Elevate Your Packaging Projects with These 5 Tactility Tips

Have you ever heard of the DePauw University study on the power of touch? Participants had to communicate eight defined emotions to blindfolded strangers through touch alone. The blindfolded strangers then had to guess what emotion was conveyed and they did so with 78% accuracy. That means your audience makes snap judgements about your materials based on their tactility, so it’s important to choose textures that accurately convey your message.

Texture is often overlooked in favor of an appealing visual design, but consider how one of Apple’s product boxes feels in your hand—immediately you think of how soft they are to the touch, right?

We’re experts in designing materials that are made to be felt. Here are five ingenious ways to create an invigorating tactile brand experience for your audience.

1. Implement papers with soft-touch coatings into your packaging or presentation design.

Soft-touch is the most popular texture we offer. Its unique silky feel and matte look make it a popular choice for brand holders in any industry. You can achieve the unique tactility of soft-touch in your presentation materials or packaging by using any of our soft-touch papers, courtesy of our parent company, LBS.

A trending soft-touch paper right now is Mano Pure by Corvon® because it is the first soft-touch paper that is curbside recyclable!

2. Incorporate unique cover materials into your design to evoke classic textures like cloth or more exotic textures like crocodile leather and granite.

Soft-touch may be our most popular texture, but cloth is a mainstay—there’s no quicker way to convey sophistication than with cloth cover materials. Cloth imbues sentimentality to your materials and is perfect for keepsake boxes and photo albums—use cloth for projects that are as long-lasting as the cover material itself.

Use bolder textures for standout packaging and luxury gift sets! If your brand wants to wow and inspire, these innovative textures are the way to go.

3. Experiment with the tactility of raw board in your design

Thanks to Corporate Image’s proprietary technology, you can incorporate the look and feel of fine paper in your designs with raw board. Mix the smooth papery tactility of raw rigid paperboard with any number of cover materials or decorating techniques to create a tactile synergy unlike anything else.

4. The unsung hero of tactile experiences is lamination. Explore different lamination types to add texture to your printed materials.

If you’re pursuing a 3-ring binder, pocket folder, or packaging design that’s mostly printed, a great way to add tactility into to your project is via lamination. The type of lamination is one of your audience’s first clues into what your brand does and what type of business you are.

TIP: When choosing your lamination, please remember that the film affects the printed colors!

Natural Matte Lamination: This is an excellent classic choice for approachable brands. Natural matte protects your printed materials while maintaining a smooth texture. It leaves the spotlight for your design whilst letting touch play the accompaniment.

Gloss lamination: Gloss is the perfect way to give your projects an interesting waxy texture, while also granting your design a sheen. Gloss laminate materials are perfect for brand holders who mean business.

Soft-touch lamination: Soft-touch is perhaps the most popular lamination style. Like the name implies, it makes your materials soft to the touch, evoking a heightened luxury experience. Soft-touch is great for brands that want to elevate materials to the next level.

Linen lamination: Linen lamination imbues a woven texture to your materials. This lamination is perfect for brands with a traditional style. Evoking the look and feel of cloth grants a sense of permanence and timelessness to your materials.

5. Decorating techniques add another layer of texture to any presentation or unboxing experience.

Texture is more than the cover materials or lamination used on your project—it’s the little things. Techniques like debossing/embossing allow your design to work in 3D. You can accentuate your logo by debossing it onto raw board.

Or enhance a design with a clear foil stamped pattern to add pops of sheen to a design while also creating tactile patterns to engage your audiences’ senses.

UV printing lets you feel the rise and fall of each letter. At Corporate Image, we can UV print directly onto raw rigid paperboard as well as most of our cover material collections.

Now that you’re a haptics expert, it’s time to start emphasizing touch in your materials!