Packaging & Merchandising Design | Final Project: The Merch Drop
1/12/25 - 11/1/25 (Week 11 - Week 14)
Kimberly Miaw Jya Nee | 0366836
Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media | Taylor's University
Packaging & Merchandising Design
Final Project : The Merch Drop (30%)
[Table of Contents]
1. Instructions
2. Project
3. Feedback
4. Reflection
5. Quick Links
[Instructions]
[Project]
For our final project, we are required to further expand our brand and
packaging identity that we have established in Project 2. We have to
design a cohesive "merch drop" collection consisting of 5 distinct items
and pitch the concept to the class.
1. One (1) POP (Point-of-Purchase) Display
2. Four (4) Merchandise Items
Project Workflow & Deliverables
Phase 1: Research & Concepts
Phase 1: Research & Concepts
- Analyze your Project 2 brand values and packaging aesthetics.
- Develop 5 concepts that feel like a natural extension of the brand.
- Goal: Ensure the items are things your target audience would actually buy.
Phase 2: Design & Mock-ups
- Design the graphics and structural elements for all 5 items.
- Create high-quality digital mock-ups. These should be realistic renders that look like professional product photography.
- Ensure strict visual consistency (colour palette, typography) with your Project 2 packaging.
Phase 3: Strategy & Presentation
Group Members:
1. Kimberly Miaw Jya Nee (Leader)
2. Mah Sze Min
3. Aw Wen Chia
4. Nicco Chew Jin Xun
5. Muthiah Salsabila Harsono
2. Plush Keychain
3. Totebag
4. Scrunchie Hair Tie
- Promotional Strategy: Outline specific channels (Social Media, Influencers, Events) and tactics you will use to launch the merchandise.
- The Pitch: Prepare a slide deck presentation to "sell" your ideas.
Submission:
Blog Link + Recorded Group Presentation (15 minutes)
1. Kimberly Miaw Jya Nee (Leader)
2. Mah Sze Min
3. Aw Wen Chia
4. Nicco Chew Jin Xun
5. Muthiah Salsabila Harsono
Process Work
In our Project 2, we did a skincare set which consisted of toner, serum,
and moisturiser.
In the first week, we brainstormed a list of potential merchandise items
that also aligns with our brand, Smile Surprise.
Fig. 1. Merchandise Items Brainstorming
4 Merchandise Items:
1. Makeup / Toiletries Pouch2. Plush Keychain
3. Totebag
4. Scrunchie Hair Tie
Extras for Promotional Strategy:
1. Sticker Pack
2. Skincare Free Samples
Digital Presence:
1. Instagram Grid
2. Tiktok Grid
Environmental Graphics:
1. POP Display Stand
2. Pop-up Booth
3. Canopy Booth
Theme:
Picnic-at-the-Garden
We began by looking up inspiration online in our
group Pinterest board
to get ideas on how we want to design our merchandises. We also had a seperate Canva document to put in all our ideations, progress and feedbacks.
Fig. 2. Moodboard & Inspiration
Makeup Pouch
We decided to add makeup / toiletries pouch to our merchandise as Smile
Surprise is a skincare brand. We used our simple daisy pattern derived
from our Project 2 packaging as the design.
Fig. 3. Makeup Pouch (Wen Chia)
Plush Keychain & Box Packaging
We discussed different material options for the keychains and decided
on plush keychains with a blind box concept. Each of us created a
sketch based on the picnic theme.
Fig. 4. Plushie Sketches by Kim, Sze Min, Wen Chia, Tya, Nicco
Dazy (Daisy Flower) - Kim
Dazy is a cheerful little daisy who loves sunny picnics and simple
moments. She represents joy, kindness, and self-care, reminding everyone
that even the smallest surprise can brighten someone’s day.
Shybell (Bell Flower) - Sze Min
Shybell is the gentle heart of Smile Surprise. She is soft-spoken,
thoughtful, and quietly warm. Like a bell flower, she blooms in calm
moments and shows care through small, meaningful gestures. Though shy
at first, she has a playful sweetness that brings comfort to
others.
Peomy (Peony Flower) - Wen Chia
Peomy is kind and confident, representing the femininity of Smile
Surprise. With a brave and resilient heart, she spreads warmth and
care wherever she goes. Inspired by the peony flower, she symbolises
romance, affection, and sweet beginnings.
Sweetheart (Heart) - Muthiah
Sweetheart is the lovergirl of Smile Surprise. She is warm, carefree,
and deeply caring. With a big heart for her friends, she makes sure
everyone feels included. Love and happiness grow wherever Sweetheart
goes.
