348: How To Design Great Packaging For Your Products With Miriska Harris

Podcast: Download (Duration: 48:45 — 56.1MB)

Good ecommerce packaging design converts because it creates an unboxing experience, and the single biggest decision is whether your product calls for a giftable box or a functional one. Giftable packaging stays clean and understated to build anticipation, and functional packaging states what the product is, what it does, its top features, and the quantity inside.

In this episode I spoke with Miriska Harris, founder of Outlinematic, the design service I refer my own students to for box design, logos, inserts, and enhanced brand content. She studied product and industrial design, worked on packaging at Bumbo, and has designed thousands of ecommerce packages since 2015.

Below is the whole process: what makes packaging convert, how to brief a designer, the logo rules that keep your embossing costs down, what belongs on an Amazon insert, and how the supplier template workflow actually runs.

Key takeaways

• Giftable packaging outperforms information-dense packaging for products people buy as a treat or a gift.
• The unboxing experience is the product experience. Influencers comment on the box before the contents.
• Functional products need the opposite approach: what it is, what it does, top features, quantity, and a quick-start guide.
• Keep logos flat and minimal. Detailed logos are hard or impossible to emboss, foil, or embroider.
• Amazon inserts should do both jobs: review request on one side, VIP coupon or email registration on the other.
• You need the supplier’s template before final artwork, and suppliers only issue it after you place an order.
• Always request a folded 3D mockup. A flat template hides how the design actually reads.
• Design the packaging before paying for the bulk order so you can iterate on the sample first.

Why ecommerce packaging design matters for conversions

Packaging sets the image of your brand and produces the unboxing moment that customers talk about publicly.

Miriska recalls reading about a brand that credited a packaging and branding overhaul with a large jump in sales. She did not design that packaging and could not name the source, so treat the specific figure as a recollection rather than a benchmark.

The consistent pattern she sees is in influencer content. When people open products on Instagram, the first thing they remark on is the packaging itself.

That reaction matters because the box excites people in almost the same way the product does. Opening an iPhone box is the reference point most people already understand.

What makes giftable packaging convert

Giftable packaging works because it feels like receiving a gift rather than receiving an order.

The design principle is restraint. Skip the information overload of heavy copy and multiple product images, and use a clean box that builds anticipation about what is inside.

Miriska’s example is ordering foundation online. A small bottle arriving in a matte black box with a ribbon and tissue paper feels dramatically more valuable than the same bottle in a plain mailer.

The perfume industry runs on this. Bottles frequently cost more than the liquid inside them, and that is a deliberate decision about experience.

Subscription boxes prove the durability of the effect. People keep well-designed boxes and reuse them for storage, which means the packaging outlives the purchase.

What to put on functional product packaging

Functional products need the packaging to communicate specifics rather than build anticipation.

For a rugged product like a tool, the visual language has to match. Dark base colors paired with a bright accent like yellow, orange, or green is the standard convention, and soft feminine treatments work against the product.

The information set is fairly fixed:

• What the product is and what it does
• Top features of the product
• Size, or quantity of items included
• A quality claim, and the warranty if you offer one
• A short quick-start guide or assembly illustration on the back

Include an image of the contents when the product is unfamiliar or sold as a bundle. Buyers should not have to guess what is in the box.

The restraint still applies. Enough to answer the obvious questions, and not so much that the panel becomes overwhelming.

How a designer guides you to the right packaging style

The product itself determines which direction to take, before any aesthetic discussion happens.

Miriska’s split is straightforward. A tool does not call for giftable packaging, and a wedding or gifting product almost always does.

For my own embroidered napkins, her recommendation was a clean white matte box with minimal treatment. Rather than the product name on the outside, something embossed or foiled that builds anticipation before opening.

That is the general rule she works from: what goes on the outside depends entirely on what is inside.

When you do not need a packaging designer

If all you want is your logo on a stock box, the supplier can handle it and you can skip the design step entirely.

Send the supplier your logo in vector format and they will place it on a standard sized box. That covers a large share of simple branded packaging.

Design services become necessary when the box is custom. A non-standard shape with different artwork on each panel needs someone laying out the template properly.

Her jewelry box project is a good illustration. The client sent Pinterest references and the supplier’s template, and the design used a gold frame, wording on the top panel, and decorative flourishes on the sides with no product imagery at all.

That project also included translucent vellum printed with graphics, laid over the jewelry so the piece shows through. Small touches like that are what custom design buys you.

Logo design rules for physical products

Keep the logo flat and minimal, because every detail you add makes physical application harder and more expensive.

The constraint is production. Embroidery, embossing, foiling, and molding all struggle with fine detail, and preparing a highly detailed logo for foiling can become impossible.

Cost follows difficulty. Heavy detail can push up what suppliers charge to apply your logo, on top of the technical risk.

Where you use the logo changes the calculus. A detailed mascot is fine if it only appears on your website and a printed card, and it becomes a problem the moment it has to be embroidered or molded.

The current convention is flat and minimalistic, often with clever typography. A small hidden element that ties into the brand works well, the way the FedEx arrow does.

How to brief a designer when you have no idea what you want

Give the designer some direction even when you think you have none, because you almost certainly have something in mind.

Miriska’s observation is that clients who claim no preference usually reject the first thing they are sent. Something is already in their head, and the brief needs to surface it.

The questions she asks cover logo type: abstract so it works across categories, a mascot or character, a graphic combined with a word, or a typography treatment where the cleverness lives in the letters themselves.

