Packaging & Label Design
Packaging and label design for beverage, beauty, supplement and food brands in the US, UK and Europe.
We hand over print-ready artwork for your printer and a photoreal 3D model of every pack, so the same files feed your shelf, your e-commerce images and your ads. A first production-ready label can be ready in 4 to 6 days, and a typical three-SKU range is print-ready in 7 to 10 business days.
Updated November 2026 · By Mehmet Turan, founder of 35milimetre · Start a packaging project
What you get
Every packaging project ends with files your printer and your marketing team can use without rebuilding anything:
- Print-ready artwork at the correct size, with bleed, set up to your printer's specifications
- Dielines: supplied by your printer, or built by us when you don't have one yet
- Finishes as separate layers: Pantone or HKS spot colours, foil, spot UV, emboss and deboss zones, so the printer can proof each plate
- Packaging flats for every SKU in the range
- Photoreal 3D mockups of every pack, ready for sell-in decks, Amazon and Shopify listings, and launch posts
- Render-ready label files: layered vector artwork with foils and matte/gloss zones separated, so any 3D team can apply the label as a real material
- A packaging system guideline for ranges: colour logic, type scale, layout grid and finish rules, so the next flavour doesn't start from a blank page
Who it's for
- Founders launching a first product, especially in beverage, low- and no-alcohol drinks, supplements, personal care and food
- Brands adding flavours, sizes or SKUs that need a system rather than a one-off label
- Brands rebranding an existing range from scratch
- Agencies that need a white-label packaging and 3D partner
Probably not a fit: structural packaging engineering (new bottle or carton shapes from scratch), managing large print runs end to end, or regulatory sign-off. We work with your printer and lay out your approved regulatory copy; compliance approval stays with your team.
How it works
- Brief and shelf check. We start with what the pack has to do on shelf: the category, the competitors next to it, and what a shopper must understand in a few seconds. For Klar, an alcoholic sparkling water, the whole brief came down to one question: does it read as an alcoholic drink before anyone reads a word?
- Concept routes. Usually three to five directions, each testing a different way to solve the same problem. For CREED we took four routes to the first can.
- One SKU first. We refine a single flavour or variant until it's approved and production-ready. On CREED, that first label sprint took 4 to 6 days.
- System build. Once one pack works, we turn it into rules: colour architecture, type scale, grid and finishes.
- Range rollout. The remaining SKUs are built inside the system, so every new flavour follows the same rules.
- Print and render handoff. Print-ready files go to your printer; the 3D model and label files go into renders for e-commerce, ads and launch content.
Typical timeline: a three-SKU range takes 7 to 10 business days from approved brief to print-ready files.
How pricing works
Every project gets a flat fee, agreed after a short call about your range, markets and finishes. No hourly billing and no surprise extras.
What shapes the quote: the number of SKUs, how many concept routes you want, whether we build the dieline, finishes (foil, emboss, spot UV), languages and markets, and whether you need a full brand identity or only the packaging.
We invoice in USD, EUR or GBP. New clients pay 70% upfront and returning clients 50%, with the balance due on delivery of the final files.
Selected packaging work
CREED: nicotine pouch packaging system. The founder wanted a can people recognise from two metres away in a category where every pack looks the same. We tested four concept routes on the Polar Mint flavour and chose a ring-based layout because it was the only one built to scale past one SKU. It grew into a full visual system: a 61 mm circular layout every can shares, an upper colour zone fixed across the range and a lower zone for flavour, colour intensity tied to nicotine strength, a strict type scale, finish rules for spot varnish, embossing and soft-touch, and a 15–20 page guideline. Read the case study
Klar: rebrand for a Hamburg alcoholic sparkling water. A full rebuild from logotype to label for a drink the German market didn't yet have a shelf for. Fruit illustrations were pulled back so colour could signal each flavour, the palette was pushed more saturated for shelf presence, and the brand chose premium over party. Read the case study
Braveheart: sake-based low-ABV RTD for the Singapore market. Identity and 250 ml can range for Shin Koji: a brush-lettered logotype with the shinpaku rice grain built into a whale motif, five can directions, a reset with the client, then a dark system with a bronze ribbon across flavours, ingredient illustrations, compliance icons and production details. Read the case study
Societea to MrBlanc: an identity that survived a rename. A premium no- and low-alcohol sparkling tea in 750 ml bottles and piccolo four-packs. A trademark conflict in Australia forced a new name three months after we delivered the identity. The seven-colour palette, lockup rules and mark logic carried over untouched; only the word changed. Read the story
Studio clients also include Unilever (US and UK), Sony Europe, L'Oréal and Pepsi.
