1. A Competitive Advantage
Packaging Design
Presented by Gregory Connell, President & CEO
Nurture Atlantic Inc., NS & NB

2. About Nurture Atlantic
Who We Are
Experienced professionals in consumer products
Servicing food, beverage and health clients
Working in various areas of supply chain in Atlantic Canada
Offices in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

3. About Nurture Atlantic
What We Do
Focus on Creating & Cultivating Consumer Products
Offer Strategy & Advisory Services
Business & Market Development
Value & Product Development
Design & Brand Development

4. Preparation and Investment
A Competitive Advantage
Effective communication is essential
Collaboration between you, the designer and the printer
Invest in professional design services
Use the services of a professional printer
This will provide you tangible, timely and quality results
Good preparation provides an advantage

5. Getting Started Initial Steps – Preparation and Checklist
Before you begin the design process consider these factors:
Brand Identity - what’s it going to look like?
Target Market - who is your consumer?
Marketplace - where are you going to sell it?
Regulatory - what information needs to be on it?
Packaging - how are you going to present it?

6. Getting Started Brand Identity
Provide your brand and logo identity guide
Supply your logo and other necessary design elements
Include taglines and other messaging
Share your objectives and brand strategy
Also share specific product objectives and strategy
Know the price point/demographic for your product
Research your competition
Be consistent in your messaging

7. Getting Started Target Market Know your consumer
Who makes up your target market ?
What do they like?
What are they looking for?
What convinces them to try your product?
What keeps them coming back?

8. Getting Started Marketplace Where will you sell your product?
What’s the best way to reach your consumers?
Traditional farm markets?
Retail locations?
Online marketplace?

9. Getting Started Regulatory – What Has To Be There
The country you're selling in determines the regulatory information required to be on your package.
Claims – have to meet government standards
Product size/ volume – size of font is regulated
Grade of Product - size of font is regulated
Country of Origin – must be stated
NFT (Nutritional Fact Table) – The size of this chart is determined by the Available Display Surface (ADS) of the package. Note there are differences between US and Canada in how this information is presented

10. Getting Started Packaging Your Product – Things to Consider
Consider how your product will be used
Package design should be appropriate for ease of use
Function – it has to work well
Are there any physical considerations i.e., easy to open?
Environmental concerns
Type size needs to be considered
Legibility of fonts is always a priority
Form – it should look good

11. Getting Started Packaging Your Product – More Things to Consider
Pack Size
Type of package - Bag, Box, Bottle, Tetra Pak etc.
Quantities
Budget for packaging/ printing
Type of printing - Digital, Offset, Flexography
Talking to a printer will help determine your printing options
Number of colours – Cost and type of printing are factors
Tooling and dieline considerations

12. Design Process Next Steps Prepare scope of work
Seek proposal/quote from a professional graphic designer
Engage the services of the designer
Allow adequate time for project planning & familiarization
Concept development – design and proofing process
Approval of design
Production and implementation by designer
Designer to supply artwork to printer

13. Design Process Concept and Proofing Considerations
Request 2-3 initial ‘rough’ design concepts from designer
Choose one or a combination of concepts, for further development
Review the new design and ensure it is in keeping with your goals and strategy
Again provide feedback and direction to the designer
The designer provides a full proof of the design to client
Once approved, artwork is prepared and supplied to printer
A printer’s proof will be supplied by the printer for approval prior to printing

14. Design Process The Designer Should Consult the Printer
The client and/or the designer should determine who the printer will be
The designer should consult the printer for specific design requirements, bleeds, radius, templates or dielines
Understand the number of colours i.e. CMYK and/or PMS
Inquire about the preferred file format for printing i.e. popular file formats are high quality pdf, .eps and .ai
Image files – high resolution (300 ppi) Photoshop .eps, .tif, .jpg

15. Design Process Photos and Images
High resolution images must be used, generally 300ppi
What looks good on a website will not print properly on a press
Ensure that all colours and images are CMYK
PRINTING TIP: Avoid overlaying white type on a photo. It can be difficult to trap and it limits reusing printing plates for other varieties.

