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Product packaging can serve many purposes – from protecting and preserving your products to positioning your brand and connecting with your customers. Whether you design your packaging for functionality and practicality or creativity and innovation, your choices around product packaging can be critical for your brand or business – 72% of American consumers say their purchasing decisions are heavily swayed by the packaging design of the products they buy (or don’t).
As with any area of design, product packaging is influenced by creative trends and technological advancements. While the last couple of years saw chic, sleek product packaging and minimalist designs trending, in 2024, product packaging is evolving to feature eye-catching colors and bold design elements while focusing on sustainability and eco-friendly packaging.
Whether you’re looking to design cutting-edge packaging for your products or want to get up to speed on the hottest new visual trends, we’re unwrapping the top product packaging trends for 2024 that will have you saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Ready to elevate your unboxing game? From high-contrast graphics to eco-friendly packaging, here are the top product packaging design trends for 2024.
- Bold Typography
- High-Contrast Graphics
- Strategic Color Variants
- Stylish Minimalism
- Bold Shapes and Colors
- Wrap-Around Designs
- Organic Earthy Packaging
- Complementary Illustrations
- Cheeky Retro
- Playful Patterns
- Sustainable Materials
- Strategic Texture
1. Bold Typography
Bold typography is taking center stage in product packaging this year – particularly across beauty products and skincare brands. A trend that is elegant and chic, bold, high-contrast type is perfect for making a statement or communicating a message using minimal design elements.
This collection of oils and seasonings is a great example of this design approach. Notice how the typography does all the talking while complementing the shape of the packaging. The seasonings, in particular, feature bold, clean type while leaving plenty of space for the products to shine.
Bold type can be communicative beyond branding, too. In the cosmetic bottles above, the bold numbering is not only for visual effect but implies that the cosmetics should be used in succession.
2. High-Contrast Graphics
High-contrast surface graphics are perfect for making an eye-catching statement with your packaging. From opposing graphics to bright, clashing, or complementary colors, contrast can make a bold visual impact. The packaging box above, for example, features a complementary color palette of bright blue and orange, creating a satisfying visual contrast.
The packaging design above is a great example. While the mailing box features a white lid with some hot-pink elements, the interior is saturated in the bright pink color, surprising, delighting, and engaging the customer. It also features a greeting in contrasting white text on the interior lid, creating a personalized and engaging user experience.
3. Strategic Color Variants
Color variants continue to be one of the more popular food packaging trends for 2024 – and for good reason. Color is an incredibly communicative design element, especially if you use it strategically. This chip packet design is a fun example of this. The visual consistency of the branding tells us that these chips are part of one family. However, the color variations clearly communicate various flavors – even without needing to say it explicitly.
This trend works best for product lines with multiple items, which is why it’s a popular option for food packaging. Still, other industries can play into this design trend, too – such as cosmetics, home cleaning lines, or any series of products.
4. Stylish Minimalism
Minimalism is one of those timeless packaging trends that always seems to be in style. And for good reason, too – well-done, minimalism can communicate an air of sophistication unlike any other. It creates a look and feel that goes hand in hand with prestige, beauty, cleanliness, and relaxation. Check out the cosmetics line above featuring a clean, airy, and chic minimalist design.
But minimalism isn’t necessarily exclusive to monochromatic designs or plain color palettes – the key here is to be generous with negative space. This technique is especially popular for beauty products, giving any product an understated, open quality that lends itself to luxury.
5. Bold Shapes and Colors
If you want your packaging to turn heads, bold shapes and colors are the way to go. Check out the fun and playful package design concept above – with its high-contrast colors and bold, playful typography, it’s sure to capture customers’ attention and stand out on store shelves.
Color can be incredibly communicative, meaning you can use it in more ways than just screaming in the loudest colors possible. It’s about using a bold, energetic approach to communicate what makes your brand or product unique.
Saturated, vibrant colors and geometric shapes are a trendy choice this year, especially for retro-inspired designs, and this bold approach can be an excellent way to catch a consumer’s eye. To decide on a shape, you must know how to measure a box to choose the right shape and style based on the dimensions of the product. However, you can also utilize this trend more subtly – like by adding a pop of color to a pastel design, as shown above.