“Loved working with Mehmet and highly recommend. Super high-quality outcome in a record time. He was also very engaged throughout the process and determined to exceed expectations.”
Danielle A., Unilever USA
Design and 3D under one roof
Most packaging projects break at the handoff. The design studio sends a flattened PDF, the CGI team rebuilds the label, and the brand approves a render that doesn't quite match the printed pack.
We do both sides. The team that designs your label also builds its 3D model, so the pack on your Amazon listing matches the pack on the shelf, and new flavours, sizes and colourways can be rendered without a photoshoot.
Compared with the alternatives
Large branding agency. Good for big strategy programmes, research and multi-market launches. Watch for fees and timelines built for enterprise budgets, with 3D and print production often subcontracted.
Marketplace freelancer. Good for one-off labels on a small budget. Rarely delivers dielines, separated finishes or a system for the next SKU.
Template or AI label tool. Good for quick concepts and mood. Not print-ready: no dieline, spot colours or finish files, and the result looks like everyone else.
35milimetre. Built for startups and growing brands that want a senior team, print-ready files and 3D visuals from one studio. Not set up for structural packaging engineering or managing print runs.
Designing for the US, UK and EU
We design packs for brands selling in the US, UK and Europe, and for ranges that sell in several markets at once.
- US: room and hierarchy for Nutrition Facts or Supplement Facts panels, net quantity on the front panel, UPC placement
- UK and EU: allergen emphasis in ingredient lists, multilingual packs, recycling and EPR markings that differ by country
- Several markets: one artwork system with interchangeable language and legal panels, so the brand looks the same everywhere
We lay out the regulatory copy you approve. Final compliance sign-off stays with your regulatory team or adviser.
We're based in Istanbul (GMT+3): 2–3 hours ahead of London and 7–8 hours ahead of New York, so our day overlaps London's fully and New York's morning. We invoice in USD, EUR or GBP.
Do you design the packaging, or only render it?
Both. We design labels and packaging from scratch, hand over print-ready files, and build a photoreal 3D model of every pack for e-commerce, ads and launch content.
What files will I receive?
Print-ready artwork with bleed, the dieline, spot colours and finishes (foil, spot UV, emboss) as separate layers, packaging flats for each SKU, 3D mockups, and layered render-ready label files. Ranges also get a packaging system guideline.
How long does packaging design take?
A first production-ready label can be ready in 4 to 6 days once the direction is agreed. A typical three-SKU range, including the system, is print-ready in 7 to 10 business days.
How much does packaging design cost?
We quote a flat fee after a short call, because the price depends on the number of SKUs, concept routes, finishes, markets and whether you need a full brand identity. We invoice in USD, EUR or GBP.
Can you work with our printer?
Yes. We set artwork up to your printer's specifications, with Pantone or HKS spot colours, foil and spot UV defined, and separated layers for proofing.
Can you design packaging for US, UK and EU markets?
Yes. We build artwork systems with room for each market's legal panels and languages, and lay out the regulatory copy you approve. Compliance sign-off stays with your team.
We already have one product. Can you add new flavours?
Yes. If your packaging has a system behind it, we extend it. If it doesn't, we build one from your current pack so every new SKU follows the same rules.
Can you also make images of the packs for Amazon and our website?
Yes. The same 3D model we build for the mockups produces packshots, lifestyle scenes, AI-generated campaign images and product animation, with the label kept accurate.