Fiberboard material is alot like kraft paper used in packaging materials, it looks un-finished and rustic, and works in many type of disc packaging. We will go through a few past projects and highlight the best ways to make the best out of this material.

1. Keep colors simple

Keep the number of colors to a few and it will complement nicely with the rustic brown background.

This design consists of 2 PMS colors.

This design consists of just black

2. Illustration vs realistic image

Due to its rough surface, photographs and images are not as detailed as they would seem on regular stock. A good way to compensate for that is turn the image into illustration, like the following example:

Realistic images tend to lose details on this paper so avoid it if possible.

3. Dark vs light colors

Fiberboard absorbs quite a bit of ink, and because of its brown color, whites, pastels, and other light colors look pale and vague.

On the other hand, brown, black, and other dark tones are popular choices because it always comes out very nice and deep.

Conclusion

Let the unique texture and color of the paper be the spotlight of the design! Less is more and keep it simple.

Do you have any unique ideas or experience with designing with alternative paper stock? Let us know in the comments below!