6. Wrap-Around Design Elements
With product packaging, every face is carefully designed to come together to make a cohesive composition. However, design elements that wrap around more than one face are particularly trendy this year. It’s especially evident in food packaging trends for 2024 and will likely continue throughout the year.
What makes this approach work so well? The design flows almost fluidly across different surfaces, allowing for more visual engagement and interaction. For example, a can with larger wrap-around graphics will pique the consumer’s curiosity, encouraging them to pick the product up and turn it around.
Any elements that drive the eye to other parts of the design and extend your customer’s interaction with your product are likely to increase engagement and strengthen the customer’s connection to your brand.
7. Organic Earthy Packaging
We’ll continue to see rustic, earthy looks dominate product packaging in 2024. As organic design grows in demand, packaging designers are opting for more handmade, handcrafted styles to emanate a homemade charm.
Look at the package design for the honey line above, which has a quaint “farm feel” rather than a mass-produced vibe. This can be a powerful approach for organic, natural, or healthy products, as it helps visually capture those qualities – for example, organic or fragrance-free beauty products or foods with no artificial additives or colors.
Texture is a common quality highlighted in this packaging design trend. For example, neutral-colored materials, natural paper or cardboard textures, or recycled materials.
8. Complementary Illustrations
Hand-drawn elements have been one of the biggest design trends of the past few years, and plenty of brands and businesses are integrating illustrations into their product packaging designs. Including everything from minimalist illustration and line art to geometric and 3D design, illustrations can add a touch of personality and charm to your products.
This trend doesn’t necessarily mean illustrating all core elements – like your brand name or logo – but rather adding small illustrated elements to make your packaging pop. Like the products above, for example, which feature cute illustrations of plants, leaves, flowers, and fruit to add a splash of personality.
9. Cheeky Retro
The vintage and retro trend has continued to dominate design over the last few years – and it’s still alive and well in 2024. Nostalgia can be a powerful marketing tool – especially in relation to brands with a long history. You may have noticed several big food brands, like CocaCola take this approach recently – seeing some of our favorite products revert to their OG designs from 20 or 30 years ago.
This strategy allows brands to express themselves in an engaging, vibrant way while pulling on the heartstrings and memories of their customers. That’s not to say that new products can’t embrace a vintage or retro look, though – brands of all sizes can use retro type, retro color schemes, and even retro layouts to create fun and engaging product packaging.
10. Playful Patterns
Patterns can be a powerful tool for package design. From packaging backgrounds to logos and other key branding elements, patterns can add a fun, unique flair to your products.
The pattern trend is perfect for brands with a vibrant, playful aesthetic, often lending itself to bold, creative, and eye-catching products. However, this technique isn’t exclusive to bold and daring designs. Notice how the intricate patterns below create a soft, elegant aesthetic, complementing the simple product design.
11. Sustainable Materials
This trend is all about sustainability, reflecting the need and demand for eco-friendly packaging – but not at the detriment of beautiful design. Luckily, the sustainable packaging trend combines the best of both worlds. One might assume that recycled products would exclusively lean towards neutral colors and an earthy look, but this isn’t always the case. Many brands and businesses are now experimenting with recycled, paper, and textured materials, yielding some stunning and creative results.
This trend isn’t exclusive to quick-use packaging either – 2024 has the potential to pave the way for even more innovative, sustainable product designs. From reusable bags and recycled materials to eco-friendly inks, there are so many options for designers to explore.
12. Strategic Texture
Strategic use of texture is set to become a significant product packaging trend for 2024. Contrary to popular belief, texture is not exclusive to eco-centric branding or earthy, natural products – it’s also a popular style for luxury brands, using texture, embossing, and even foils to create an opulant tactile feel. The design below is an excellent example, creating an air of luxury with a soft, velvety texture versus something that might feel “cheap,” like a plain card stock. It’s a simple but timeless way to make your products ooze elegance.
As a rule of thumb, think about “the hand feel” in your packaging designs. Everything from how your packaging opens to where you place stickers can have a tactile influence on how the consumer interacts with and interprets your packaging.
And that does it for the top product packaging design trends for 2024! We hope you found some inspiration for your next project, and don’t forget to check out our blogs on the top Graphic Design Trends, Branding Trends, and Web Design Trends for more great tips!
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