LEVELUP Phone Cases - Designed & Developed in NZ
OFCS Final
Brand identity
Production handoff
Retail packaging
01 PROJECT SUMMARY
A retail identity built to earn attention quickly
LevelUp was entering a crowded category with no legacy recognition to borrow from.
LevelUp is a New Zealand phone-case brand aiming to bring a premium, design-led presence to a category dominated by established global players. I shaped the visual identity through the packaging system, using the pack itself as the brand’s first major customer touch-point.
The work covered category research, visual direction, packaging graphics, a distinctive transparent cut-out, production-ready artwork and direct handoff with the manufacturing partner in China.
Client | LevelUp NZ |
Year | 2025 |
My contribution | Brand direction, packaging design, structural cut-out concept, production handoff |
References | ZAGG, OtterBox, CASETiFY and contemporary accessories packaging |
02 PROBLEM
The pack had to look established without pretending the brand already was.
A generic clear-case box would disappear beside better-known competitors. LevelUp needed a packaging language that could signal protection, premium intent and product fit within a few seconds, while still leaving room for the physical case to be seen.
03 MY ROLE
I owned the visual problem from competitive scan to factory-ready artwork.
• Researched category conventions and contemporary retail packaging to understand where LevelUp could conform and where it could stand apart.
• Developed the visual system across front, spine and rear panels, including hierarchy, icons, product callouts and compatibility cues.
• Created the distinctive transparent window concept by echoing the arrow-shaped “P” form from the LevelUp identity.
• Prepared production-ready artwork and coordinated directly with the China-based printing partner to reduce ambiguity and rework.
04 OUTCOMES
The brand gained a physical system, not just a pretty box
The strongest result was consistency that could travel across a product range.
Recognisable shelf presence A repeatable red, charcoal and white language gives LevelUp a clear visual signature. | Cleaner production handoff The printer received clear artwork and structural intent, helping keep revisions limited. | Reusable packaging foundation The system can extend to new models and products without redesigning the brand from scratch. |
The printing partner responded positively to the design, and the packaging moved into market as the brand began building recognition. No sales uplift is claimed here because verified commercial metrics were not available for this case study.
05 INTENT
Make the structure itself feel branded.
The goal was to balance retail clarity with a distinctive LevelUp cue. Brand recognition should not rely only on a logo at the top of the box; the product window, panel geometry, colour blocking and benefit hierarchy should all reinforce the same identity.
06 CHALLENGES
Packaging is a negotiation between brand ambition, retail scanning and manufacturing reality.
• Show enough of the case to reassure shoppers without losing visual control of the front panel.
• Communicate protection, eco and compatibility information without turning the pack into a wall of claims.
• Differentiate from strong category references without copying their visual language.
• Translate the concept accurately across an offshore production workflow where unclear intent could become expensive.ies across product, UX and engineering instead of treating design as a parallel track.
07 APPROACH
Research the category, then find one ownable move
The market scan was useful only if it helped reveal what not to do.
I reviewed how established accessories brands structure product visibility, protection claims, colour systems and technical detail. That gave me the category grammar. The next step was to introduce a LevelUp-specific gesture rather than simply remixing competitor patterns.
• Mapped recurring category conventions: strong mastheads, visible product, protection proof and compatibility labels.
• Reduced the visual system to a small set of repeatable brand cues: red, charcoal, white space, angled geometry and confident product graphics.
• Used the transparent window as the signature move by shaping it around the LevelUp “P” motif.
• Tested the system across front, side and back so recognition survived different shelf orientations.
08 KEY WORK / SOLUTIONS
Each panel had one job. Together, they had to tell one story.
Front panel: brand first, product second, benefits third. The large masthead establishes identity, the window exposes the actual case, and a compact benefit column explains impact, material and protection cues without overpowering the product. Rear panel: proof and personality. Product illustration, camera protection, ergonomic fit, corner protection and certification cues give the shopper a more complete reason to believe the product proposition.
Spine: recognition at an angle. Repeated product naming and LevelUp branding make the pack legible even when only the side edge is visible.
Production handoff: factory-ready, not portfolio-ready. I prepared artwork for manufacturing and stayed close to the printer to resolve questions early. The aim was simple: preserve the design intent while minimising avoidable iteration.
09 TRANSFORMATION
From an unproven product to a repeatable retail language
The transformation was not “before versus after UI”. It was product-to-brand.
STARTING POINT | WHAT CHANGED |
• A young brand with little shelf recognition. • No established packaging grammar across the range. • A manufacturing process that needed precise visual communication. | • A distinct packaging system with recognisable colour, geometry and hierarchy. • A branded structural window that makes the pack itself part of the identity. • A clearer production relationship and reusable basis for future SKUs. |
10 LEARNINGS
The best packaging idea was the one manufacturing could actually preserve.
Structure can be identity
The transparent window became more valuable when it stopped being a generic cut-out and started carrying the LevelUp shape language.
Clarity beats late-stage rescue
Direct, production-minded handoff reduced interpretation gaps and protected the concept across distance and manufacturing constraints.
Category research should create distance
Competitor references were most useful when they exposed conventions to challenge, not templates to imitate.
