Halo Sport 2 Packaging
Designing shelf presence on a startup budget
Halo Sport 2 was launching into a market full of skepticism. Neuropriming technology that improves athletic performance sounds like science fiction—or worse, like the pseudoscience gadgets flooding the wellness market. The product worked, but looking legitimate was half the battle. And the first place people judged legitimacy was the packaging.
We had a new product, a tight budget, an aggressive launch timeline, and no packaging designer. The challenge wasn't just creating a box—it was creating something cinematic that communicated premium quality, staying under budget in a startup environment, maximizing pallet efficiency for cost-effective shipping, and making it look like it belonged next to established brands. This case study is about seeing a critical gap, teaching myself an entire discipline, and delivering work that directly contributed to a successful launch.
We Had No Packaging Designer
Halo was a lean team. We had product designers, engineers, marketers—but no one who specialized in physical packaging. And packaging wasn't optional. It was the first brand touchpoint for retail customers, the credibility signal that separated us from cheap gadgets, and a manufacturing constraint that affected unit economics. Bad packaging wouldn't just look unprofessional—it would undermine the entire product positioning.
The constraints were real. This wasn't a blue-sky creative project where we could explore without limits. We had to stay within budget because startups don't have unlimited packaging dollars. We had to maximize pallet sizing because inefficient dimensions meant wasted shipping costs at scale. We had to work within manufacturing limitations because not every material or finish is cost-effective at our production volume. And we had to launch on schedule because there was no time to hire, onboard, and ramp a specialist.
The gap was clear: someone had to own this. That someone was me.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026
Halo Sport 2 Packaging
Designing shelf presence on a startup budget
Halo Sport 2 was launching into a market full of skepticism. Neuropriming technology that improves athletic performance sounds like science fiction—or worse, like the pseudoscience gadgets flooding the wellness market. The product worked, but looking legitimate was half the battle. And the first place people judged legitimacy was the packaging.
We had a new product, a tight budget, an aggressive launch timeline, and no packaging designer. The challenge wasn't just creating a box—it was creating something cinematic that communicated premium quality, staying under budget in a startup environment, maximizing pallet efficiency for cost-effective shipping, and making it look like it belonged next to established brands. This case study is about seeing a critical gap, teaching myself an entire discipline, and delivering work that directly contributed to a successful launch.
We Had No Packaging Designer
Halo was a lean team. We had product designers, engineers, marketers—but no one who specialized in physical packaging. And packaging wasn't optional. It was the first brand touchpoint for retail customers, the credibility signal that separated us from cheap gadgets, and a manufacturing constraint that affected unit economics. Bad packaging wouldn't just look unprofessional—it would undermine the entire product positioning.
The constraints were real. This wasn't a blue-sky creative project where we could explore without limits. We had to stay within budget because startups don't have unlimited packaging dollars. We had to maximize pallet sizing because inefficient dimensions meant wasted shipping costs at scale. We had to work within manufacturing limitations because not every material or finish is cost-effective at our production volume. And we had to launch on schedule because there was no time to hire, onboard, and ramp a specialist.
The gap was clear: someone had to own this. That someone was me.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026
Halo Sport 2 Packaging
Designing shelf presence on a startup budget
Halo Sport 2 was launching into a market full of skepticism. Neuropriming technology that improves athletic performance sounds like science fiction—or worse, like the pseudoscience gadgets flooding the wellness market. The product worked, but looking legitimate was half the battle. And the first place people judged legitimacy was the packaging.
We had a new product, a tight budget, an aggressive launch timeline, and no packaging designer. The challenge wasn't just creating a box—it was creating something cinematic that communicated premium quality, staying under budget in a startup environment, maximizing pallet efficiency for cost-effective shipping, and making it look like it belonged next to established brands. This case study is about seeing a critical gap, teaching myself an entire discipline, and delivering work that directly contributed to a successful launch.
We Had No Packaging Designer
Halo was a lean team. We had product designers, engineers, marketers—but no one who specialized in physical packaging. And packaging wasn't optional. It was the first brand touchpoint for retail customers, the credibility signal that separated us from cheap gadgets, and a manufacturing constraint that affected unit economics. Bad packaging wouldn't just look unprofessional—it would undermine the entire product positioning.
The constraints were real. This wasn't a blue-sky creative project where we could explore without limits. We had to stay within budget because startups don't have unlimited packaging dollars. We had to maximize pallet sizing because inefficient dimensions meant wasted shipping costs at scale. We had to work within manufacturing limitations because not every material or finish is cost-effective at our production volume. And we had to launch on schedule because there was no time to hire, onboard, and ramp a specialist.
The gap was clear: someone had to own this. That someone was me.
Built in Figma Sites (Beta)
© Selected Works / Tay Williams
2018—2026