Best Package Design of 2021

Honesty

Ninety-four percent of consumers are more willing to commit to a product and brand if that brand commits to full transparency. That means that consumers want to see brands talking about their products, and showing their products, as honestly as possible.

Honesty is the best policy, of course. And consumers aren’t as dumb as you might think. Honesty matters. Transparency matters. Therefore, your packaging needs to be transparent and honest. You can’t claim your product does something it just doesn’t do.

Brink Free Range Chicken strived to do just that. This food packaging design is authentic and honest. It is simple, colorful and full of all the information consumers need to understand what this product is, where it came from and how they can use it. Considering consumers are much more conscious about what they’re putting in their bodies these days, it is important that brands lay out all the facts up front which is exactly what this packaging design does.

Authenticity

When it comes to content, 84 percent of consumers say that authenticity is vital if they intend on following through with a purchase. They want brands to be true to themselves and their product. They’re not here to be fooled.

When it comes to packaging design, consumers want to know all the facts and want these designs to be in line with the brand as a whole. As we’ve said, consumers are far smarter than some people give them credit for. They want you as a brand to know your brand identity, stick with it and provide them with the products you’ve always provided them with.

The packaging designers behind Jose Cuervo 222 -- a limited edition tequila -- sure kept the history of Jose Cuervo in mind through the design process, ending up with this lovely package design. Embracing the history of Jose Cuervo and tequila itself, the designers used images that relate to the company’s past. They used influences like music and culture to make a design that grabs attention and stays in your mind.

Shelf Impact

Thirty-six percent of the global cosmetic market is made up of skincare products. Between now and 2019, the market is expected to grow by $20.1 billion. That means that skincare brands need to have a package design that sells — a package design with a lot of shelf impact.

A product is never truly seen on its own — not when it’s up on a shelf next to dozens of competitor brands. It is always looked at compared to something else. This happens with food packaging like it does with cosmetics. When you go into a store, you see dozens of brands until one stands out.

Few design concepts are as effective as those at Glossier. This simple, youthful and modern packaging is instantly eye-catching and gives you a sense of happiness and tranquility. The clean and soft nature of this packaging promotes health, beauty and happiness — exactly what you want from a cosmetic brand.

Scalability

Most brands start out with one concept. One product. This is their bread and butter. Then slowly, they cultivate their audience, grow their brand, and expand their offerings. Brands don’t start out offering the moon and stars until they’ve perfected how they can sell a spaceship.

This means, from a design perspective, that your design needs to be versatile and adaptable. Just because you sell milk doesn’t mean your design should be in the shape of a cow. What if you then want to start selling coffee or dairy alternatives? A cow just won’t work. That’s why extensibility is key to design. There needs to be a fluidity and flow to your design.

The designer behind Clutch Bodyshop packaging knew they had an extensive product line that required a design concept that was adaptable. Using bold and eye-catching typography, minimal text, and bold black and white colors, this company created a design concept that could fit on a bottle as easily as it could in a pouch.

CS Light Bulbs

It’s always good to think outside the box and make a statement with your design — even it doesn’t make the most sense the first time it comes up in a brainstorm. As long as all of the design elements fit, you really can make the most of anything.

Do you call them fireflies or lightning bugs? Either way, these little critters were the design inspiration behind this light bulb packaging for CS Light Bulbs. Looking back on old textbooks, the designers here wanted to have some fun and use some pretty out-of-the-box comparisons to create a packaging design that was stunning, sleek and sophisticated. Using clean lines, bold typography and matte coloring, this design was created with creativity in mind.

SAIKAI Cookies

Shapes, like colors, can strike an emotional chord. Squares give off a feeling of reliability and strength. Circles represent harmony and balance. Triangles represent power and direction. And hexagons and pentagons give off an air of modernity and uniqueness.

Shape plays a huge role in package design. Circumvent the traditional by playing with shapes, textures and styles to give consumers a tangible experience that will stay with them long after they’ve dropped your product into their cart.

