What do you know.  You’ve made the decision to go forward with your dream and your next step is branding design.  Awesome!  But who do you call and what’s the process and what’s the cost?  Here are all your answers.

I knew what I wanted out of my packaging design and logo.  I was going for a sophisticated, classy, yet fun and flirty feel.  I wrote down keywords that described myself and my brand and then wrote down all the different packaging designs that already exist that I love.  My boyfriend created a logo for me so I can save some money, but I must admit, I’m glad I never went with it.  Looking back at it, there were so many things wrong with that logo and I would’ve never made it in the market.

I started researching online for graphic designers but I had no idea what to look for and what questions to ask.  All I knew how to say was “Hi, I want to create a box.”  Ha, its hysterical how clueless I was, I laugh at myself everyday.

I figured I'd contact a female company that already has a design aesthetic that I love and just go with their designer, so that’s what I did.  I ended up on the Mommy Millionaire forum (from the Mommy Millionaire book that I will talk about soon) looking at a video of an up and coming entrepreneur on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.  I watched in admiration of how she conducted herself and mainly how she appeared on the program.  I wished that would be me one day.  Anyways, she spoke about how she made her packaging, and she did the same thing I was going to do.  She called up another company and simply asked them.  So, the next day, I called her up and told her I loved her segment and loved her packaging, and asked if she could recommend someone for me.  Thank goodness she did, my graphic designer is awesome.

I called up Lis (graphic designer) and spoke to her about what I wanted to do.  I immediately asked her to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement, which simply states that everything we speak about remains confidential.  Get an NDA template from anywhere online or from the NOLO website and don’t be afraid to use it.  It’s common practice and people are used to signing them.

Lis and I spoke and she jotted notes about where I was going with my idea. She also had me fill out a questionnaire which would help her in determining my style ethic.

We started with a logo.  In a week I received in my email 20-30 different design concepts for a logo.  I was overwhelmed.  It took me days to figure out what I liked, because I liked them all!  Once we agreed on colors and font of the logo (this process took a little over a month), we moved onto the box packaging.  The box, believe it or not, took over a year to completely finish.  It took Lis anywhere from 2 weeks to a month to create design concepts.  And each time I received an email, there were at least 10 to choose from.  I was excited to see them but confused as to which I should choose.  We went back and forth, phone calls, emails, pictures, etc, every month to work out the kinks.  We tried large boxes, small boxes, bows, glue, velcro, different colors, UV coating, high gloss, foil stamping, everything in the book. 

A year later, after we completed the box, it still wasn’t finished because my manufacturer needed to change things around in order to print it properly.  Then I had to discuss accurate pantone colors, paper thickness, and box closure.  Looking at a color on the computer screen is not the same as looking at it in person.  A pantone book cost too much money to buy, so I called every art store in Manhattan to see if they had pantone swatches.  Off I went to Manhattan to stare at different shades of pink that only different by .01%.  Many of you may say “Oh, just pick a color, they’re all the same.”  However, I was putting my name on this product and it had to be up to par with my liking, I mean, if I wouldn’t buy it, then who would?  So, I had to be positive that the pink was not bubblegum pink or too light that it faded into the background.  It was a never ending ordeal.  More on manufacturing later on (my box manufacturer was absolutely fantastic and a pleasure to work with).  Here is the finished product:

For those that don’t know, a pantone book is a universal book with every color shade you can imagine.  Each color has a code which allows anyone in the world to accurately understand what color you’re talking about when you give them the code.

Graphic designers don’t come cheap.  For logo and box design, expect to spend anywhere from $3000 and up.  Think of this as money well spent because you will need it to effectively capture your market.  Look at perfume bottles/boxes and makeup packaging, they both have awesome designs that appeal to women.

Stay tuned for next time when I’ll discuss web design.

Sotiria