Beyond type she asks about tone and layout. Minimalistic or playful, graphic above the word or beside it, the graphic alone, the word alone, plus color direction.

Outlinematic delivers six numbered directions in a PDF so the client can choose and combine from them.

What to put on an Amazon product insert

Put a review request on one side and a coupon or VIP registration on the other, so you have two chances to get a response.

The thank you comes first. Acknowledging the purchase is what earns you the right to ask for anything else.

Then pick your ask. A review request on Amazon or Google, a coupon that requires an email to redeem, or a product registration that captures the email directly.

Sellers who run both sides get better odds. If the review request does not land, the coupon might, and vice versa.

Design for attention. Bold clear wording like “free gift”, a star badge with VIP, or a graphic treatment that stops someone from tossing the card with the packaging.

The packaging design workflow with your supplier

Your supplier issues the die-line template, and the designer works on that template rather than inventing one.

The sequence usually starts with the logo. Finalize that first, since it appears on everything downstream.

Then the template. Suppliers send an Adobe Illustrator or PDF file, and most people do not have one yet because suppliers issue templates after you place the order.

Confirm capability before you get that far. Check that your supplier does custom packaging at all, or plan to use a separate printing company.

Note the division of labor. Design services produce the artwork only, printing companies print the packaging, and a third type of company packs your product into it.

The final deliverable is a print-ready file. Fonts converted to outlines and linked files embedded, so the printer needs nothing but that one file.

Why you should always request a folded 3D mockup

A flat die-line hides how the design will actually read once the box is assembled.

The flat version looks unimpressive by nature. Artwork spread across unfolded panels gives you almost no sense of the finished object.

Folding changes the effect. Something placed at the corner of a template can produce a striking result once assembled, and you cannot see that in two dimensions.

Alignment is the technical risk. Elements that do not line up across panel edges look wrong on the manufactured box, which is why template experience matters.

When to design packaging relative to your first order

Work out the packaging design before paying for the bulk order, so you can iterate before committing.

My own advice to students is to sort the design first, get a printed sample, and see the product fully packaged before releasing the bulk payment.

Designers can work from an estimated size. Miriska’s team will start on approximate dimensions and adjust the template once the supplier issues the real one.

How to design Amazon enhanced brand content

Enhanced brand content should be visual and quick to scan, answering the questions your listing images left open.

The format that works is large wording and icons over paragraphs of copy. Buyers are scanning for a fast connection between a feature and what it means for them.

Use it for what did not fit above. Details missing from the listing images or the main copy belong here rather than being repeated.

Product-in-use images help, and a quick start guide inside the enhanced content answers practical questions that otherwise become returns.

How Outlinematic grew a design business with no ads

One organic testimonial in a large Facebook group is what took the business from nothing to a full client roster.

The early approach was direct promotion in Facebook groups, posting the website link and positioning Miriska as a designer for people who want to work one-on-one.

The breakthrough was a client review. They asked a happy customer to write about the experience in one of Scott Voelker’s groups, which had roughly 60,000 members, and the post spread on its own.

The tactic did not repeat. They tried the same play in other groups and got warnings or outright bans, partly because freelance marketplaces had flooded those groups with promotional comments.

What replaced it was word of mouth. Affiliates, Amazon sellers with audiences, and course creators referring their students, with no Facebook ads ever run.

How to scale a service business built on your own skills

Hiring designers works only if you decide deliberately how much quality control stays with you.

Miriska hit 90 concurrent clients working alone, which forced the hire. The first structure routed everything through her as a middleman between designers and clients.

That structure stopped scaling too. Reviewing every file consumed all her time, so senior designers now work directly with clients while junior work still comes through her for adjustments.

The pricing model is fixed rather than hourly, with unlimited revisions. Most clients finalize within about three rounds, and the occasional client who takes 40 to 60 rounds is absorbed by the average.

Frequently asked questions

Does packaging design actually increase sales?

Packaging shapes how valuable a product feels and creates the unboxing moment customers post about. Giftable packaging converts well for gift-appropriate products, because a plain bottle in a matte box with a ribbon feels far more valuable than the same bottle in a mailer.

What should go on product packaging?

For functional products: what it is, what it does, top features, size or quantity, a quality claim, the warranty, and a short quick-start guide. For giftable products, keep the outside clean and let the box build anticipation instead.

How detailed should a product logo be?

Flat and minimal. Embroidery, embossing, foiling, and molding all struggle with fine detail, and heavy detail can raise what suppliers charge or make application impossible. Detailed logos are only safe if they stay on your website and printed cards.

Where do you get a packaging template?

From your supplier, usually as an Adobe Illustrator or PDF file, and typically only after you place an order. Confirm your supplier offers custom packaging first, or plan to use a separate printing company.

What should you put on an Amazon insert?

Thank the customer, then use both sides: a review request on one, and a coupon code or VIP registration that captures an email on the other. Running both gives you two chances at a response.

Should you design packaging before or after ordering inventory?

Before paying for the bulk order. Design first, get a printed sample, and confirm the product fully packaged before releasing payment. Designers can start from an estimated size and adjust once the supplier issues the real template.

Why do you need a 3D mockup of a box?

Flat die-lines hide how the design reads once assembled, and artwork placed near a fold can produce an effect you cannot see in two dimensions. Mockups also expose alignment problems across panel edges before printing.

What makes good Amazon enhanced brand content?

Large visuals and short wording rather than blocks of copy, using icons to connect each feature to its benefit quickly. Cover what the listing images and main copy left out, and include product-in-use images or a quick start guide.