How to turn a folding carton into luxury packaging

Folding cartons can often be overlooked for their rigid box counterparts when brands think of luxurious packaging. This does not have to be the case and you can turn a folding carton into luxury packaging. It can be achieved through structural packaging design raw material choice, graphics & ink choices, along with decorative print finishing techniques.

Materials matter

When transforming a folding carton into luxurious packaging the raw material you choose becomes more important. Different materials have different perceived values and this becomes visual and haptic. The furnish of the material can play a big part in this, a more textured board adds further tactility to your packaging, increasing its perceived value. Other effects can also increase the perceived value, including board with a pearlescent finish, creating a shimmer throughout the packaging. You can also choose boards produced from by-products that lend themselves to your brand’s story e.g. Notpla a paper manufactured from the by-products of the industrial processing of seaweed.

High-end decoration

By adding print finishing to your packaging design you can elevate the value of your product it houses. At FACER you can choose from foil blocking, embossing or debossing and water-based coatings. All offer something different.

Foil blocking is more than just shiny gold and silver, with a full spectrum of colours available in variety of finishes: metallic, gloss, holographic, matt and clear. This technique is a relatively cost effective way to add a touch of luxury to your packaging design. But you can take this to another level with sculpted foil embossing, taking the foiled area from 2D to 3D – this is probably the most highly decorative finishing technique.

Embossing and debossing is a more subtle, yet still very effective and very cost effective way of adding value to your packaging. One of our favorites! 

Finally you can change the feel of your packaging with water-based coatings, from high gloss to matt, depending on what you want to communicate to your consumer, through tactility.

Structural details

Considering the details in your structural design is what can take a folding carton from standard to luxury. Considering the type of lid you use, for your consumer to access your product with ease time and again. The addition of a sleeve can create a more luxurious opening experience, as your consumer unveils the packaging underneath. Create bespoke shapes within your packaging with apertures that hint to your story.

If you think this sounds complicated, it is! We also encourage studying some of the world’s most renowned luxury brands packaging, and you will see these subtle, yet incredibly effective, techniques at play.

Need some guidance? Talk to the team.