We designed with the challenge restrictions of a current display featured at Kohl’s. We revamped the packaging and it was a big hit! Then we designed for the rest of the world and toward our new direction for the brand. It took over a year to develop the design, packaging shape, quality of the construction, product reformulation and product fit.

Get the boss to buy-in!!

Meaning work closer not farther. Every designer wants to design their vision of what they think would be best but I believe in listening to the boss for their vision and then adapt your style to it. Show what they’re asking and then show how you adapted it to a version that improves upon it. If your boss-buys in then when you’re ideas get presented to the corporate office you won’t be left high-and-dry. You’re boss will go to bat for it because you’re BOTH invested in the design.

Build a mockup by hand on a small scale for yourself and see how it works and show it that way so people can quickly see how it works from all sides. Computer screens don’t always show you how something will act in real life in real light.

Expect everything to go wrong in a positive way. Failures teach you a lot so don’t let failures go to waste with being upset. In turn plan for everything to go right and work toward that. Literally think about every aspect of the packaging and how it will be sold; on a shelf or in a display? Online or instore? Who’s their competition on the aisle, who’s the competition in the industry, who’ the target? Be ready to zig while everyone zags.

Only present the designs you love. Never show “throwaways”, the client or upper-management will always end up selecting it and you’ll have to live with it. So never show work you don’t love. I’d rather show 2-3 awesome piece than 10 with 4 bad ones because clients always gravitate toward it for some reason. It’s a weird phenomena.