Baskie (Picnic Basket) - Nicco
Baskie is the one who holds everyone together. Like a picnic basket
filled with small surprises, she carries kindness, care, and shared
moments. She believes joy is best when it’s shared.
After everyone finished their sketches, Nicco helped us generate the
plushie mockups using Google’s Gemini. I think the results were pretty
good, although we had to be really specific with the prompts.
For the plush keychain box packaging, we chose a simple square box
mockup.
I designed the blindbox in Illustrator before placing the design into the
mockup in Photoshop.
I do admit that this is not my best work, as many packaging details are
still missing and the overall box design feels quite plain and flat.
However, this is the best I could come up with since I also had to
finalise other parts of the project.
Totebag
Initially, we were thinking of creating a totebag that is a shape of a
flower. The idea itself is nice and unique but it's difficult to create a
real life mockup of it so we proceeded with a regular totebag shape.
Fig. 8. Totebag (Tya)
Scrunchie Hair Tie
We did 3 daisy pattern variations of blue, orange, and green (brand
primary colours) for our scrunchies.
Fig. 9. Hair Scrunchie Mockups (Avery & Kim)
Stickers
Sze Min decided to design a sticker pack that will be used in our
promotional strategy since we had some extra time.
Fig. 10. Sticker Pack (Sze Min)
Skincare Free Samples
This free samples of skincare is also used in our promotional strategy.
Designed by Sze Min.
Fig. 11. Skincare Free Samples (Sze Min)
POP Display Stand
We have chosen this POP display stand mockup from
Mockups-Design.com
Fig. 12. Chosen POP Display Stand Mockup
I did a rough sketch of the POP display stand to visualise my idea. I
handed in the next part to Nicco to let her create the design and put it
into the mockup.
Fig. 13. POP Display Stand Sketch (Kim)
Pop-up Booth
I also did the rough sketch for our booth which matches the theme of
our POP display stand. Then, Nicco designed it in Illustrator and put
into the mockup.
Fig. 15. Booth Design Sketch (Kim)
Promotional Strategy: Instagram & Tiktok
Sze Min did the outline for our promotional strategy, which is a campus
pop-up booth concept.
Fig. 18. Social Media Grid - Instagram
While completing the mockups, we also started doing our presentation slides at the same time.
Final Outcome Compilation
Fig. 20. Mockup Compilation (PDF)
Fig. 22. Recorded Final Presentation
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1I5qeelMohfz12tn1WtiAV0eb3QkqRTCY/view?usp=sharing
[Feedback]
Week 10 (24/12/25)
General Feedback:
Final project briefing in class. This week, I mainly continued to finalise
Project 2 for submission.
Specific Feedback:
N/A
Week 11 (1/12/25)
General Feedback:
[Online Consultation] This week, we only showed Sir what we are planning to do for merchandise so it was a quick consultation. After getting it approved, we started doing the sketches for consultation next week.
Specific Feedback:
N/A
Week 12 (8/12/25)
General Feedback:
[Online Consultation] We showed Sir our merchandise sketches, everyone did a sketch of each merchandise. Sir told us to make sure the theme is cohesive.
Specific Feedback:
N/A
Week 13 (15/12/25)
General Feedback:
[Online Consultation via Teams] We showed our progress on our main theme
for the merch drop, plushie keychain blindbox concept, scrunchie hair
tie, makeup pouch and also our finalised promotional strategy. Sir said it's all okay so far.
Specific Feedback:
- For IG post, you just need to create the grid design
- You don't need to design individual post
- For merchandise, once you have designed all of it, You need to have 1 flat lay of all the merch
Week 14 (29/12/25)
General Feedback:
This week, I sent a final to-do list to the group chat to make sure everyone is on the same page on what we have and have not done.
Specific Feedback:
N/A
Week 15 (5/1/26)
General Feedback:
[Submission Week] This week we finalised all the mockups and presentation slide for submission.
Specific Feedback:
We managed to submit everything on time.
[Reflection]
Experience
Overall, this final project was quite simple and straightforward. Since it was a continuation from Project 2, the direction was clear. However, I feel that I did lack planning and could have done better. As we were all balancing our workload with other modules, I believe this is the best we could come up with. But despite that, I still find this project enjoyable when I was working on it, as we got to design merchandises and turn them into mockups which I like.
Observation
Creating a merch drop requires a lot of planning and making sure that all ideas align with one another, otherwise the final outcome can feel disconnected. Clear communication and understanding within the group are also important throughout the process.
Findings
From this project, I realised that extending an existing brand requires more intention than starting from scratch. Even with an established visual identity, each design decision still needs to be justified to ensure it truly fits the brand. This project helped me recognise areas where I can improve, especially in group project management.
[Quick Links]
Thank You
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