This SAIKAI Cookies packaging design plays with shapes in a cool and crafty way. This hexagonal cookie box unfolds in such a way that it’s hard not to play around with. But it’s not just the engaging and interactive shape that makes this design stand out. Bold colors, soft lines, and an overall balance of modernity and simplicity make this cookie box one you want to put on display — after you’ve eaten all the cookies, of course.

NYC Spaghetti

When it comes to driving business goals and initiatives, 82 percent of companies believe that creativity is a strong factor in success. Thinking outside of the box and striving for more creativity is vital for trackable results.

Make the most out of your design by designing it with other popular shapes, concepts and ideas in mind. Consumers love to feel a sense of familiarity when they look at a product, and this nostalgia and awareness can be the deciding factor on whether they pick up your product or pass it up.

This design for NYC Spaghetti does just that. On the cover, you have a bright and vivid photograph of the spaghetti product — but spaghetti is spaghetti, right? Yes, except for when it’s in the shape of the Empire State Building. This simple, yet effective design makes this spaghetti into a 3D model of the iconic building, immediately grabbing your attention and focusing all of your energy on how exactly the package designers behind this packaging did it.

Good Hair Day Pasta

When it comes to branding and promoting your product, you need to know what your audience wants. You need to know how they interact with your product, and that of the competition. You need to know how they tick, who they are, and how they operate.

Know your audience. That is key to good branding and brand identity and good package design. You have to know who you’re appealing to in order to create a design that has the most impact and encourages them to make a purchase.

This design for Good Hair Day Pasta does just that. Appealing to a youthful, female audience, this packaging incorporates simple and clean design elements, along with a little creative flair to make a statement. The image of a woman is illustrated on the front of this design, only in place of her hair you have pasta. Yes, pasta makes up the hair in this design and itself. It’s funny. It’s intuitive. It’s ingenious. If you weren’t hungry for pasta before, you are now.

Pastel Colors

Research shows that color has a major effect on mood, perception and consumer behavior. All colors can make you feel an emotion, which is why you’ll notice most social media brands use the color blue. Similarly, if you want to make your audience feel a certain way, you have to be careful about colors. One type of color that increases a sense of calmness and comfortability are pastels.

Pastels are a light and airy way to add some femininity to your design. These colors are simple, elegant and refined — styles that are on the rise this year. This soft and engaging palette of colors opens up your design and gives it space and sophistication.

Luz Victoria is a brand of tea that rocks the pastel color trend in its bottle label designs. Using these subtle colors, minimal and elegant copy and soft illustrations, these tea bottles embody serenity and peace. These designs gently ease us into the experience we are about to have with the product, giving us time to savor every moment.

Vintage Package Design: Mutti

Vintage design is powerful — because, as they say, those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Vintage designs pull from all the elements that have worked from the past and give them a major facelift for the present.

Everyone loves a good throwback, which is why vintage design trends are so effective. They show history, dedication and a commitment to their products and customers. Vintage designs are fun, exciting and bold. They grab attention and instill a level of satisfaction and nostalgia within audiences.

Mutti is a tomato sauce that is taking a page out of the history books in terms of its design. Utilizing bright bold reds, sharp golds and vintage layouts, this design is on trend in 2018. The vintage nature of this design makes you trust this brand and its product as it looks like it comes from a long history of worthwhile tomato sauces. It’s stunning, chic and hard to resist.

Black & White Package Design

According to color psychology, the color black makes people feel a sense of power, elegance, mystery and formality. The color white, on the other hands, gives off an air of purity, innocence and integrity.

Black and white designs are sleek, sophisticated and strong. They often incorporate elaborate illustrations and intricate designs. And the stark contrast between the two powerful colors makes a tangible impact. Black and white designs often pave the way for bold typography and noteworthy patterns that immediately pull you in.

