Digital marketing & Entrepreneurship ( SME ) Studio, Faculty of Economics and Business, Islamic University of Malang, Tuesday, 3 January 2023, held a Packaging Design Workshop ( Despack) to strengthen and develop Entrepreneurship among students and the people of Greater Malang. The workshop, which was attended by 60 participants, was carried out on an ongoing basis, with the final being a packaging design competition at the national level.

In his opening speech, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at the Islamic University of Malang said that the workshop being held aims to improve the skills and competence of entrepreneurs among students and the general public in facing the challenges of an increasingly advanced world. So that SME FEB UNISMA must move forward to prepare and give birth to superior seeds in increasing creativity and productive competitiveness in the field of Product Design.

"What is problematic among SMEs is the lack of information regarding the importance of packaging for product marketing. Most SMEs still underestimate the role of packaging. Many of them do not pay attention to the product packaging, so the product does not have more selling value in the eyes of consumers. As a result, many SME products do not sell well in the market. This is exacerbated by the small number of business units that serve packaging purchases in small batches. That way, SMEs are confused about where to go if they want their product packaging to be more attractive and to sell. In addition, it is not easy to convince SMEs that good and creative packaging can increase profits. For us, it is essential for SMEs to have Packaging design skills for SMEs and prospective entrepreneurs," said Diana.

Fico Abiyu, the Head of SME FEB UNISMA, in his speech, hoped that the UKM participants among students would be able to become competent designers in the field of Packaging Design and want to increase product value through their packaging, which can later bring their business to the international scene.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Yusuf, the presenter, said that to package a product, an attractive packaging design was needed so that consumers were interested in the contents of the product in the package. For this reason, art is needed so our packaging can attract customers. Usually, customers will see the packaging. If the packaging is attractive, customers will usually be interested in its contents because people's first impression when buying a product is to look at the cover/package first. Customers will be interested in buying our product if the packaging looks attractive.

"The packaging design can use several programs as needed, for example, Photoshop and Corel Draw tools, depending on their needs. Packaging design is usually used in packaging design in plastic, flip, cardboard, and bottles. In designing the packaging, there is a specific size for each form of packaging. The packaging design includes the logo design used, brand name, font, color, size, and layout of the packaging," he said.

The activity, which started at 08.30 and until 17.00, gave many inspirations for the participants. Especially given a capital understanding of Packaging Design by preparing several points such as Design Challenges, Materials, Shapes, Labels, Marketing, and Branding.

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