We made it! Most of us in North America have bonded over a long, cold as hell, winter (welcome to our world Cancun – even the entire Yucatan peninsula was subjected to an “enormous arctic air mass” this January). At Fish, we are beyond ready for Spring.
So, welcome to High Five! Our new quarterly series highlighting the top 5 design trends in packaging that we think deserve a high five for being great.
1. Revival of Rustic – The AI Resistance
Why it’s great: You can only read so many articles about AI. Our hearts still want to beat for something real! We long for a romantic story about a product made with real ingredients, in the quaint kitchen of a small company. We’re drawn to things that can make us feel good about the world again. The Rustic trend was a big one in the millennial brand era, when we all cared about authenticity and humble beginnings. We celebrated a rags to riches success story. Today it’s experiencing a resurrection, seemingly from the brink of extinction, as a response to deepfake-fatigue AI-generated slop. Another layer to this aesthetic could be the revival of country music in younger generations or a 180° counter-culture response to the hyper vibrant, Gen Z aesthetic.
2. Luxury Nostalgia
Why it’s great: To quote Ilon Specht, the amazing woman behind Revlon’s iconic tagline, “Because you’re worth it!” It’s hard to ignore that affordability remains a pressing topic on everyone’s minds. But if we are going to pry dollars out of our tightly clutched purse strings, a brand must convince us it’s worth it. Especially in this economy, when we’re constantly finding creative ways to treat ourselves at a lower price tag. Cue the renaissance of entertaining at home, where spending a couple of extra bucks on something lovely (and little) to enrich a casual social gathering suddenly makes total sense. Humans crave experiences. Discovering something new at the grocery store to bring or serve among friends, delivers the joy of experimentation and an easy path to conversation. We’d bet that despite the trepidation of the economy, we’ll continue to see more premium materials like foil accents and soft touch substrates, embossing and assurances of ultra specific ingredients to deliver on those “little treat” moments.
3. Character-Led Packaging
Why it’s great: Shamelessly, we love the power of a character (or mascot). The personality that a character carries takes so much weight off the supporting design system of a brand. Characters are memorable, personable, and relatable. They shape how someone feels about buying a product and create brand affinity quickly. Putting our obvious bias for mascot-appreciation aside, we are loving that illustration and personality are having a moment. Why does it work right now? Think about it this way: what stops you mid-feed while aimlessly scrolling? Other than something completely shocking, it’s likely a post by someone or something who caught your eye, or you that want to hear more from. We’re constantly making rapid judgements based on tone, personality and frankly, vibes. These are the same social cues character-led packaging use to communicate with us every time we pass them in the grocery aisle.
4. Format Flips
Why it’s great: Some of you are no doubt familiar with the paradoxical ‘creative control’ you’re afforded while working on a package design project. 99.9999999% of the time, the structure is predetermined. You may get to influence a dieline – or exact a small tweak to a perf or a fold – but generally the design influence impacts the graphic design, substrate, and if you’re lucky, digital extension. So, imagine the excitement we felt when we first saw Liquid Death, water in a… pop can. It’s the same feeling you might have had when you first laid eyes on Graza’s Olive Oil, housed in a squeezy condiment bottle. You think: ‘What! Wait. Why?’ Before eventually landing on the better question: why not? These alt structures can make so much practical sense for sustainability or function. They are also carving out their own brand experience by balking convention. They act as total category contrarians, and we are here for it. Format flips are not for the faint of marketing heart, but a fantastic way to support an irreverent brand position.
5: Silver, Not Gold
Why it’s great: The wave of silver in packaging is a refreshing shift from the traditional use of gold foil, fleck and metallic(ish) ink to signal “this product is premium.” Gold has always meant first place. The pinnacle of precious metals. Revered for thousands of years as rare, beautiful and durable. It may be a bull in your investment portfolio, but it’s a trend bear in packaging. Silver is everywhere – and it’s on its way up. It’s really fascinating to consider how silver can be used to support a diverse range of brand and product narratives. It can be classically fancy, like silverware and pewter. Or conversely, it can connote high tech or ultra efficacious when opalescent. Silver can reflect sci-fi when it’s holographic, or cosmic and dreamy when it glitters. This flexibility of what this runner-up metal represents to shoppers has made for some beautiful and diverse projects – spanning from niche to the mainstream. Choose your silver wisely! We’re betting this shiny trend won’t last.
Thanks for reading!
If you have any builds, critique or trends you think we should check out before our summer edition of High Five, let us know.