How do you find and secure packaging design clients or jobs in a competitive market?

Go beyond showcasing the final packaging designs. Share the journey and creative process behind each project. Documenting your design process, from concept to execution, provides insight into your methodology and creativity—allows potential clients or employers to understand your approach and commitment to excellence. Incorporate case studies within your portfolio to illustrate your problem-solving skills. Explain the challenges you faced in each project and how your packaging design solutions addressed them—highlighting your ability to overcome challenges demonstrates your value as a packaging designer.

Founder at Whitefern - Digital Marketing Company The result-oriented company that solely focuses to give results through digital marketing, Whitefern, the internet marketing services in which we are specialized in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, and website design and development. We provide digital marketing solutions to all types of businesses in different industries.

Brand Patron at Musavir, I am a professional graphic designer with over 10+ years of experience in the field. Specialized in Packaging Design, I provide services of Branding, Amazon Visual Design, Social Media Post Design, Banners, Posters, Flyers, Thumbnails, Business Cards, etc. Throughout my journey, I delivered over 1000 projects, approaching each with a holistic focus on creativity and meeting deadlines.

Case studies that demonstrate measurable results are a powerful way to present the design solution. Design is problem solving, and there is often no need to refresh packaging if there isn’t a problem. If it’s an existing product, show a before and after, along with strategic notes detailing why the redesign was necessary, what golden customer loyalty elements were important to preserve, how the challenges were addressed and how the solution had translated to consumers. Results do demonstrate success.

Focus on building a strong portfolio showcasing your best work. Utilize platforms like Behance and Dribbble to showcase your designs and attract potential clients. Share your content and guest post on top blogs in the packaging industry, such as Packaging of the World and The Dieline, to increase your visibility and credibility. Sharing your portfolio on Pinterest can also expand your reach and attract clients.

Great credentials are important. Case studies, snapshots that demonstrate your experience in a category. Have them on a website, a document you can send to new leads and fill your social media with them. Try and build your case studies as well around your value proposition. What is it that differentiates you from others and how does your portfolio reflect that.

Creating a robust portfolio is essential for packaging designers to showcase their diverse projects, creativity, and problem-solving skills effectively. Emphasizing tangible outcomes like sales growth or enhanced brand recognition adds depth to your portfolio, illustrating the real-world impact of your designs. Ensure your portfolio is easily accessible online through platforms like Behance or Dribbble, enabling potential clients or employers to explore your work seamlessly. Regular updates and thoughtful organization further enhance its effectiveness in conveying your expertise and style.

This advice on crafting a portfolio for packaging design hits the mark. Your portfolio serves as a visual resume, showcasing not just your skills but also your ability to solve problems creatively. It's not just about displaying pretty pictures; it's about demonstrating how your work translates into tangible results for clients, whether that's increased sales or enhanced brand recognition. Keeping your portfolio updated and accessible online is key in today's digital age, where first impressions often happen virtually. Platforms like Behance and Dribbble offer excellent opportunities to showcase your work to a global audience.

Plan your portfolio as an active sales tool. Use multiple media with different depths of information. Portals like Instagram or Behance are more like picture books. Short texts are consumed on your own website that clearly describe the task and the achievement of goals. With a personal presentation you can go into more depth. Show 2-3 cases that are relevant and interesting to your counterpart and verbally describe tasks, challenges and results.

A large proportion of all work comes through recommendations, and from when the client moves from one position to the next. If you do a good job, the client will always value your contribution and look for you to add value to their next brief.

There are so many niche trade shows to attend these days. Do a quick search online in your field of interest and see what is out there, or coming to your area this year. Chances are, you will get a few good ideas. From there, you can narrow down which one makes sense to attend based on cost, timing, reviews etc. Plan to attend and clearly define goals you want to achieve by attending the show. There are several ways to network and market yourself. After attending you will likely have new ideas to keep the momentum going through new connections and resources discovered. Take this a step further and produce content about the show to your current audience. Let them know how it went and what you learned.

For packaging designers to acquire clients or employment opportunities, networking is vital. By expanding your network via online platforms and events, in addition to utilizing existing connections for referrals and testimonials, you may be able to gain access to new opportunities. By developing a robust online presence via the production of content, such as blogs or videos, one can effectively exhibit their expertise and discernment, thereby solidifying their standing as a reliable authority within the field. Consistent and strategic marketing endeavors contribute to the establishment of credibility and the attraction of prospective employers or clients.

