Keep it real: Five packaging design mantras for 2021

The pandemic has made one thing clear — eCommerce is here to stay. The surge in online shopping amid the pandemic has revolutionised the packaging industry, and the out-of-the-box concept has now transformed to about-the-box. This means brands and packagers, will now, have to ensure that the packaging is sustainable, supports an efficient supply chain and also meets consumer needs.

Recently, I received a body care package with a beautiful outer design. My first reaction was an ecstatic wow! But the unboxing experience was nothing short of a nightmare. With every packaging layer, my patience swayed, and by the end, I was just glad to have finally found the products. This is a classic example of how frivolous packaging has managed to hijack the primal offering of a brand – its products.

Adding exceptionally artsy layers may depict the amount of care that’s been put into the product packaging, but one thing 2020 has helped us get straight is — too much packaging is just too much packaging! It’s inconvenient, and in 2021, it’s way out of style. Instead, what one should be focusing on is practical packaging, and keep packaging real. Here are five tips that can enable your packages to be simple, sustainable and attractive. (These mantras won’t hand you your designs on a silver platter, but they will get you going on the right path.)

The right look
Whatever be the age, receiving a package is always an excitement. However, a brand owner must remember that its first interaction with the customer is through the product packaging. Thus, the packaging must appeal to all consumers. The key to a successful sale is understanding that this first interaction — the packaging shelf appeal — can provide a competitive edge. So, make sure that you get your look right. Colour and graphics can enliven the product. Their correct usage can instantly impress the audience.

Balancing typography and graphics
Your packaging design can’t just comprise graphics or pictures. There needs to be a communication balance, which can only be achieved through written content. That said, you don’t want to overpower your design with too many words. Typography is a form of written embellishment. It’s an art and a science. So, play with words, stylise and place them for the world to see. Sometimes simplicity works, but sometimes you’ll need to go over the top.

Make sure your content is ICL — impactful, concise and legible. The impactful content will convince your audience that they are making the right choice. Concise focuses on keeping it crisp. With every extra word, you are losing the consumer's attention while legibility ensures clarity. Otherwise, your product’s voice falls on deaf ears.

Do research
Every product is curated, keeping a certain group of people in mind — the target audience. That’s every brand’s motive. So, quick research on the prospective buyers can help brands better understand the product and the people it aims to cater to. As you cannot sell a box of tampons to everyone, you cannot sell baby food to a middle-aged group. Thus, the target audience plays a huge role in typography, content, colours and finally, the style of packaging. While older consumers might appreciate easy-to-understand graphics and fonts, the younger ones might love a fresher and cooler packaging look. So, don’t skip on research.

Ethical packaging
The world of packaging is ever-changing. What was unacceptable earlier is very much accepted today. However, with increased consumer consciousness and awareness about sustainable packaging, sustainability has become a key influencer in purchase decisions. Thus, eco-friendly and practical packaging is the future, and we must adapt to it as soon as possible.

Practicality in packaging makes or breaks the brand image. As mentioned earlier, a sleek-looking package that has multiple packaging layers that hassle your unboxing experience is a letdown. The kind of ease and simplicity made available to consumers while buying the product from the shelf or an eCommerce platform is what they expect while unboxing, too.

Thus, your packaging must be innovative, attractive, and yet simple enough to hold the audience’s interest. And at the same time, it must be protective enough to sustain the eCommerce supply chain operations.

Packaging functionality
The 2021 mantra screams functionality. Consumers might forget the design aesthetics, but they always seem to remember the packaging functionality. Innovation is the pinnacle of creativity; it can turn even a basic container into something unique. I recently came across some beer cans that resemble frothy pint glasses. I was genuinely impressed by the idea. The concept of drinking the delicious frothy glass of beer and its mesmerising design immediately strikes consumers' attention.

It stood out among all the other cans. It was eye-catching, exceptional and downright clever! When the packaging integrates with the product’s function, it becomes an experience. This is what a buyer looks for in a product, and this is exactly what they should get. Packaging is a part of the product experience. So, let it sync!

Today, the selection of a particular product depends on the packaging appeal. Now, consumers have a clear packaging preference, and as the world moves into a customer-friendly phase, designers all across the world have adopted this trend. However, from a design perspective, it is not only the customers that one has to keep in mind, but also the brand. Your packaging design should portray what the brand is all about, its story and most of all, its emotion. With this, I altruistically bless that you may never have to undergo a frivolous unboxing experience, at least not like the one we did.