Pharmaceutical Packaging Design and Artwork (AW)

The global pharmaceutical market is continuously growing, driven by innovative developments and the emergence of new drugs. This growth leads to an increasing volume of both primary and secondary pharmaceutical packaging produced each year. While primary packaging – its material, hygienic properties, appearance, and printed data – is mostly subject to regulatory requirements, manufacturers have considerably more freedom with secondary packaging. In addition to mandatory graphic and labeling elements, secondary pharmaceutical packaging must have a thoughtful design, as it serves as an image product that influences consumer behavior and purchasing decisions.

Pharma is a unique industry where visual solutions and trends that perform well in other sectors can yield the opposite results. Consumers expect a certain therapeutic effect from the product they purchase, and the packaging's role, beyond meeting regulatory requirements, is to assure the consumer that this specific brand of drug will deliver the desired effect. There have been cases where stylish, trend-driven packaging—admired by designers—led to a decline in sales and consumer distrust.

Pharmaceutical packaging is not just about aesthetically pleasing design that meets artwork and labeling standards; it is, foremost, the outer representation of the drug. Its visual impact must align harmoniously with the therapeutic effect consumers expect from the medication.

Tarqvara Pharma Technologies specialists have extensive experience in developing design solutions (Artwork, AW) for printed packaging materials, including all required elements such as textual information in any language, images, graphic design elements, embossed Braille symbols, Pharmacode (Laetus Code) for automated scanning control, international EAN article numbers (barcodes), varnish-free areas for printing variable data, preprinted prefixes for variable data, technical labeling for packaging equipment, areas for protective (Tamper Evident) stickers, technical codes, and material article numbers.

We work with all types of packaging in any configuration, from cardboard folding boxes and product information leaflets (PILs) to blister cover foils, labels, tubes, and more. At each stage of the process, all layouts are assigned a unique ID code that is linked to product information, article numbers, and layout versions, ensuring full traceability and immediate access to the desired artwork file, when required. Source files and layouts are saved in a redundant secure repository compliant with IT security and confidentiality requirements and can be stored for a specific retention period as agreed with the client.

We are open to various models of cooperation, ranging from the development of individual packaging layouts for one product or product line, to long-term "subscription" agreements for the ongoing development and updating of packaging material layouts for pharmaceutical manufacturers.

In addition to years of experience in graphic design, we specialize in serving the pharmaceutical industry. With cross-disciplinary competencies, including knowledge of pharmaceutical regulatory requirements, GMP/GxP practices, printing technologies, IT, Records & Data Integrity (RDI), GAMP, linguistics, packaging equipment operations, serialization and aggregation/Track & Trace systems, we address aspects that are beyond the scope of typical design agencies.