There are plenty of design agencies to pick from out there, so it’s invaluable to find your niche, your superpower and the area that you excel in. If you can do that and clearly communicate it, the client will always know who to call on and why they need you.

Conduct thorough competitive analysis within your chosen niche. Study the work of your competitors, identify gaps or unmet needs, and position yourself as the solution. Showcase how your packaging design expertise can address the unique challenges faced by clients or employers in this space. While specialising in a niche is valuable, remain adaptable. Industries and trends evolve, so be open to expanding your expertise when relevant opportunities arise. Your ability to pivot and apply your skills to emerging trends will keep you competitive in the long run.

Identifying and targeting a specific niche in packaging design is crucial for finding and securing clients or jobs. By focusing on industries or markets aligned with your interests and expertise, you can tailor your approach effectively. Researching trends and challenges within your niche allows you to offer relevant solutions, while utilizing the right platforms and channels enhances your outreach to potential clients or employers. This strategic approach maximizes your chances of success in the competitive field of packaging design.

Given the enormous number of competitors, it is absolutely necessary to specialize. The sharper your own positioning, the smaller the niche and the fewer providers have mastered these skills, the greater the chance of being perceived as an expert.

Providing quality and value to customers is very important. In my opinion, this is the point that makes the customer make his final decision to work with you

A successfully delivered packaging project becomes a walking, talking sales agent for a long while after that final deadline date. It is critically important to ensure that one delivers the highest possible quality you are capable of, because packaging especially, lives on for a long while. If delivered well, packaging will organically boost your reputation as a great designer/agency. This particular design niche thrives on referrals as more consumers and potential clients tend to be exposed to, and personally experience, packaging than some of the other design disciplines.

Strive for originality and innovation in your packaging designs. Avoid relying on generic templates or clichéd approaches. Clients and employers appreciate designers who bring fresh, creative ideas to the table and can set their products apart from the competition. Articulate the value of your packaging designs in a way that resonates with your clients or employers. Explain how your work can help them achieve their business objectives, solve specific problems, or meet their unique needs—demonstrating the tangible benefits of your designs reinforces your value proposition.

Ensuring the provision of quality and value is crucial when it comes to obtaining clients or employment in packaging design. One can establish trust and credibility by consistently delivering unique and efficacious resolutions while upholding transparent communication throughout the entirety of the undertaking. Illustrating the manner in which your work corresponds with their objectives and fulfills their requirements establishes your worth, cultivating enduring alliances and prospects for advancement within the field.

The quality and value of the work can be communicated in advance using good reference examples. It is then important to keep the promise, not to disappoint the trust, not only to satisfy the customer, but also to surprise and delight them with added value. Better ideas, faster deliveries, active thinking, largely error-free delivery... and almost nothing stands in the way of long-term customer loyalty. Then it's just a change in personnel that separates you.

From my experience, the key to retaining clients, work and projects is in the quality and service we can offer. There are many clients who will ask you that the important thing is the price, but these clients do not value quality or service as a priority, which is why it will be difficult to keep them in the long term. Only those customers who value quality above all, as a key to differentiating their brands, will be susceptible to being impacted and entertained through excellence and service.

A good way to secure future customers is by asking for a referral or by collecting testimonials. Try and align these with the image you want to build. Whether a written reference here on LinkedIn or you have a sit down with the client and discuss the project journey, repurposing testimonials where they add relevance in the buyer journey (ie on your website, in your agency credentials deck etc) ensure you make full use of these. Besides helping you grow business through word of mouth testimonials also help establish expertise, build your reputation and credibility.

Embrace failures and setbacks as opportunities for growth—analyse what went wrong, identify areas for improvement, and apply the lessons learned to future projects. Resilience in the face of challenges is a valuable trait in today's competitive market.

Have a good system in place that helps identify prospects, track conversations and follow ups. Don't be shy to reach out and connect - but think of the value you can add to them when doing so (take a "what's in it for them-approach" as opposed to a "sell myself-approach") Don't forget to follow up. Most people you reach out to won't be in buying mode at the moment you connect with them. Keeping the conversation going amd keeping yourself top of mind is a skill.

Never forget, although you work for a company or on a brand, you work with humans (still), you don't build relationships with companies or brands, but the humans you interact with. And the Junior Brand Manager from today are the Marketing Managers from tomorrow and the Marketing Directors from the day after tomorrow. Do not focus on the big fish (only) but support the young ones, mentor them and treat them well!