and should reflect the personality of your company and provide the consumer with a unique and memorable experience.

A package should serve a few purposes. First and foremost, it should protect the product from damage during transport or on store shelves. It should serve as a means to differentiate itself from the other brands on the shelf and help draw the consumer to your product. Packaging should also provide necessary information that helps drive the purchase decision and create a positive brand perception. Every little detail says something about your brand so you want to make sure you’re sending the right message.

Below are 10 highly creative and effective designs that should help to give you some inspiration.

1. BANDiful

Taking the tie rack as inspiration, this Dieline 2013 Best of Show packaging creates a convenient way to obtain a bandage while having a little bit of fun with the design.

2. Handy Nails

This packaging for a student project combines both clever packaging while providing an organized way to store nails. You don’t normally see beautiful design in conjunction with hardware products so this project is refreshing.

3. Mammoth Supply Co.

Mammoth Supply Co. uses a subtle mix of attractive colour schemes and a bold font choice to create a package that stands its ground. Their focus on typography helps to communicate everything the consumer needs to know while still looking good doing it.

4. Themla’s Cookies Fresh from the Oven

The packaging for Thelma’s Cookies has her customers eating right out of the oven. It’s kitschy but cute and provides some nostalgia value to her customers.

5. Bellroy

Another low key yet professional design which happens to be from Bellroy, this weighty packaging adds a bit of class to the inside contents. This type of packaging is perfect to draw attention to the product while still looking professional.

6. Nike Air

One of Nike’s most effective packaging tools was the placement of its iconic Air sneakers in airtight plastic, showcasing the cushioning of the shoes themselves by highlighting that feature in the packaging.

7. Note

Building off of the purpose of the product, the headphones peek through the package to appear as music notes, complete with the wire completing the look. There’s minimal packaging involved, but using the product to represent the end use in a clever and clean way makes it stand out.

8. Black Coffee

The old school font and design for Black Coffee brings to mind the vintage feel that many coffee shops seek to replicate. The rooster, a classic symbol for starting the day, is a great visual to use on coffee packaging and the black and white colour scheme helps to complete the bold look.

9. Brushman Shaving Brushes

This hair-raising packaging design incorporates humor with the brush doubling as the hair on the top of the models’ heads which will surely cause some people to do double takes when they see this on the shelves.

10. Morrison’s Tea

Cheerful illustrations and handwritten type are used to make this packaging to feel personal and warm, just like every cup of tea you get to enjoy from this beautiful box. Morrison’s has put their heart right into their work.

Want to see more cool packaging examples? Check out the posts below:

• Five packaging ideas to spark your imagination
• Seven unique packaging examples that involve custom cutting

Brittany Giles is the Social Media Specialist at The Printing House.