In this tutorial, we'll design our own chip bag packaging. If you've ever wondered how to create a chip bag template of your own, look no further. This walk-through will show you how to make a blank chip bag template, how it works, and even how to preview it in a 3D mockup.
What You'll Learn
- How to create a chip bag template of your own
- How to design a customized chip bag template you can print
- How to preview your potato chip bag template in a 3D mockup
What You'll Need
We're going to work in Adobe Photoshop in this tutorial. However, many of the concepts here will transfer to other software too (such as the basics of making a blank chip bag template).
1. How to Create a Potato Chip Bag Template
Step 1
Let's start off by creating a blank chip bag template. Packaging, regardless of the type, almost always has some sort of pattern. Think of it in a similar way to making clothing. You'll need to know how the pattern works before you start sewing or designing anything. The same applies here.
So let's take a moment to look at how our customized chip bag template will function.
Here's what our chip bag looks like flat versus completed. The idea here is that it folds around, and adhesive is applied to the back. Then, adhesive is also applied at the top and bottom.
Step 2
We're going to design a rather large bag, designed for sharing. Let's plan for a bag that's around 8.5 inches wide by 14 inches high.
Keep in mind, you could work at any size you prefer. So, for example, if you want to work with single-serve, party-sized bags, you might want to work with something more like 4.5 inches wide by 6 inches high. Any dimensions you choose will work with this concept.
Here's the beginning of how our template works. You'll notice that the "face" of the bag is 8.5 inches wide. Then, the two "sides" of the bag are 4.25 inches each (which totals 8.5 inches). This will fold over, so the two "sides" form the back of the bag.
Step 3
However, we're going to need a little extra space. If we design the faces of our chip bag packaging without any leeway for things like folds and adhesive, it's either going to look a little off or our content might not be fully visible.
Here's our template with added space. There's 0.5 inches between the front and back sides, and then 1" on the top and bottom.
Why do this? The space in the middle will give us some wiggle room for the bag's fold. The space on the ends will give us space for adhesive and even crimping (at the top and bottom).
Keep in mind that you could change these values in any way you prefer. For example, if you want to design a bag of marshmallows or something with much more width, you could allot more space in the middle.
Step 4
Now that we've explored how our chip bag template works, let's walk through creating one in Adobe Photoshop.
Start with a New Document by going to File > New. Your document should be 14" high by 19" wide. I like to work at 300 ppi resolution if I want a high-quality print. However, if you're making something for personal use, 150 ppi could still probably work nicely.
Click Create to create your document.
Step 5
Next, I like to put down some Guides. To do so, let's start by turning on our Rulers. You can do so by going to View > Rulers. Then, we can drag from the Rulers and place Guides on our template. The light blue line, below, is an example of a guide that I dragged from the ruler on the left-hand side.
Or you can go to View > New Guide to place Guides by measurement.
Step 6
As an optional step, I often like to create rectangles to help visualize where my packaging faces are in my template. For example, this blue rectangle is exactly 8.5" by 13"—the size I want for the front design of my package (with 2 inches left for the crimped part of the top and bottom of the bag). I simply made another new document of that size so I could copy and paste it into this one. Then, I have a colored reference point as I establish all of my guidelines.
Here's a look at my finalized blank chip bag template.
2. How to Design Your Own Chip Bag Packaging
Step 1
Now, let's take our blank chip bag template and start designing our chip bag packaging. Keep in mind that there's no wrong answer here. You could make fun custom bags for parties or special events. You could make packaging for your small business. In addition, these bags could be adapted for different products too—food or otherwise!
First, let's start by opening up our Layers panel, if you haven't already. You can do so by going to Window > Layers. Let's begin by creating a New Layer. Click on the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to do so.
Note, you can name your layers in your Layers panel (just double-click on the name to edit it). This is optional but can be great for organizational purposes. The layers, throughout this walk-through, will have names applied.
In addition, you can put content in a folder or Layer Group, using the Create a New Group icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. This, again, is for organizational purposes. I have my template in its own Folder/Group, so I can toggle its visibility on and off.
