Pentawards has released a report identifying the key trends that could influence packaging design in 2022, with topics ranging from eCommerce to storytelling to sustainability to social justice. The report draws on insights from patterns and trends observed across the 2021 entries to the Pentawards. Released in December 2021, the report shows how design can not only help solve crucial issues both in business and for the planet as a whole, but how it can also transform categories, reach new audiences, and bring delight and fun to people’s lives at a time of global uncertainty.
Founded in 2007, Pentawards is the leading global platform and community for packaging design. There were more than 2,000 packaging design projects from 60 countries were submitted in 2021, of which 17% won a trophy. The submitted projects were judged by a panel of 45 jurors from over 20 countries.
Adding delight and novelty to consumers’ daily lives
Two of the key trends in the report ‘Surprising takes on traditional packs’ and ‘Color as the key visual’ suggest how brands are taking unexpected takes on traditional approaches of packaging that bring a newfound sense of delight and novelty to consumers’ daily lives.
A trend for bold color being used as the key visual on packaging is increasingly adopted by brands. Color is crucial in packaging design and it can have a strong influence on consumer psychology. Some of this year’s entries pushed this to new levels – from using unprecedented amounts of color to highlight flavor and taste, to disrupting the category by helping the product stand out from competitors.
“The language of color is vitality important in packaging – both the psychology and messaging behind a particular color can tell you hundreds of things about the product and the brand in one go,” Laurie Pressman, vice president, The Pantone Color Institute.
Sustainability made obvious
Another major trend highlighted in the report is sustainability; however, with a special focus on making sustainability as obvious and transparent as possible through packaging design. As communicating sustainable credentials becomes ever more essential, people will continue to see these stories told on packaging in increasingly transparent and obvious ways. This approach tells the consumer in no uncertain terms that a particular product is a right choice for a sustainable future.
Optimizing packaging for e-commerce
The report highlights optimization of packaging for eCommerce as a key design trend, corresponding with consumer behavior trends that saw a spike in online shopping as shops closed during lockdowns.
The report acknowledges that the reliance on online shopping has forced many businesses to rely on their e-commerce platforms to bring in revenue and keep their brand afloat, with social media channels like Instagram becoming the new shopfronts. The report points out three key things to consider with e-commerce packaging – one, that it looks good online, two, that it can be easily delivered to a person’s home without getting damaged, and three, the sustainability impact of the additional packaging that would normally not exist if purchasing in store.
“In a world where e-commerce has been rising like crazy, I believe that your packaging needs to be the entry point to your brand storytelling,” says Camille de Dominicis, co-founder and brand director, Eminente by Moët Hennessy.
Packaging as a canvas and transformative storytelling
An extension of the packaging as a canvas and transformative storytelling are highlighted by the report as key trends. A number of brands are using graphics that travel across packs to create larger composite visuals when placed side by side. While this has been a technique designers have used in the past, it now seems to be reaching a new level of popularity. “Using illustrations is one of the best ways to communicate an emotion. It becomes even more impactful when a brand uses more than one side of the packaging to develop a storyline,” says Jane Struk, art director, Depot branding agency.
As an extension of the packaging as a canvas trend, some brands also seem to be using wrap-around illustrations to extend such designs, with the visual traveling across packs to create larger composite visuals when placed side by side to create a full image. While this has been a technique designers have used in the past, it now seems to be reaching a new level of popularity.
Another extension, brands seek to use packaging to transform a product into a rich and engaging story as new and novel ways to delight and engage consumers beyond the charm of the product itself.
“Seeing collaboration within the creative community between brands and artists is fantastic. It’s driving more cultural relevance and is a sign that brands are putting culture at the heart of their designs,” says Steve Honour, design and visual identity leader, innovation, Europe and Asia, Diageo.
Communicating societal issues
The remaining trends explore using packaging design as an outlet for communicating societal issues and cultural events, or becoming a symbol of a movement. “Packaging design can be a useful communication tool to highlight a brand’s values, and this creative style can really help a brand make a statement,” says John Glasgow, executive creative director and co-founder, Vault49.
Brands increasingly seem to use packaging not only to show their solidarity with issues such as mental health but to inspire actual change by turning packaging into a platform where people can be signposted to the support they need or become more involved in helping others who need it.
“Consumers come in varying forms, so recognizing the variety of people across the world is extremely important. Packaging design has that unique ability to help brands reach all types of people, simply by them being included in the creative conception of the packaging,” says Paco Adin, creative director, Supperstudio.
To download the whole report, please visit: https://pentawards.com/live/en/page/pentawards-trends-report-2021