16. Design Process Photos and Images
Be aware of intellectual property and copyright
Obtain permission to avoid copyright infringements
Have clear ownership of images you use
Ideally if using stock images, use only royalty free images

17. Design Process Colour Models – CMYK and RGB
CMYK is a colour model used for print purposes
CMYK is a 4-colour printing process of combining the four basic colours, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black, to create a printed picture
RGB is a colour model used for onscreen purposes
RGB is a system for representing the colours to be used on a computer display. Red, Green and Blue can be used to obtain any colour in the visible spectrum

18. Design Process Colour – Pantone Matching System (PMS)
Pantone (PMS) is a standardized, universal system of colours
Every Pantone colour/shade is identified with a number
PMS, also known as spot colours, have CMYK equivalents
Using a specific PMS number ensures the colour chosen will print as expected, all colour matches require a PMS number
Colours will vary when printing on different materials, such as vinyl or paper, also between paper stocks and weights
If you are concerned about a colour, ask to see a printer’s proof on different stocks and weights

19. Design Process Colour – Summary Printing options to be aware of:
4 colour process CMYK printing
Spot colour printing
Combination of CMYK and spot colour
Digital printing

20. Design Process Fonts – Two General Categories Serif fonts
A serif is a small stroke at the end of a letter bar
These strokes can vary in thickness on different fonts
Sans Serif fonts
A font without serifs
Comes from the French word ‘sans’
meaning ‘without’

21. Design Process Fonts – Reversed Type
Refers to light type on a dark background
Ink has a tendency to spread into the type
Type generally needs to be minimum of 10pt
Avoid using script fonts for reversed type
On serif fonts some of the sharp edges may disappear
Sans serif fonts are usually more suitable
For legibility, it helps to increase the letter spacing
Make sure there is enough contrast between the text and the background

22. Design Process Fonts – Before Sending a Job to Print
Make sure all fonts are embedded or
Convert fonts to outlines to ensure they will print properly
Include fonts with the job if edits are needed to be made later by the printer
Be aware when thin typefaces are printed in a light colour on a darker background, the darker colour will bleed into the lighter colour. This will make the text appear thinner than it actually is.
Tip: Serif fonts are better printed in solid PMS colours

23. Design Process Stroke Weights and Borders
Like thin typefaces, thin stroke weights can appear thinner than expected even on a white background
Keep lines more than 0.5 in weight to minimize the risk of the lines dropping out
There may be movement on the press that will affect registration. Take care when using borders in your design
Always confirm press restrictions with the printer

24. Design Process Barcodes, DataBars
A barcode is a combination of parallel bars and spaces that communicate data about a product or shipping container.
Often referred to as UPC symbols (or Uniform Product Codes), the standards for bar codes are part of the GS1 System of Standards.
Be sure to factor adequate space on your label
Be aware of colour background etc. in your design
For more information :

25. Types of Image Files Vector and Bitmap
Refers to the two distinct categories of digital images
Vector graphics are created in illustration software
Bitmap files are digital photos and scans
Technically both data formats are completely different
You can’t tell whether an image is a vector or bitmap just by looking at it
The end result can look virtually identical in either format

26. Types of Image Files Examples – Vector and Bitmap Vector: Bitmap:
2 colour vector .ai
full colour bitmap

27. Types of Image Files Vector Vector images are also known as ‘line art’
Vector files are created in illustration software
Vectors, or ‘lines’, create shapes which are filled with colour
Can be scaled to any size without losing print quality
Often used to create logos and illustrations
Vector formats are .ai and .eps

28. Types of Image Files Bitmap Bitmaps are also known as ‘raster images’
Bitmaps are made up of tiny building blocks called pixels
Image quality is resolution dependent
Enlarging a low resolution image does not create more pixels
Use high resolution images (300 ppi) for best print quality
Popular file formats for printing are .eps, .tif and jpeg

29. Summary Steps to a Competitive Advantage
Know your product and your market
Know the regulations
Know your package
Hire a professional designer and professional printer
Collaborate closely and focus on a high quality result

30. A Competitive Advantage
Packaging Design
Presented by Gregory Connell, President & CEO
Nurture Atlantic Inc., NS & NB