Step 2
Let's create a gradient for the background of my potato chip bag template on this new layer. Looking at the Tools panel, I set my Foreground Color to yellow and my Background color to orange.
Then, with the Gradient Tool selected (located in the Tools panel), click and drag to create a gradient. Here's what mine looks like.
Step 3
Next, let's paste some imagery into our chip bag template. I'm going to go with a pizza theme, so I'm using this fun pizza stock imagery from Envato Elements.
Open the imagery in Photoshop, and then Copy and Paste it into the template. Use the Move Tool with Show Transform Controls on to reposition and resize the imagery.
Step 4
Next, let's add some ellipses to our design. Select the Ellipse Tool, nested in the Shape Tools. Then, click and drag to draw an ellipse. I drew one brown ellipse and one yellow one in front of it. Here's what my design looks like so far:
Step 5
Let's add some text to our design too. I like to open the Character panel for this. You can do so by going to Window > Character. From this panel, we can change things like the font, font size, font color, and more. I chose the font Megan Display, from Envato Elements, and I'd like my type to be white.
Then, to add the text itself, use the Type Tool, in the Tools panel. With the Type Tool selected, simply click to start typing. Photoshop will automatically add a Text Layer for you.
I typed out the phrase "Pizza Chips", but your chip bag could say anything you like. Just like with our imagery, you can use the Move Tool (with Show Transform Controls on) to easily resize and reposition your text.
Step 6
We'll also add a Stroke to our text. Go to your Layers panel. Then, click on the Effects button and select Stroke. I applied a brown stroke that matches my ellipse. Make it as thick or as thin as you'd like—I made mine somewhat close to the thickness of the brown ellipse in my design so that they would match.
Step 7
Next, let's add a rectangle under our text. We could use this space for a tagline or slogan. Use the Rectangle Tool, nested in the Shape Tools, to do so. I made my rectangle a brown color, matching the brown in the rest of my composition.
Since there were some gaps in my text's stroke, I made a new layer and used the Brush Tool to fill these spaces with brown.
Step 8
Again, let's turn to the Type Tool to add some type, using the same process we did before. I added some white copy in the same font. You could use any slogan or copy you prefer.
Step 9
And to finish off the front, I thought it might be cute to add an icon at the top of the packaging. In Photoshop's default legacy shapes, there's a smiley face! Using the Custom Shape Tool, you can select this shape and then click and drag to draw it, just like any of the other Shape Tools.
I then added a Stroke, just as we did to the text in our composition (in the Layers panel, go to Effects > Stroke), so that everything would match.
Step 10
Next, let's take a look at the back parts of our chip bag packaging. I decided to reuse some elements from the front on the back.
We can duplicate layers in our Layers panel to easily reuse content here. You can right-click on PC or Control-click on Mac, on any layer, and then select Duplicate Layer to make a copy.
In this example, I've copied the pizza artwork, repositioned it, and resized it (using the Move Tool with Show Transform Controls toggled on) for the back of my packaging.
Step 11
Let's go back to the Rectangle Tool and make some shapes. I made some shapes in both brown and white. My intention here is to place text or other content in these spaces.
Again, with the Rectangle Tool selected, click and drag to draw your rectangles. You can always move and resize them using the Move Tool.
Step 12
And let's also go back to the Type Tool again. Add some complementary text on the back of the packaging. I used the font Imani Serif from Envato Elements for this supplemental copy.
Step 13
In the white rectangles, I'd like to add things like the Nutrition Facts and a barcode. These are both things expected on this type of packaging. If you're making this for a party or for personal use, you can have a lot of fun with this. For example, you could use a QR code that could pull up a personal site or even a song. Or your Nutrition Facts could have fictional content that relates to someone's birthday or the event at hand.
In this case, I'm going to use placeholder content. You can find a number of Nutrition Facts and Bar Code generators on the internet, free to use. Or you could build these from scratch, using the Shape Tool and the Line Tool.
