How to Design a Cereal Box
A cereal box design is an important advertising tool for selling cereal. The layout of the box as well as the graphics and text all translate into sell-ability to customers. Consider every aspect of the design carefully.
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Instructions
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Designing a cereal box
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Use your pencil to sketch placement of text and other graphics on the front, sides and back of your blank cereal box. Although your box will be used as advertising for your product, there are also some required components you will have to incorporate into your design. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the front of the box will need to have the name of the cereal and the weight of the product. The side immediately to the right of the front of the box will list the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor; ingredients; and nutritional information. The FDA started requiring nutritional information labels in 1994. Only required information should be placed on this panel of the box. The back of the box and the other side of the box may be used for advertising.
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Decide what kind of picture you want to put on the front of the box. This picture should represent the cereal inside the box. A common picture among cereal companies shows a bowl of the cereal, possibly with someone eating it. If you show someone eating the cereal, make sure you have a person who represents your target audience. A sugary, colorful cereal needs to have a child eating it. Something along the lines of bran flakes would need a more mature person. There can be exceptions to this rule if you can find a celebrity willing to represent your cereal. If a 40-year-old football player wants to help you sell sugar, let him! Of course, you will need to take into account that you will be paying him more for his picture than, say, a first-grader. Once you make a decision about the picture, glue it to the front of your cereal box, leaving room above it for the cereal name.
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Hook your customers with information on the back of the box. Older customers may appreciate information about how your cereal can keep them healthy. Younger customers would prefer a game or puzzle. If your cereal box contains a prize or is promoting something, be sure to announce it on the front of the box and expand on that with information on the back of the box. For instance, if you are giving away a variety of stickers, show pictures of all of them and encourage your customers to collect all of them. If you are giving away a portion of your proceeds to a charity, announce it on the front of the box and explain on the back of the box what exactly the proceeds will be benefiting.
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Decide what colors you want to use for your cereal box. Use your colored markers to illustrate any animated spokesman you may have for your cereal. If you do not already have a spokesman and would like ideas, go to the cereal aisle at your local grocery store or check out cereal box archives at http://theimaginaryworld.com/cbarch.html.
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Tips & Warnings
It doesn't hurt to ask people why they choose certain cereals. Go to your local grocery store and politely ask 10 people if any of the information or graphics on the cereal boxes influenced their cereal choice.
