Candy packaging emphasizes intricate design, striving for richness while avoiding visual clutter. The upcoming release of “Ne Zha 2” has inspired me—perhaps the film’s four main characters could serve as the focal point of my candy packaging design.
Where to Begin Designing Candy Packaging
The most challenging step in design is often determining the starting point. However, that’s perfectly fine; we are all beginners! If you’re uncertain about where to begin, analyzing outstanding existing designs can be an excellent strategy. For instance, M&M’s candy packaging is a timeless classic.
As mentioned earlier, utilizing the four characters from “Ne Zha” as packaging mascots, akin to the “m” character on M&M’s packaging, could serve as a striking focal point. These character designs can be effortlessly created using AI tools like Dreamina.
My prompt was something like: “Front view of Ne Zha from the 2025 movie ‘Ne Zha 2,’ in the artistic style of Fujiya candy characters, with his mouth wide open.” Similar prompts can be used to generate images of the other characters. After some refinement, I obtained usable assets.
With the primary assets in hand, a new concern arises. While studying successful packaging is beneficial, it inevitably involves a degree of imitation. What if my packaging design needs to be commercially viable?
Don’t worry! Existing designs can serve as a structural framework, while the intricate details can be entrusted to AI. AI-powered packaging design tools not only stay abreast of current packaging design trends but also generate commercially safe and original creative designs.
Why Use AI Design?
It’s common knowledge that AI can generate impressive artwork. What makes the generated images appealing? Precisely because AI, during its training, absorbs countless existing masterpieces, reflecting current aesthetic preferences.
Unlike those works, AI-generated creative designs become your designs. After all, you provide the prompts. So, let’s try it out!
Design Requirements：
Tanguo Candy: Pouch box, cartoonish design featuring a pigtail character and ribbon. Pink, red, and dark pink color palette. Highlights brand, candy type, and weight.
Design Requirements:
TANGUO Candy: Pouch box, fun design with blue-haired character, lollipops, blueberries, and a checkered pattern. Light blue, dark blue, and white color palette.
Design Requirements:
TANGUO Candy: Playful, vibrant, cartoonish pink packaging with cartoon characters, candy motifs, traditional motifs, and flavor indications.
Design Requirements：
Tanguo Candy: Purple, black, and white pouch box with vibrant cartoon design. Features cartoon character, ‘TANGUO’ brand name, grape illustration, ‘Grape’ flavor, and tagline ‘Sweeten Your Day, Every Bite!’.
How to Transition from AI to Design Drafts
Elements to Incorporate from the Designs Above:
A highlight from the designs above is the variety of fruits produced by different prompts. These can correspond to four distinct candy flavors. Let’s use Dreamina once more to generate some fruit assets:
2.The AI packaging designs feature a little girl holding a lollipop, while Ne Zha wields a weapon. This contrast inspires us to incorporate the characters’ signature weapons into the packaging designs.
3.Still feeling a bit plain? The AI-generated designs make generous use of polka dots, checkered patterns, and other elements for enhanced variety. This could be an effective approach.
With our assets collected, the next step is to integrate them into a cohesive packaging design. I have drawn inspiration from the compositional concepts found in the AI designer’s packaging designs. Here is my final work:
What Tool Should Be Used to Render Candy Packaging?
Let’s use the excellent tool “Pacdora” to create our packaging!
Choose a candy model that’s suitable for candy labels, and see how I go from the model on the left to the presentation image on the right!
You simply: Import our candy label into Pacdora, then click “Save” to display it.
To further refine our packaging, we need to render it in a 3D editor:
Here are some great renderings:
The Secret to Making Rendering Backgrounds Not Monotonous
Feeling it’s too monotonous? Try Packify’s AI background generation feature to add life to the product images. Here are some examples I rendered for your reference:
Summary
By strategically incorporating characters inspired by “Ne Zha,” and integrating AI-generated fruits and designs, we create eye-catching and brand-cohesive candy packaging. Tools like Dreamina, Pacdora, and Packify‘s AI background generator facilitate an efficient workflow from ideation to final rendering.
FAQ
- What is the best packaging for candy?
Anything that provides a humidity and oxygen barrier is fine for candy. Glass jars, tins, and plastic containers are all good. - How would you improve the packaging of candy?
Design sweet packaging by choosing emotionally evocative colors, integrating cohesive branding, and targeting the intended audience. - What makes successful candy packaging?
A great candy package will be attractive but usable, distinctive but clear.
This tutorial is simply amazing and has helped me a lot