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Packaging & Merchandising Design | Project 2: Innovative Packaging

03.11.2025 - 22.12.2025 / Week 7 - Week 14
Khu Ying Ying / 0357306
Packaging & Merchandising Design / MER60104 / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media
Project 2: Innovative Packaging

TABLE OF CONTENTS







LECTURES

All lectures 1 to 3 are completed.

INSTRUCTIONS

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PROJECT 2: INNOVATIVE PACKAGING

Week 7 (03/11/2025)

Requirements:
  1. Work as a group (4 to 5 members per group) to design packaging based on your chosen design brief.
  2. Follow the outline/framework that is provided in this project:
    • Research: Conduct thorough research on the product and target market. Understand the brand’s positioning, values, and audience to inform your design decisions.
    • Logo Design: Develop a logo that reflects the company’s identity, aligns with the brand positioning, and appeals to the target audience.
    • Packaging Design: Create packaging that securely protects the product, showcases the logo clearly, is user-friendly, and aligns with the brand’s style and positioning.

Submissions:
  1. Group: Submit the finalised packaging box and presentation slides.
  2. Individual: Complete and upload your design progress on your blog.

Progress:

Grouping & Ideation

Grouping:
For this project, we were required to form a group of 4 to 5 members. Melissa, Yan Bin, Muzhen, and I teamed up to work on this assignment. This is a continuous project: Project 2 focuses on branding and packaging, while the final project will cover merchandising. Our group selected Design Brief 1: Bass Tech Ltd.
  • Company Overview: A tech manufacturer specializing in wireless headphones.
  • Current Goal: To improve product protection through better packaging and refresh the brand with a new logo design.
  • Logo Objective: Should appeal to all ages, especially teenagers, and reflect a fun, colorful, and modern identity.
  • Product Details: One pair of non-foldable wireless headphones (19 cm H × 13.5 cm W; earcup 7.5 cm H × 6 cm D).
  • Packaging Requirements: Must fit the headphones securely, be easy to open, clearly display the logo, and allow safe, convenient storage and shipping.
Figure P2.1: Design Brief, Week 7 (03/11/2025)


Ideation - Headphone Packaging:
Melissa created a Miro board where we compiled our mood boards and sketches related to the logo and packaging design. 
Figure P2.2: Miro, Week 7 (03/11/2025)

After reading the design brief, I began by gathering references from Pinterest and Google to explore how headphones are typically packaged. Most of the examples I found used corrugated box styles or magnetic closure boxes, which are commonly chosen for their durability, functionality, and premium appearance. 
Figure P2.3: Headphone Packaging - Moodboard, Week 8 (10/11/2025)

During the sketching stage, I first considered a corrugated box design, but later explored a drawer box concept to create a more engaging unboxing experience. I developed two main ideas:
  1. Drawer Box (Sleeve + Tray): Features a side ribbon pull for easy opening. The inner tray includes a custom-cut cushion or sponge insert to securely hold the headphones. A circular cutout on the outer sleeve, covered with a transparent plastic sheet, allows the brand logo on the inner cushion to be visible.
  2. Magnetic Closure Box: Offers a more premium, blind box–inspired feel. It also includes a ribbon pull for convenience and reveals the product description on the inner panel when opened. The headphones are protected by a custom-cut cushion insert, with the logo displayed prominently on the top panel.
Figure P2.4: Headphone Packaging - Sketches, Week 8 (10/11/2025)


Ideation - Logo:
For the logo, I focused on a futuristic and minimalist style to reflect the modern identity of Bass Tech Ltd. I explored fonts with a futuristic feel and incorporated a sound wave motif into the wordmark, where the repetitive lines evoke both a disc and the movement of sound.
Figure P2.5: Logo - Moodboard, Week 8 (10/11/2025)

I then sketched several logo concepts, exploring monogram (lettermark) and wordmark (logotype) styles while incorporating the headphones or a soundwave motif. I found it challenging to fully capture the company’s identity, as none of the initial designs felt quite right, but I continued to experiment with different directions (cry in pain).
Figure P2.6: Logo - Sketches, Week 8 (10/11/2025)

Week 8 (10/11/2025)

Brand, Logo, and Packaging Development

Design Alignment:
After reviewing our moodboard and sketches, Mr. Shamsul emphasized that our logo should have a clear backstory and meaning reflecting the brand’s positioning. It should target a specific audience, such as music lovers, street fashion enthusiasts, or sports users, and represent the brand identity rather than just looking good. Similarly, the packaging, merchandise, promotional materials, and other visuals must align with the logo and brand direction for a cohesive look.
Figure P2.7: Logo and Headphone Packaging Sketches (Initial), Week 8 (10/11/2025)


