7 Packaging Design Trends for 2022

 

The design world is constantly evolving and tries to keep up with the latest style and trends. We intend to offer you an overview of the year to come, trying to identify what could be the new style trends.

Let's explore the main trends in packaging design for 2022 together!

 

Minimalism has been a well-established trend over time and will undoubtedly be in vogue again this coming year. Simplicity always has charm, especially in our society, where everything is increasingly hectic and complex.

 

A clean and minimal design represents a safe approach; simplicity is never wrong. Leave room for your product and let your brand speak. You will see how an excellent minimal design will capture even more attention than a complex one. Just because it's "minimal" doesn't mean it's simplistic. The ultimate goal is to eliminate irrelevantly and include the essential parts in the design.

 

Don't underestimate the power of white space, but harness it to your heart's content in Adhesive Labels for your product. Design a white or white background with only one coloured detail (maybe your logo or the name of your product). The final result could surprise you. Take advantage of the processes at your disposal, such as debossing and screen-printed paint, to make your product unique and special while maintaining a minimalist style.

It's a packaging design trend with a sophisticated and contemporary touch. Playing with depth and illusion is a foolproof way to capture consumers' attention and fascinate them.

 

The search for 3D effects is a newborn trend, which is becoming more and more popular in the last few years because it offers infinite possibilities to designers. 2022 will show a mix of 2D and 3D: creative mashups between different 2D elements, such as paper clippings, to achieve a 3D effect.

 

In the world of labels, this search for three-dimensional can mainly translate into a superimposition of several papers to create a highly tactile three-dimensional effect.

 

When holding a packaging, the feeling someone feels is just as important as what they observe. The "touch" is a powerful element, capable of generating emotions in the consumer.

 

There is undoubtedly physical contact among the many things that the pandemic has taken away from us. In the post-Covid packaging world, this lack could translate into a search for communication with the packaging, thanks to unique textures and embossed effects. According to many experts in the sector, one of the effects of the social distancing due to the pandemic will be a renewed desire to touch the boxes in search of “gratifying” effects for the touch.

 

To obtain the different three-dimensional effects, the world of packaging has always used techniques such as hot foil, varnishing, embossing and screen printing. These printing and finishing technologies capable of creating tactile effects are increasingly accessible, opening a world of opportunities to packaging and brand designers. From the velvety effect of the Soft Touch to a "sandblasted" effect, each of them can give the packaging a precious, as well as tactile, appearance.

 

Vintage-inspired packaging is always of significant impact, and it would seem that the new year doesn't want to let go of this much-loved trend. Rediscover the quality and simplicity of the products and an exciting operation to capture the consumer's attention. Graphic styles that are retro, vintage, or generally recover the past trends never go out of fashion. The vintage aesthetic communicates authenticity from the layout to the selection of colours and even to the type of packaging itself.

 

Environmental impact has been a much-discussed topic for years now and could only be present among the packaging design trends for 2022. Communicating your brand through sustainable packaging has become increasingly of fundamental importance.

 

As far as packaging is concerned, this sensitivity towards eco-sustainability must, however, also be reflected aesthetically. The packaging challenge will be choosing materials and finishes that are sustainable, recyclable and with the lowest possible environmental impact to meet consumer expectations. More and more companies are moving towards highly technological materials designed to have a low impact on the environment. It is no longer enough to use recyclable materials, and it is necessary to broaden the reasoning and evaluate sustainable materials starting from their production.

 

Try to make packaging that uses as few composite materials as possible. Avoid using plastic windows for your boxes when the box is cardboard or using paper labels on plastic bottles, making the final product non-recyclable. Explain to the customer how your packaging is eco-sustainable and dispose of it properly. If we talk about graphics, on the other hand, eco-sustainability will result in the use of soft, natural colours reminiscent of those of the earth. Attention, however, to the press; the use of too much ink can frustrate efforts to produce sustainable packaging. As much as ink manufacturers do their utmost to obtain products with the most negligible impact possible, printing will still have an effect at the moment. Therefore try to limit the printing on your packaging to only some elements rather than to the entire surface of the package.

 

The key to sustainability lies in how these processes are used intelligently. This will be the big difference between something that looks “green” and a genuinely sustainable one.

 

With the advent of content marketing, storytelling has become an important marketing strategy used by many companies and brands to sell their products, exploiting the power of emotions. Indeed, this is where the term creative "storytelling" comes from. A packaging can turn out to be a fundamental storytelling tool. Through storytelling packaging design, a brand can tell and tell about itself, with images, texts, colours, illustrations and materials, arousing consumers' curiosity.

 

Telling a story through packaging has a lot of potential in terms of marketing because people like to hear stories. The story's purpose is to bring potential consumers to identify with the story; people participate in the story by making it their own. Several stories can be told, and it is essential to understand which one. For example, we can talk about the history of the brand, its birth and production tradition, rather than tell the product directly of its origin of the raw materials with which it is produced.

 

The narration tools can be divided into two broad categories: visual and verbal. Not all concepts can be expressed through language, and indeed often, communication is more effective if you use a type of visual language.

 

To harness the power of the written word, but without using storytelling, you could take advantage of "copywriting". Communicate your product message creatively, but also clearly and directly. Summarize the product in a sentence or a simple affirmation about it to present and tell the customer as if you were talking to them. I refer to those packaging where the text is the protagonist and whose graphics are composed only of text elements inserted with straightforward and readable fonts.

 

One of the constantly increasing packaging design trends is the personalization of packaging: personalized labels and boxes allow you to create a dedicated user experience, highly appreciated by the consumer, who feels the protagonist and, in a certain sense, connected with the brand.

 

But how is it possible to customize the labels of your products? The answer lies in variable data printing (also known as VDP). This printing method uses prepress software to modify the output of a digital press to customize each label, packaging or flexible packaging printed with unique information from a database. What is essential is to have a creative idea and a solid database.

 

This technology allows you to create limited edition labels with numbering, different barcodes, additional images, text or colours without creating an entirely new design every time. In short, it is a system capable of offering many opportunities.

 

 

What do you think of these trends in packaging design for 2022? Do you have a favourite tendency?

 Remember to stand out and be competitive in such a saturated market. It is necessary to always stay up to date and follow the trends of the moment.