Malaysia Product Packaging Design: The Complete Guide

Last Updated on September 26, 2023 by DesignerPeople

Picture this: You are at a supermarket after moving to a new country. What you have in front of you is a sea of options where every product on the shelf competes for your attention. How do you decide which products to pick? Most probably the ones with the best product packaging design.

For human interactions, the first impression is often the last impression. Similarly, the first impression of your product is its packaging. Hence, it’s of utmost importance that your product packaging has an attractive design. Malaysia is a diverse, multicultural country offering a variety of inspirations for your packaging designs. The top packaging trends in 2023 for Malaysian products include minimalistic, eco-friendly and personalised designs. Practical designs are also on the rise as they enhance the product’s usability and appeal.

Cultural Considerations in Malaysian Packaging Design

Products and packaging often reflect the cultural values of the people who use them. Research shows that adopting localisation in product packaging design influences people to accept a brand more readily. It’s necessary that your Malaysian products and packaging should consider the diverse preferences and multi-ethnic culture of the country. Here are the three steps to incorporate localisation in your packaging effectively:

Understand the cultural diversity in Malaysia:

Malaysia’s population mainly comprises Malays, Chinese and Indians. Before entering the market, you should understand the country’s cultural diversity and nuances. This understanding will create opportunities for your brand to draw inspiration and drive the creativity and aesthetics of your packaging.

Incorporate cultural symbols and motifs:

After acknowledging the diversity, you should incorporate the culture appropriately into your packaging. Since cultural storytelling always influences buyers, you should include cultural symbols and motifs that resonate with Malaysian consumers. Symbols like the hibiscus flower and moon kite or colours like red hold significance in Malaysian culture and can be infused into your packaging design.

Avoid any cultural insensitivity in your designs:

While diversity brings a hoard of choices for your packaging design, you must avoid any cultural indiscretion through your product packaging. Carry out thorough research so that your designs do not disrespect the customs and values of any ethnic group. Be culturally sensitive so that your brand gains maximum traction by attracting the right cohort of buyers.

The Latest Packaging Design Trends in Malaysia

Like any other country, the culture in Malaysia heavily influences product packaging design. The latest Malaysian packaging design trends are listed below:

Traditional Typography

Copy is critical in any packaging as it directly speaks to your consumers. Text and typography are the primary medium for reflecting your message to your audience. For your Malaysian products, use traditional fonts that reflect the essence of Malay, Chinese and Tamil letters. Even if your brand uses English letters, you can always infuse the local calligraphy style. Remember that your font should be readable and understandable by the diverse audience your brand is catering to. Choose a typeface that suits your brand and aligns with the cultural diversity of the Malaysian audience.

Minimal and clean designs

Minimalistic designs are trending across the world, and Malaysia is no different. Instead of piling your packaging design with multiple elements, keeping it simple and minimal will be visually more appealing. Minimalistic product packaging eliminates unnecessary graphics, highlighting only the essential features and text. Simple colour combinations and minimalistic designs are straightforward, impactful, and always attract buyers.

Eco-friendly and sustainable packaging

A majority of consumers prefer buying from brands that are socially responsible and sustainable. Using environmentally sustainable materials for packaging or even opting for procedures that reduce waste will contribute to a greener and more eco-friendly brand image. This small step will ensure that your brand resonates positively with conscientious buyers and, in turn, increase your sales.

Novel shapes and structures

To catch the eye of potential customers, you should use creative and unique design tactics. Many brands innovate different and unconventional shapes and structures for their packaging to accentuate their products. Using cute, cool or unusual shapes for your packaging will quickly grab people’s attention and tempt them to buy your Malaysian products. Make sure that the designs are well-aligned without compromising on the functionality of the packaging.

Tell your brand’s story

Packaging allows you to narrate your brand’s story to your audience. Through great packaging, you can reflect your brand’s values and vision. So, utilise product packaging design to evoke emotions in your customers. Use apt illustrations, colours and copy that communicate your story through packaging. This will also ensure that your brand has a memorable and meaningful identity in the market.

Reflect local artwork and symbols

Localisation of the products and packaging is very important when catering to a local market. Icons such as the Malayan tiger, hibiscus (Malaysia’s national flower) and Wau bulan (moon kite) are significant symbols in Malaysian culture. Adding these elements to your designs will help your brand gain more recognition within the local audience. You can also use other symbols like the Rhinoceros hornbill and the Malayan flag that are equally noteworthy in their culture.

Cost of Product Packaging Design for Malaysia Brands

After learning the ins and outs of Malaysian packaging design, the query in your mind must be, ‘How much does packaging design for Malaysian brands cost?’ Product packaging designs are varied, and not all of them take the exact amount of time, effort or resources. A lot of it also depends on the brand, the audience, the materials and the distribution of the products. Therefore, we have categorised the charges on three different levels as follows:

Freelancers charge 300 – 600 USD

For small brands, hiring a freelancer for packaging design needs is easier. Although sometimes it might involve risks such as copyright contravention leading to copyright infringement cases for your brand, hiring a freelancer is a smart choice if you have a low budget. However, since launching your product is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, it is wiser to invest more and hire a professional agency so that they can provide you with comprehensive design solutions.

Design Agencies charge 600 – 1200 USD

Creative agencies comprise people who have been researching the market for years. Hence, they often know what is best for the products more than the owners themselves. They usually charge 600-1200 USD for product packaging which often includes choices and iterations based on the product. A design agency like DesignerPeople will incorporate the three vital stages of Researching, Strategising and Creating the best packaging design for your brand.

Global Ad Agencies charge 1500 – 5000 USD

Global ad agencies like Ogilvy, WPP, Omnicom, Publicis Group, McCann, etc., have decades of expertise in global and local markets. These agencies create fantastic packaging designs for brands after researching the market dynamics and understanding their target audience. Charging between 1500 and 5000 USD, they can create excellent packaging designs that grab the attention for your brand.

Case Studies of Successful Malaysian Product Packaging Designs by DesignerPeople

We have successfully designed product packaging design for many Malaysian brands. Our work involves understanding the brand and its audience, researching the culture and then turning those insights into beautiful creations that are apt for the brand.

Brand Design Maxx 8.0 Beer

Just like the name suggests, Max 8.0 is into string beer. So, the challenge was to convey something equally fierce and strong through the design. We created a brand logo and brand book for them such that the burnt orange colour and slanting M evoke a sense of power while being appealing.

Brand & Packaging Design for Cool Down Drink

Cool Down is an orange-flavoured instant drink mix. While designing the packaging and the logo, we wanted to capture the fizz and the fruity flavour of the juice through the triangular elements and the orange fruit and colour. Considering the ease of usability, the packaging includes sachets of powder that consumers can add conveniently to water to enjoy a quick and refreshing drink.

Here are some great inspiring packaging designs from Malaysia

Conclusion:

Packaging is a means of communicating to your target audience. It is an important part of your product’s branding and should not be compromised with or underestimated at any cost. With our informative guide on Malaysian product packaging design andinspiring designs, we hope you are now all set to start your branding journey.

Our team at DesignerPeople researches and develops high-quality packaging designs suitable for brands and customers. For expert packaging design solutions, consult us, as we can help your brand generate more sales through attractive packaging designs.

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Author: Anush Malik

Being a strategist’s head and a long term visionary personality aims to achieve excellence in branding, packaging and digital marketing field. My 15 years of design experience and masters degree ais my strength which keeps me motivated and keep me going positively. I have participated in extensive branding design conquests in India, USA, Australia and New Zealand with winning zeal. My objective is to encourage start-ups and hence involves actively in the articles which will act as a productive intake of knowledge for them. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.