Packaging and Print
Packaging design is the discipline where craft is measured physically — from the substrate and the print to the shelf context. Here the right decisions and the wrong ones alike are measured in thousands.
What packaging and print include
01Visual design
Packaging design is the point where brand identity touches the physical world. From the choice of materials and form to colour, texture and hierarchy — it speaks to several senses at once, which takes more than a visual approach. This is the chance to seize an audience's attention before a single word has been read.
02Information architecture
There are many messages competing for a viewer's attention on a pack, and each of them matters in its own way. The question is not what to include, but in what order the eye should meet it. Information architecture sets the hierarchy: what catches the eye, what builds trust, what answers the questions — and all of it without the mandatory content competing with the brand's own message.
03SKU design systems
Product ranges are the challenge of balancing consistency against recognisability. When a brand has more than one product, the packs need to be thematically linked yet easy to tell apart. That takes proper planning and systematic thinking, letting each product have its own voice while all of them sound in harmony together.
04Print material design
Printed materials are an intimate moment between a brand and a customer. A brochure, a leaflet, a catalogue — each is a moment of attention, where the audience is not scrolling and not skipping. We design them to carry the reader forward — from curiosity to interest, and from interest to action.
05Product photography
In a world of e-commerce, the product photographs also form the first impression of its packaging. As the packaging designers, we know which of its sides are the most valuable, and those are exactly the ones we put in front of the lens. We do not simply show what the product looks like, but why it is worth having.
Who it's for
Packaging and print are for you if you're putting a product on the shelf and it has to stand out among dozens of others.
If your product line is growing and the packs no longer look like one family.
If your brand looks good on screen but fades on paper, on the shelf and in the hand.
If you're preparing print materials — catalogues, brochures, labels — and want them to come out of the printer the way they were designed.
It's not for you if you don't have a brand identity yet. Then the packaging comes after it — that way we make sure it works as part of a complete system, rather than looking patched onto the rest of your brand.
How the process works
Shelf context
Where the product will stand and next to what, and the mandatory content it has to carry.
Concept and information architecture
What catches the eye first, what builds trust, and where the mandatory text goes.
SKU system
If there is more than one product — a shared system in which each one has its own voice.
Prepress and photography
Print-ready files for the printer, and product photography if it's in scope.
Timeline and investment
Timeline
at least 4 weeks
For packaging for a small product line. Each further SKU in the line adds production time.
Investment
from €2,500/
monthFor brands going onto the shelf — packaging design, a system for the product line, prepress files and print materials.
Format
Flexible monthly engagement
Business is dynamic and expectations keep changing, so we let the project's scope narrow or widen as the work goes on.
Capacity
Up to 3 clients at a time
We aim to put our full attention into every project we work on, so we keep the number of new projects in line with our small team.
Part of our toolkit
Affinity
Figma
Capture One
BlenderFeatured project: Packaging and Print
Every idea has its place. Let us talk about yours!
Questions we often get
Can I order just packaging or just a website?
Yes, with one caveat: if a brand identity already exists, we build on it; if not, we start with a short strategy phase so we aren't designing blind. Dulmone Giftbox, for example, started from an existing brand identity that grew into gift packaging and print materials without going through a full brand identity.
Do you work with the printer?
Yes. We prepare the prepress files, run proofs where possible and, when it's needed, attend the press run itself.
What files do I get at the end?
Print files prepared to the printer's requirements — with bleeds, dielines and colour profiles — open working files and, if they're in scope, the product photos. The aim is for the next print run not to depend on us.
My product isn't selling yet. Is it worth investing in a brand now?
Let's be honest: not necessarily. We have turned away clients who don't yet know exactly what their product is or how good it is — at that stage there is nothing to brand. Beautiful packaging around an uncertain product is a short-term win (mostly for the designers) at the expense of the business's long-term growth. And a strong brand can never replace a useful product. It can only catalyse it. If you are at such an early stage, the more useful start is a short piece of work on brand strategy and positioning, rather than creating a logo or packaging for something that is still just a fantasy.
Do you work with small businesses and startups?
Yes — many of our projects start exactly there. We work with at most three active clients at a time, which means a small project gets the same attention as a large one. If the budget doesn't allow the full scope at once, we split the work into phases and start with the one that will give the most straight away. You can find out more about the studio on the about page.
Do you work with clients outside Bulgaria?
We have experience with clients from all over the world, which makes it easy for us to adapt to any organisational, time-zone and communication needs. We work in Bulgarian and English, and our time zone is EET (UTC+2/+3).
Perhaps what you need is
We have already helped brands around the world like
Working on the Zver identity felt easy, clear and very precise. It was our best experience working with designers to date. The Embrand team’s initiative has made the process quite easy and streamlined, leading us to an excellent result.
Their process is incredibly in-depth — I've never worked with another studio that operates with this level of depth and attention to detail. While it's still too early for final data, we are already hitting our targets and selling significantly more than before. The new design completely upgraded our product visibility and quality perception on the market.
We are extremely happy with the work! Alexander understood the idea and the vision of our brand from the very beginning and turned it into packaging that exceeded our expectations. The end result is modern, recognisable and refined down to the smallest detail.