Trading Card Box Design Log
From my research, but also from my previous playing experience with cards I know exactly what shape I want my box to be. It will be a simple rectangle shape that opens easily at one side. This box shape isn’t just practical and easy to use, it is strong and the cards inside the box will not cause any strength or ‘holding together’ problems. It will have to be at least 9 cm wide as that is the length of my trading cards and it will need to be at least 6.5 cm in width as that is the card size. The box will be made out of card, as like I said, it is strong.
I know my size has to be at least the trading card design the same size as my cards, and probably a bit bigger so the box isn’t damaged if people try and cram the trading cards in. The box needs to not open too widely or loosely otherwise I run the risk of losing my cards.
I am pretty clear on what surface designs I am going to use. Obviously I want images of my characters included on the box because they are the main symbols of the game and my customers need to see them. Furthermore, I will include images of the cards, with all packaging of any item there will be a picture of what is on the inside.
Therefore I will so the same to make sure the packaging looks professional and so I impress my audience.
This is the sort of box net I am thinking of using. It is simple but also useful and it is secure for the cards. Obviously I will expand the measurement sizes to the suitable amount.

This image shows my original and first, net design for my trading card box. It is a fairly simple design that will easily assemble and I have ensured with the measurements that my trading cards will fit in it comfortably. I have clearly indicated the areas of this net which will require glue. I’ve also added two very small 4 sided shapes opposite each other onto the net. These are designed to work as inside protective flaps on the box when it is assembled. On almost all trading card boxes there are these two identically sized flaps. Judging by my own understanding of folding and gluing, this image should fold and stick together easily with no issues.

Below is my 2D computerised design net:
Above is my completed 2D net design for my trading card box. In the bottom right corner you can see a key that was created with the text tool on the 2D design programme. The straight lines were created by just inserting a normal straight line onto the design programme. Due to the design of the net, the only area of this net that requires cutting is the outside, very easy to understand for my young audience who are likely to be assembling this box for their trading cards. As you can see by the key, the dashed lines mean there is a fold required. I made the line dashed by changing the line design to a dash instead of a solid straight. I can confirm that when I assembled the net myself the fold lines were all in the correct area of the design meaning there are no issues with the assembly. Due to the simplistic folding on this trading card box design, the only area that requires gluing is on part of the fold. To make the assembly of the design very easy I have clearly identified the area to glue by adding a red fill to the box.
My actual net design was created was easily. The background of the design on 2D design (computer programme) was 1cm isometric paper. This made my design easier to make because I would create the length of the lines depending on isometric dots.
For example, I knew the width needed to be 7cm so I would create a 7 dotted line.

This is my completed surface design net for my trading card box. As you can see, I have made use of multiple Adobe Photoshop tools, including the text tool, shape tool, direct selection tool, colours and various Photoshop effects and texturisers. I am very pleased with this finished design and I feel it will appeal to both genders in my target market range. You will notice that I have made use of products created already (for example the trading cards) and simply placed them into Photoshop. You will notice I have arranged my trading cards in a 1-2 formation so they are all clearly visible and don’t look untidy. The background has also been made a solid red behind the cards so they stand out and buyers of the box will clearly realise what the trading card box is for.
I felt that it was vital that the majority of colour on my surface design was just plain and bold, I didn’t want it to appear as a just a filler. Therefore I used the very useful
Adobe Photoshop texturiser to give the background colours some sort of real life feel and to also make the box look more interesting. You can see the texturiser in full use

on the light blue text areas. I used the sponge effect and I feel it has come out at the right balance. It hasn’t come out with an extreme about of effect but it also hasn’t come out with almost any impact at all. That is why I am pleased with my texturiser choice.
You will notice that part of my trading card box is my phone wallpaper. I felt I could reuse another product of my project for the trading card box. My phone wallpaper was good for this. My phone wallpaper doesn’t have a specific theme so for it to be on a phone so I could use it as a multi-purpose product. I simply placed it into my file and decided to put it on the area of the net, which when folded, will form the back of the box.
It is really important that my design is eye catching and that people read the text on the box. To make sure this happens I have made the text font bright, bold and different. I spent some time looking through all the different fonts available and got some test buddy feedback on which looks the best. I have also customised the colours to also keep it interesting for people to look at.
As my target audience is fairly young I made sure the fold areas are clearly indicated so they can assemble the net easily and independently. It wouldn’t be good for my game as a company if my target audience was incapable of assembling their trading card box.

This is my trading card box design display which was created on Adobe Illustrator. I took the photos myself of the different angles on the box. I then removed the background using various tools on Adobe Photoshop and inserted them onto my
Illustrator background. This background is the same design as the back of my trading cards; I again have made previous designs/backgrounds multi-purpose.
Test Buddy Feedback: I really like your trading card box. You have thought carefully about the colour and textures you have used and made good use of Adobe Illustrator.
Your text looks attractive and you have been clever in your reusing of your multipurpose products/designs.
I improved the design by adding in extra colours, seen in the tips of the net. This acts on the praise of the different colours used.