One package design that plays with black and white beautifully is Sade Schnapps. This liquor beautifully weaves earth-inspired illustrations into its labels and overall packaging to create stunning works of art. It’s exciting. It’s raw. It’s engaging. Using only two colors, this design stands out against its competition effortlessly.

Eco-Friendly Package Design

Forty percent of consumers want eco-friendly and green packaging, with 31 percent saying they’d choose a brand based on sustainable packaging. And 51 percent of U.S. consumers say that packaging waste is a major environmental issue they want to be solved.

With scandal after scandal about environmental mishaps coming to light every day, eco-friendliness has become an increasingly popular trend. People want products that are sustainable and healthy for the environment. And they’re willing to choose brands based on these green values alone.

Stor is a clothing brand that is putting the environment first with its packaging. Using versatile and recyclable materials, the Stor packaging is eco-friendly and healthy for the earth. The packaging is light, airy and simple, and it’s working wonders.

Exciting Package Redesign: Sabra

“Great design plays a critical role in communication and begins a conversation between brand and consumer, offering a glimpse at the product and brand promise.” — Sabra CMO Eugenio Perrier

Design has a way of opening up a dialogue between brands and consumers. You want packaging that starts a conversation, gets people and engaged and gets the cogs in the machine turning. You need constant collaboration, teamwork and dedication. Package design is the first things consumers will see when it comes to your product, so you need it to pack a punch.

That’s why Sabra decided to update their old packaging. Sabra had grown in popularity in recent years as a fun and healthy snack, but their old design was slowly falling out of date. Their new packaging included a more modern logo and vivid photography to instantly grab attention and promote themselves as leaders in the snack world. And the redesign worked. Their modern and exciting new look is certainly making waves in a positive way.

Modern Package Redesign: CoverGirl

Seventy-seven percent of leading marketers say that good, positive and widespread brand identity is vital to growth. That means that your brand needs to stand out and make a statement — and it needs to stick with it.

Just because you’ve got yourself a successful brand that has stood the test of time doesn’t mean you can’t change things up from time to time. Politics change, agendas change and what consumers want can rapidly change too. Sometimes, that means changing your image for the better — even if it might be daunting at first.

CoverGirl is a brand most people recognize instantly. But recently, they’ve undergone a complete rebranding to promote inclusivity, diversity and body positivity. This shift in stance was reflected in its packaging, which went minimalistic. In place of the bright, iconic designs of the past are clean, simple elegant product packaging designs that make their statement loud and clear.

Bold Package Redesign: Domino’s

A signature color increases brand recognition by 80 percent. It leaves a lasting impression in consumers’ minds and helps them to better recognize your brand. Not only that, but it helps them to form a positive and trustworthy impression as well.

When it comes to package design, you’ve got to be bold. You have to make an impact and leave a lasting impression. Especially when you’re a product in a highly competitive market, where there isn’t much distinguishing you from the competition, you need to incorporate design elements that pop.

Recently, Domino’s changed their pizza box packaging design to do just that — make a statement. Knowing that 96 percent of their audience bought pizza in pairs, the brand created a packaging concept that would highlight the dual purchases. From this, they created bold and colorful pizza boxes in the same style as their logo design — yes they made a blue and red domino pizza box to house these pizza pairs. Simple text, bold colors and plenty of space make up this design that you don’t want to miss.

Fresh Package Redesign: Man Cave

Social listening is a growing marketing trend, with more marketers turning to social media to gain feedback from consumers to make better products, encourage more organic interactions and to increase brand awareness.

You need to listen to your audience. You need to be constantly checking in, getting feedback and making changes based on their thoughts and opinions. You, of course, want to stay true to your brand but not at the risk of alienating your audience.

Man Cave Craft Eats is a meat purveyor in the business of getting people the meat products they deserve. Their redesign incorporates more engaging product photography, fun and exciting illustrations and creative typography to put their products first and let people know from first glance what their brand is all about. Soft-touch finishes and silver foil also make this a stand-out design that sets it apart from the competition.