Branding

I am investigating getting some branded packaging for my jewellery. Questioning whether I should go for luxury gift bags or boxes the general consensus is boxes, I dont want to spend loads of money on them but at the same time want my packaging to be attractive and add visual value to the product itself...maybe something contemporary but cool at the same time.  Has anyone had any experience of branding their packaging, maybe even designing their own packaging?  Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated as I'm having a bit of a blonde moment with the whole thing!

I have been looking at this page.
http://www.alibaba.com/products/brand_packaging/--2303.html

Hi Molly,

Just on Twitter and spotted a tweet from @contemporarylab - this jewelers in Brighton does some lovely satin lined boxes: http://www.johnharrington.co.uk/gift_wrap.html or for an excellent example of stylish branded packaging not many people do better than http://www.hotelchocolat.co.uk/Small-Chocolate-Gift-Boxes-CHCboxed/

Branding for any business is all about knowing your customer and delivering a consistent message. So in your case if you can afford to have boxes, bags and business cards all designed and printed at the same time that would be the winning package! All the best with your project, and if you need any design work/advice please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Cheers,
Jon

Hi Jon,

Thanks for the in

The packaging I am using at the moment is a matt laminate ribbon bag, jewellery wrapped in tissue and black r

My message disappeared when I posted it!!  What I was trying to say was that the links you sent are really lovely and really like the idea in my head!  I had contemplated branding the bags I use (Pic attached)  I use tissue and black ribbon to wrap the piece then use the bag.  Is this enough?  I'm not sure if it is...the branding including bag itself comes to £1.50...say £2.00 with ribbon, tissue etc.

I agree with katie, a logo is so important in branding and stickers is a fantastic idea (nice one katie!)

Like  Jon said, research who your customers are likely to be, who they tend to buy from at the moment and make your packaging suit that market. What sort of packaging does your competition use and why do they use that type? Do they use sustainable materials or not? Would it be cheaper?

The main thing is always to keep things simple. If you look at ContemporaryLab's logo (www.contemporarylab.com), Vanilla Ink's logo or for example Made's logo (www.made.com), sometimes just the name in a nice font is great! Look at Accessorize, you would recognise their logo anywhere and it is just a word in some nice font.

If you are an illustrator too, than great. Have a look around at some other people's logos that you like, use the elements that you think suit your brand and start designing!

If not, you can always get someone else to do it for you like Katie suggested. You give them a brief and they get to work. It can sometimes be really great to do it this way as often, the designer will come up with something you had not even considered doing but in fact works really well. 

One last thing. Remember that a brand is like a person, it has certain characteristics which make it unique. When you are researching other brands, what they do etc..... remember to stick to your guns. Don't change your brand's personality too much. It is very easy to "follow the crowd" when doing market research. 

Remember, every person is unique, therefore a brand should be too. Keep your packaging simple and let your logo do the work.

I have listed some links that may inspire you:

http://design-fetish.blogspot.com/2010/12/minimalist-packaging.html

http://lovelypackage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/renee.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4781362758_69c4135628.jpg

http://www.japantrends.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/116-jintan-1.jpg

x

Gosh! That was long winded!

Sorry.... 

x

Thanks so much Kate and Contemporary Lab, much appreciated for all the info.  The stickers are a fab idea!  Even the mini moo cards as a label attachment to my bags would be a fab idea and less costly...I'm still a student so every penny counts!  I have the idea/design in my head and its quite simple, the same type of font as on my wesite, pale grey colour...maybe a few small scribbly colourful dots outlined in grey...kinda like my jewellery pieces.  Thanks so much ladies...you've been an inspiration!!!