Retail Package Design

Daggerfish products are weird. Because handlines are the primary products, and handline fishing is a very niche hobby, one of the most common questions I get is "What is this?" It's not ideal for a business when customers don't know what you're selling, but it is a good conversation starter, and people tend to get excited once they see a demo of how to cast and reel a handline.

Brick-and-mortar retail is a different challenge, since I can't be there and retail staff won't necessarily be able to demo the products for interested customers. I've sold Daggerfish products through local outdoor retailers since founding the company in 2018, and I intended to work primarily with retailers, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced me to shift to ecommerce. As a result, my package design has been built for shipping, and this packaging can be quite plain since customers have the educational support of an entire website before they purchase.

In a retail context, packaging and point-of-purchase displays have to do a lot more work to communicate the what, why, and how of the products to help them resonate with the right customers. So in 2025, with lots of articles, videos, and educational content created around the core products, I started redesigning packaging specifically to focus on in-store retail. 

These resulting "hang tag" designs use QR codes to link customers to educational content directly from the package, enable products to be displayed on walls, kiosks, or countertops, and ensure the rich touch experience of the products are directly accessible to shoppers. These designs make use of the Strap Snap feature of the core products, and are made from a minimal amount of (recyclable) cardstock, reinforcing design values while showcasing the products' functionality. 

The countertop display stand is handmade from wood, ships flat, assembles with two screws, and integrates rich images of products in-use to help convey both the aesthetic and adventure opportunities these products support.