Brand Positioning:
Our primary target audience is street fashion enthusiasts, with music lovers as a secondary audience. To better connect with them, we developed a brand positioning that gives meaning and context to Melissa’s graffiti-style logo, ensuring it reflects the brand’s identity rather than being just a plain design.
  1. Target Audience:
    • Demographics: Aged 16–30, all genders, with middle to upper-middle income, including students, young professionals, and creative freelancers, primarily in urban areas influenced by street fashion and culture.
    • Psychographics: Passionate about music, streetwear, and self-expression, valuing authenticity, individuality, and confidence. They see headphones as a statement piece and rely on music as motivation or escape.
    • Example Persona: Jay, 22, a design student who sketches to hip-hop beats, hangs out at street cafés, and wears his headphones as an accessory, experiencing music rather than just listening to it.
  2. Market Category:
    • Industry: Consumer electronics, specializing in audio technology.
    • Focus: Street-style headphones and sound accessories that combine fashion and performance.
  3. Brand Value:
    • Bass Tech Ltd delivers powerful, crystal-clear sound in designs that reflect your street style, bringing studio-level sound to the streets because great music deserves great energy.
  4. Unique Selling Points (USP):
    • Bass-Driven Tech: Engineered with bass-driven technology for immersive, rich, and punchy sound that brings music to life.
    • Streetwear Aesthetic: Bold, expressive designs inspired by urban culture, combining style with durability.
    • Comfort and Identity: Built for long wear and everyday use while reflecting the wearer’s individuality and personal style.
  5. Brand Personality:
    • Fearless: Never afraid to stand out, unapologetically expressive.
    • Authentic: Mixes style and sound while staying real and connected to the streets.
    • Dynamic: Driven by music and movement, with a street-smart, lively tone of voice.
  6. Brand Essence:
    • “Feel the Bass. Live the Beat.” At its core, Bass Tech transforms everyday moments into powerful experiences through sound that resonates both physically and emotionally.
  7. Positioning Statement: 
    • For young, creative individuals in music and street culture, Bass Tech Ltd is the fearless, authentic audio brand that fuses powerful, bass-driven sound with bold street style, because it’s made for people who feel the music, not just hear it.


Logo (Updated):
As the brand focuses on fashion and self-expression, the overall art direction adopts a bold and expressive visual style. I expanded my exploration by gathering additional references on a graffiti-style logo. Graffiti’s strong link to street art aligns well with our target audience: fashion enthusiasts, especially with the rising popularity of Y2K aesthetics. The word “Bass” naturally connects to music, leading me to incorporate elements inspired by electric bass guitars. 
Figure P2.8: Logo - Moodboard (Updated), Week 8 (14/10/2025)

With the moodboard references as guidance, I sketched several logo variations to explore different visual directions. However, I realised that my designs leaned more toward a rock-and-roll aesthetic rather than true graffiti, which made me a bit frustrated (crying). There were two alternative elements for logo design:
  1. Star: A popular motif in Y2K and streetwear aesthetics. It evokes a sense of futurism and nostalgia, aligning with the brand’s positioning as forward-thinking and trend-conscious.
  2. Music Note: Represents sound and audio, subtly emphasizing the high-quality listening experience of the headphones.

These are our logo sketches.
Figure P2.9: Logo - Sketches (Updated), Week 8 (14/10/2025)


Headphone Packaging (Updated):
For the headphone packaging, we decided to go with my Sketch #2, keeping the product description on the inner panel. We are also incorporating perforated packaging, which is easier to tear and creates a “blind box” experience, adding an element of excitement and surprise for the user. A fun twist we want to incorporate is color contrast: for example, while the outer box is black, tearing along the perforations reveals a white interior, creating an exciting visual surprise.
Figure P2.10: Headphone Packaging - Moodboard (Updated), Week 8 (14/10/2025)

Building on these ideas, Melissa and I sketched the perforated packaging for the headphones.
Figure P2.11: Headphone Packaging - Sketches (Updated), Week 8 (14/10/2025)

Week 9 (17/11/2025)

Logo and Packaging Design Finalisation

Logo Digitisation:
Mr. Shamsul selected the first draft of the graffiti-style logo created by Melissa and advised us to explore additional graphic elements to determine the most suitable direction for the brand. Melissa then proceeded to digitise and refine the logo. However, after further evaluation, we found that incorporating additional graphic elements was less effective for our concept, so we decided to maintain a consistent graffiti-style approach.