Step 14
I'd also like the logo to be visible when someone is viewing the back of the chip bag packaging. So, let's go back to duplicating our layers again. I duplicated all of the layers associated with my logo. Then, I selected them all and merged them, by right-clicking on PC or Control-clicking on Mac and selecting Merge Layers.
This made it easier for me to move and adjust this logo with the Move Tool because it's all on one layer now.
Step 15
Let's add a little more text here with the Type Tool. We'll use it in the same way, and we'll use the font Megan Display, from Envato Elements, just as we did in our chip logo. I went with "Enjoy!", given the nature of the project. Chips are meant to be enjoyed! You could add any text you prefer.
Step 16
As some finishing touches, I added a few lines using the Line Tool. This tool works a lot like the Shape Tools. With the Line Tool selected, click and drag to draw a line. You can customize the line's color and width up in the Options Bar at the top of the software.
3. Preview Your Chip Bag Packaging in a 3D Mockup
Step 1
But wouldn't it be great to have a preview of what your chip bag template design looks like before you print it? That's where a 3D mockup can be really handy.
We'll use this chip bag mockup template from Envato Elements to demonstrate. It's super easy to use, and it'll give us an idea of what our design will look like when it's all printed and constructed.
Step 2
Here's what the mockup template looks like in Adobe Photoshop. All we have to do is navigate to the Smart Object layer, as highlighted below. Double-click on it to open up the Smart Object.
Step 3
Opening up a Smart Object feels a lot like opening a new document. This is where we'll paste in our design. This is specifically for the front of our chip bag. So all we have to do is paste our content here and then Save this document.
Step 4
Once it's saved, we can return to our 3D chip bag packaging mockup to see how our work looks. Awesome, right? It really gives us a feel for how our work will look once it's all put together. This is very handy because if something is not quite right, you can easily change it.
Step 5
But what about the back of our customized chip bag template? We can preview that in the same way. Simply paste your design into the Smart Object. Remember, our two halves are designed to fold and then meet in the center.
Here's what it looks like!
Now You Know How to Create a Chip Bag Template
There are so many ways you could use your customized chip bag template. Try it in different sizes, for example. These concepts could make awesome treat bags or party favors too. Use these to package pins, stickers, or even charms. Have fun!
Remember to Check Out Envato Elements
Looking for fonts, illustrations, and other content for your chip bag template or other creative project? Remember to check out Envato Elements! One low price gets you unlimited access to thousands of creative assets, including 3D mockups, design templates, and much more.
Check out these assets from the Envato Elements library that you can download right now. There are tons of chip bag template mockups to choose from:
1. Snack or Chips Packaging Bag Pouch Mockup (PSD)
Here's another chip bag template you could use to illustrate how your design will look when it's printed and ready to go. It also uses Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop, so it'll follow a similar process to what we did in this walkthrough.
2. Chips Pouch Mock-Up Template (PSD)
Thinking your chip bag might have a different texture or a different kind of crimping at the top and bottom? There are other chip bag template mockups on Envato Elements you can try out too, like this one.
3. Potato Chip Bag Template (PSD)
Or maybe you're planning to make a variety of different chip bags. Check out this template. It's perfect if you want to try out different colors or variants for your potato chip bag template concept.
4. Chips Can Mockup Template (PSD)
Sometimes, chips come in a can. If your concept doesn't use a traditional chip bag, maybe a template like this would be more up your alley. There's a wide variety of 3D mockup templates over on Envato Elements to choose from, for all kinds of different packaging projects.
5. Chip Bag Template Mockup (PSD)
This chip template mockup set includes all kinds of different angles you can check out for displaying and previewing your design. It can be handy if you'd like to easily try different backgrounds, different perspectives, and more.
Learn More About Adobe Photoshop
Love Adobe Photoshop? Why not check out even more free tutorials, right here at Envato Tuts+? There's no better time to dig into even more Photoshop tips and tricks than right now. Why not learn something new today?
