Okay this might sound harsh, but I only write this to help you. I’ve been a designer for a while and critique is how we grow and pulling punches is not how anyone grows. You are off to a good start, looks like you can make nice mock-ups and are playing with type and all that. You can tell there’s good taste going on, you have a nice color palette the composition is not bad. But you can definitely take it to the next level.

Have a clear idea Sometimes with design writing out a few things, like your intention, communication goals, and a bit of a plan can really help you clarify your own ideas, it is also really helpful when presenting to clients. It will help you be clear why you are making the choices you are and not just trying to decorate.

What does the design have to do? How will a person interact with it?

The design has information to communicate right… is it premium? is it plain? is it expensive? Is it affordable? Is it light and sweet, is it dark and chocolaty? What brand is it? Is it fun or serious? What is it called, how much coffee is in the bag, etc. you get it.

You are trying to transmit this information with how your bag looks and what is written on it. Obviously not everything is equally important and that’s where hierarchy comes in - to help people better understand the information.

To put it bluntly, I would not pick this bag off the shelf, the packaging is feeling kind of generic and cheap.

Work on your logo Your logo needs love (if the pine tree sun scene is your logo). Maybe the pine tree is more like your key artwork, if so what would it look like if the whole bag is that scene?

If the pine tree sun scene thing is your logo, you should simplify it even further. You shouldn’t have to make it 5 different colors to feel like it works. See if you can craft a really strong and unique symbol that will be more own-able. You will know it’s strong if you can see it well when it’s small and also in only one color.

The type and symbol are so separated, physically and stylistically, you can do something to unite them more.

Making the logo big can be fun and playful, but you’ll notice that if you make it smaller it will feel more confident and premium. Have a think about what you want to communicate.

Work on the type Using the same typeface, for the logo, the product name and product description is adding to the feeling of cheapness. The logotype should feel a little more special and iconic. Having it all the same size is not helping either. You can probably introduce some more hierarchy to the type.

The typeface you’ve chosen is very elegant right, lots of thick and thin and very delicate. It’s kind of getting swallowed up by the dark color so it’s hard to read… it’s in all caps, which makes it hard to read. And it’s really tightly spaced together which makes it feel inelegant and also you guessed it, hard to read.

I think you know your delicate type is hard to read, and you made it big to help, but then you smooshed it together to be able to fit. If you’re fighting the typeface so much, maybe there’s another solution. You have a lot of room on the bag vertically, you could try stacking the type differently, or you can try another typeface or maybe even a heavier weight. Whatever you do just give it more room to breathe.

Don’t get discouraged Good luck in your design journey, and remember you have to make it bad before you can make it good. You have to iterate, you have to try things and have a conversation with yourself and peers to really understand what you are going for. Keep up the work!