After the logo was digitised, Melissa consulted the group on suitable logo colours that aligned with the brand’s values. After discussion, we collectively selected a light pink colour, as it was perceived as visually appealing and aligned well with the brand’s youthful and creative identity.
Figure P2.12: Logo Digitisation 1, Week 9 (17/11/2025)

Figure P2.13: Logo Digitisation 2, Week 9 (19/11/2025)


Headphone Packaging:
For the headphone packaging, Mr. Shamsul advised us not to use perforation. Instead, he recommended using a roll-end tuck front (mailbox-style) box and advised against perforation on the outer sleeve, as it would complicate the assembly process.
Figure P2.14: Rejected Headphone Packaging Sketch, Week 9 (19/11/2025)

Following this guidance, Yan Bin and I handled the box dieline development: Yan Bin sourced reference dielines from Pacdora, while I calculated the measurements. However, achieving precise measurements was challenging as I did not have the physical headphones for hands-on reference and had to rely solely on the dimensions stated in the project requirements, which limited accuracy. I recalculated the measurements several times and sent them to Melissa, who finalized them to ensure accuracy.
Figure P2.15: Headphone Packaging Dieline Measurement, Week 9 (19/11/2025)

After completing the dieline measurements, Melissa created a small mock-up of the headphone packaging, including the outer sleeve and inner mailbox-style box. The mock-up was scaled down from the original measurements, as the actual size was quite large. The result looked great, and Melissa did an excellent job executing it.
Figure P2.16: Headphone Packaging Mock-up, Week 9 (22/11/2025)

At the same time, Yan Bin completed the dieline. Melissa then compiled and refined all the designs before sharing them with the group, allowing each member to produce at least one option so we could compare variations and select the one that best suited the brand theme. Here is our progress.
Figure P2.17: Headphone Packaging Design Progress, Week 9 (22/11/2025)

Figure P2.18: Headphone Packaging Design Progress, Week 9 (22/11/2025)

After reviewing our progress, Mr. Shamsul noted that the blue logo effectively conveys a youthful yet trustworthy tone, enhanced by the subtle wall-texture background. For the headphone packaging, he suggested keeping the inner box clean and minimal for a neat unboxing experience, while using the outer box and sleeve to present essential information with a simple, modern design.
Figure P2.19: Finalised Logo, Week 11 (01/12/2025)

Figure P2.20: Finalised Headphone Packaging, Week 11 (01/12/2025)

Figure P2.21: Finalised Headphone Packaging Digital Mockup, Week 11 (01/12/2025)

Melissa then submitted the printing specifications for the box and sleeve to Mummy Design. The box was printed on corrugated board (E Flute/1.5mm) with matte finishing at a cost of RM130.90, while the sleeve was printed on art card with matte finishing at a cost of RM21.60.

Figure P2.23: Headphone Packaging Printing, Week 11 (05/12/2025)

Week 14 (22/12/2025)

Final Submission of Project 2

Google Drive: Link
Figure P2.24: Project 2 - Innovative Packaging (Canva), Week 14 (22/12/2025)

FEEDBACKS

Week 8 (10/11/2025)

Specific Feedback: The logo should have a clear backstory and meaning that reflects the brand’s positioning, keeping the target audience in mind, such as music lovers, street fashion enthusiasts, or sports users. It should represent the brand identity rather than just being visually appealing, ensuring it aligns with the brand’s purpose. Similarly, the packaging, merchandise, promotional materials, and other visuals must be consistent with the logo and overall brand direction to create a cohesive look.

General Feedback: Focus the logo on Melissa’s graffiti concept, refining it further in that direction, while ensuring the packaging aligns with this bold, playful style for a consistent look.

Week 9 (17/11/2025)

Specific Feedback: The logo requires further refinement, including finalising the colour palette, developing a fully digitised version, and exploring supporting graphic elements.

Week 10 (24/11/2025)

Specific Feedback: The cover sleeve presents all essential product information as the main communication layer, while the inner box remains minimal. Blue is used as the primary colour to convey a youthful yet trustworthy tone, enhanced by a subtle wall-texture background. The inner box maintains a clean, solid-colour design for a neat unboxing experience, while the outer box adopts a minimal approach with only the logo and a simple graphic element for a modern look.

General Feedback: Begin working on the final project.

Week 11 (01/12/2025)

General Feedback: Project 2’s packaging box design is well-executed and approved to proceed. 

REFLECTIONS

Experience
This project allowed me to experience the full design process, from research and ideation to logo development and final packaging production. Working in a group helped me understand how collaboration, feedback, and iteration contribute to stronger and more refined design outcomes.
Observation
I observed that having a clear brand positioning and target audience is essential in guiding design decisions and maintaining consistency across visual elements. I also learned that technical constraints, such as packaging structure and production limitations, play a significant role in shaping practical design solutions.
Findings
Through this project, I found that effective packaging design balances creativity with functionality, ensuring both visual appeal and usability. I also realised that continuous feedback from lecturers and peers is crucial in identifying weaknesses and improving the overall quality of the design.

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