Why corporate red packets are the most common
Of the 256 red packets in the joyfold catalog, 94 have the theme “corporate and brand”, the largest group. Red packets given to clients and staff before the New Year are opened, passed around and kept, so the brand name and artwork are seen by many people, and many companies design them as a piece of brand material once a year.
The difficulty with corporate packets is that the brand must be visible at a glance without the packet looking like an advertising flyer. Below are several ways of placing a brand mark, taken from the catalog.
1. The logo is the main motif
The layout holds only the brand and no other pattern. The JOYWELL brand packet places an enlarged atom-shaped mark in the center. The LASER 40th anniversary packet sets the brand letters vertically on the right, running from the flap to the bottom edge, with two clusters of floral line drawings on the left and a line reading “40th Anniversary”. This approach suits brands whose mark is distinctive in itself.
2. The logo as a tone-on-tone pattern
Brand letters or a mark are repeated across the whole face in a color close to the base, so from a distance it reads as texture and only up close is the brand recognized. The LA-BEAUT brand packet fills a red ground with staggered diagonal “LA” letters, and only the brand name in the center is gold. The SWISSAIRE horizontal (西封) packet fills the face with rounded squares marked “SA”, in the same color as the paper. The JOYWELL brand packet also spreads a layer of smaller marks in a brighter red around the main mark.
3. The logo with an illustration
Here the illustration carries the festive mood and the brand sits in a corner or at the bottom. The leaping-whale packet in two colorways shows a humpback whale leaping from the waves, with “鲸腾万里 四海盈福” (roughly, “whales leap ten thousand miles, fortune fills the four seas”) and the brand mark at the top. The dragon-pattern brand packet has two groups of ink-brush dragons, top and bottom, with a band across the middle carrying the brand. The 潮粥荟 brand packet uses a clay pot, a congee bowl, a spoon and a line of poetry to echo its own congee. When the illustration relates to the brand’s industry, the packet is easier to remember.
4. Patterns and brand character
The KALLOS geometric pattern packet covers most of the face with interlocking circles and leaves only the brand name at the bottom. The 麦寻 brand packet uses two ears of wheat reaching diagonally to echo the brand name. A pattern does not have to be the traditional 福 character or auspicious clouds; it can come from the brand’s own visual language.
5. Co-branding and multiple brands
When two brands appear on one packet, the primary and secondary roles need to be clear. The 开运吉市 brand packet sets a four-character blessing vertically in the middle of a full-face pattern of auspicious beasts, with two brand marks side by side at the bottom. The KINI New Year packet puts the brand mark on the flap and leaves the front for a color illustration.
What to prepare before ordering corporate red packets
- Brand material: the original LOGO file, brand colors and font requirements; see the artwork preparation guide.
- Placement: logo as the main motif, as a tone-on-tone pattern or with an illustration; decide the direction before the design is drawn.
- Quantity and designs: whether clients and staff get different designs, and how many of each.
- Paper and finish: the works above are mainly recorded with pearlescent paper and tactile paper, mostly with full-plate custom foil stamping and some with embossing or a raised effect; see the foil stamping guide.
- Quotation: put everything in one list and state it in one go; see the quotation checklist.
