The Heartwarming Magic of Custom Printed Boxes

How we branded and customized boxes to delight our best customers

This past holiday season, YellowDog went all out on holiday gift-giving with themed gift boxes for our 110 best customers. We wanted to show them just how important their ongoing loyalty and partnership is to us.

The holiday gift boxes were a smash hit, so here’s a step-by-step recap of our process for anyone who wants to do something similarly special.

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Fill your box with thoughtful, meaningful goods

First, we decided to source our gift box contents from our clients here in Colorado. We got a list together of clients whose consumer products are serious crowd-pleasers. We knew that supporting our clients and spotlighting their goods would be more thoughtful and meaningful than sourcing sugary sweets or mass-produced swag items from an anonymous supplier.

The final lineup of awesome local goods and experiences was

 

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Pick a theme for your box’s design

Since all our goodies were sourced locally from Colorado makers, we made our theme “Made in Colorado”. We wanted the design to be agnostic to specific holidays (hey, Christmas isn’t for everyone), so our design team ran with a more snowy winter forest motif and a season’s greeting of “Walking in a Local Wonderland.” Of course, the Colorado flag and our yellow labrador logo featured prominently into the box’s print design.

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Carry the theme to other print items enclosed

Once the box design was finalized, we designed a holiday card to match the box. We also designed and printed a matching six-page booklet that featured each of the businesses whose goods we featured in the box, telling the story of how we’ve collaborated over the years. This box was really an exercise in storytelling about YellowDog’s role in the local Colorado business community, so the booklet made for a perfect “storybook” piece.

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Include fun branded print gifts in your box

Since we are a print studio, we have a few branded print gifts we like to give away to new customers, donation drive contributors, trade show attendees who visit our booth, and anyone we’re trying to impress. Printed swag items like notepads, notebooks, and stickers are always a hit.

Each year, we have everyone on staff contribute a recipe to a YellowDog cookbook, which we included along with a coloring book and a lettering book. Not only does this showcase our in-house booklet-printing capabilities, but it also gives the recipients something to do at home on a cold winter’s day. BTW, you’re welcome to download these booklets on our ‘free printables’ page and try them yourself.

custom printed boxes

We’ve got your custom printed box needs covered

The YellowDog studio is home to a flatbed printer with box-printing capabilities, print specialists who know how to use it, and a design team who can expertly design for it. We’re all set up to help you with your own custom printed box project. Whether your boxes will serve as packaging for your product or as gifts for your best customers or major donors, leave it to us to create a truly unique and heartwarming unboxing experience for whoever is lucky enough to open it.

Jen Gauerke

Jen Gauerke

Jen Gauerke is the Creative Director at YellowDog, in charge of a roving pack of five in-house designers. When not making magic at YellowDog, Jen can be found crocheting and harvesting honey.
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