Like many aspects of retail, packaging and design have needed a rethink following the impacts of the pandemic.
“Fortune favours the bold in this competitive environment,” says B Brand Design General Manager Cameron Marshall, adding that “brands must differentiate [and] innovate or face extinction”.
“Increasingly,” he continues, “we’re seeing brand owners becoming braver, ramping up personality on pack and breaking category conventions to get their brands noticed.”
BrandOpus Managing Director Nikki Moeschinger notes that after a “tough and serious couple of years”, brands are moving towards upbeat and light-hearted packaging designs.
“On a deeper level, we’re seeing [more] brands anchoring their meaning and/or amplifying their messaging around positivity and joyfulness,” she says.
Ms Moeschinger adds: “Emerging out of the pandemic, a cultural shift to maximalism is replacing minimalist design. Stripped back, barely-there designs are out, and bold in-your-face colours and patterns that visually stimulate are in.
“This is giving brands more freedom for self-expression and the ability to create visually strong distinctive assets, especially in fast moving spaces like FMCG where brands are given very little time to make their mark on-shelf.”
Similarly addressing the pandemic effect, The Spice Agency Managing Director Dimity McDonald says: “We’re seeing that consumers want some excitement and dynamism in their lives. We expect to see this increasingly translate into packaging … We’re looking forward to more colour, movement and dynamism in packaging. We’ve lived through the muted-pastel age. We’re now keen to bring some more fun into packaging.”
Read more about packaging and design in the July issue of Retail World.
