5 Trends in Packaging Design for 2021

Packaging plays a crucial role in getting products from to customers without loss or damage. However, packaging is more than just functional, and creative packaging can also make a good impression and help your brand stand out using unique designs. The ability to get a possible customer’s attention and keep it with a packaged product can make a huge difference in whether a business is able to continually succeed or fail.

Here are five emerging trends in packaging design that stand out as recent winners due to their effectiveness.

1. Less is more
It may be surprising to see this trend first, but many successful brands are packaging their products in boxes that just contain some small basic text and one solid color. Some successful businesses such as Apple have used this minimal design scheme with great results in recent years. In some situations, a picture of the product and a brief description is usually sufficient as long as the consumer can tell what is inside. This tactic also helps make the information contained on the packaging, such as the brand or the product name, more memorable because it is uncluttered.

This kind of minimalism tends to work best with functional products do not need a busy looking label and that speak for themselves based on their uses such as electronics or health and beauty products.

2. Environmentally friendly packaging
Creating boxes or other packing material out of materials that are either already recycled or ones that can be reused or recycled over and over again is a strong selling point. This proves that a business that wants to show its customers how much it cares about them as well as the future of our planet. Sustainability is becoming a craze with the recent shift away from plastics, and many businesses are already finding creative ways to capitalize. Consumers have also changed their expectations and many are now making a point of only supporting companies that are aware of their environmental impact.

Certain packaging materials can be made from a cardboard or paper base that is easily recycled or biodegradable no matter where it finally ends up. This is especially important in packing that may only be used for a very brief period of time such as food wrappers and cups. There are also some exciting developments in packaging technology, such as plant based materials that look and feel like plastic but are actually biodegradable.

3. Eye catching design
Depending on the style and voice of your brand, going in the opposite direction to a minimalist approach can be helpful. This is especially important for products that are competing for shelf space in retail establishments.

Everything from monochrome to bright colors to crazy looking mascots or characters can fall under this category if it matches the brand and product. This has been shown through examples that go from unusual to playful in marketing, and finding ways to stand out with everything from odd color schemes to funny looking fonts can be important for businesses that have a lot of competition. Even something as simple as the Nike swoosh or the Pepsi logo will continue to draw attention through its basic design because it is memorable. Businesses that are exceptionally good at this kind of design can convert a brief moment of attention into an impulse purchase, simply because the packaging caught the customer’s eye.

4. Nostalgic designs
The past several years have been filled with all kinds of media and entertainment that promises to take people back to their childhoods or embody the retro feelings of previous decades. This trend seems to be going strong in recent times, and it does not have any signs of slowing down. Businesses can capitalize on this by making a “throwback” version of their packaging that looks like if it came from decades earlier. For inspiration, look up some old brightly colored designs from the 1960s and 70s, or go back even further to see how handmade packaging looked in the 19th century. There is really no limit to what time period you can embody with your product as long as the design creates a lasting impression and uses some creativity.

5. A memorable feel
Some packing just feels different and this is certainly one way of grabbing the attention of potential customers. The texture of a package can feel very soft to the touch, smooth, or hard. The particular feel does not matter so much as creating a design that is unique to your brand and will help it stand out. Customers can also enjoy touching or feeling certain products within the packaging as a way of trying it before they buy. It is crucial to come up with a tactile design that appeals to a customers senses and creates strong memories associated with the product.

To summarize there are really a few basic ways to make packaging that will capitalize on these trends:

• Stand out through colors, designs, shapes, etc.
• Find ways to let the product become the center of attention
• Appeal to emotional states through things like nostalgia or packaging that is comfortable to touch
• Think of where the packaging will end up in the future and find creative ways to reuse or recycle it