Author: Mustafa Akulker
How to test packaging design before launch
Four tests you can run without a research budget, what each one proves, and two claims about packaging you should not pay for.
What do we need to prepare before a packaging project starts?
Five things to have ready before the first meeting. Shorter than most founders expect, and it is where the weeks get saved.
How do we keep branding consistent across countries?
A documentation problem before it is a design one. What to fix before the second market, and the name checks to run before you fall in love with one.
Our packaging does not match our brand, how do we fix it?
Diagnose the gap before you redesign anything. The mismatch is usually a translation failure, and translation failures are the cheaper fix.
Do we need a new logo design or just better packaging?
Two different problems with two different price tags. Three checks you can run on your own pack this week, before you commission anything.
What is included in a brand identity project?
The strategic frame, the marks and their variants, type and colour with usable values, imagery rules and the guidelines document. What to put in writing before you sign.
What you can say about recycling and the environment, market by market
California’s chasing arrows ban is blocked by a court. The EU rule that bans “eco-friendly” applies from 27 September 2026. What that leaves you able to print.
Can you trademark a colour?
Yes, and two cases show what decides it. Not how famous the colour is, but how precisely the mark is defined.
What changes on the label when you enter a second market
Not a translation job. Arabic is mandatory in the Gulf, dates cannot be stickers, and the UK and US measure their minimum text differently.
One brand or a family of brands?
The models you will be shown are older and shakier than they look. What actually decides it, and the three costs of opening a second brand.