Monthly Archives: May 2023

Why go Minimal with Packaging 

We’re starting to see minimalism, and minimal packaging taking the world by storm.

When you look at the different packaging trends that have been seen throughout the last few years, we’ve seen creativity, new orientations, and a push for technological advancements and materials.

Then of course, we need to look at simplicity and being minimal, as this is something that’s changed the way the product works, and offers some informative, unique looks to the packaging offered. 

The common factor of this is that they are minimal and simple. Simple is the primary principal that’s being used to create an impactful, while also being a memorable sort of packaging design.

Food for instance is starting to get the minimalist treatment, especially in our pastas.  These days, it’s simple, and one food brand is taking it in a way where there are only two major elements that are worth looking at. The first are the eggs in the lower right part of this, and the pasta that you can see through the windows that are placed near the center, large enough to make the products really shine, speaking for themselves. 

Then, let’s look at the soups. A lot of soups that are famous abroad are starting to take advantage of this.  the soup is right there in the center, showing off a beautiful soup that looks super tasty. The background of course uses an anonymous, gray undertone, and is something that really just showcases the soup. We don’t need anything else, and the packaging is right there, served to your own personal needs. 

Superfoods, such as Primal Joy, are also taking advantage of this. This is a protein granola, which has a simple two-color packaging with a bold black font for the product name and the company. It’s simple, but still offers a bold nature to these illustrations that are stylized and offer a transparent type of window. There’s no sort of artifice or anything hiding the product. What you get from this is what you’re going to get. 

There are some who are looking to offer a more radical and daring sort of minimalism.  There is a mint chocolate bar that consists of just having a bold and stylized leaf that sits in the center, and the sleeve tops and bottoms being a minty green color. This is super simple, but these elements are practically right there, looking at you.  The product itself sells by hinting that it doesn’t need the extra container and other additives. Even the typeface that’s used is very marginal, and it outlines the perimeter used in this wrapping, and it’s something that’s unique, and something that we really do love, especially through this example, and the unique tones of this. 

Finally, let’s also look at other products too.  There are tea bags that are actually looking to go minimal and spend less time highlighting something extravagant. Gable bag boxes are the way to go with this, and the way that it’s sold is the colors. They’re bright, adding a pop art flare to them, and without any graphics, a very minimalistic logo, and even typography that doesn’t really try to be too extra, it’s one that shows both the essentialness of this, while also offering \a balance that’s stylistic. 

It’s unique, and with a lot of different products, you can go minimal with the packaging without being super bland and boring. These are but a few of the many examples that are out there and offer a unique sort of spin on the packaging that’s out there providing you with a fun, unique means to really highlight the products that you offer. 

What to Know about Cardboard Packaging 

If you’re someone who is familiar with cardboard, you’re probably wondering a few things about it. Here are some unique tidbits you might not know about when you’re considering cardboard packaging.

It was an Accident to make 

This was something that was discovered back in 1879, when an employee started to notice that the printing rule was far too great, and he ended up cutting thousands of seed bags rather than folding them. 

Instead of throwing these away to stop the production, the owner, a man named Robert Gair, realized that by changing the blade height, he was able to achieve a result that was far different.

After that, he realized that cutting and folding the cardboard created a box that was prefabricated. 

Before this point, making a box required some money and time, and the primary reason for this was to craft some luxury products. Because of Fait, these boxes were produced in series, and thereby made them cheaper.

He then patented during the same year the machine that manufactured boxes that were foldable.  He moved the headquarters over to Dumbo, created a method to serialize the production of this, and then, provided these containers to Nabisco and Kellogg for them to use commercially. 

Cardboard Boxes are Inside Out 

This was something else that was discovered. In a recent TikTok viral video, it showed how the current cereal box is sealed easily, and quickly too. In 1950, Kellogg’s was one of the first companies to eliminate the use of wooden boxes, and they moved to a far more convenient and way cheaper cardboard box to distribute on a larger scale. 

Cardboard Packaging Creates Emotions and expectations 

Almost everyone does agree that the tearing and the unwrapping of boxes is exciting. One of the most popular things is unboxing. Why is that? Well, since they’re much bigger and take a bit to open, these boxes create expectation and interest. 

This idea that’s further decided by promotion along with advertisement, oftentimes cardboard lets you print out some logos, designs that are attractive, and various product information without a ton of effort. For buyers, packaging that’s designed well protects the items, and from there, allows you to determine both the success, and the reputation that the brand offers. 

Cardboard is Creative 

For children, cardboard is very creative, as they can make spaceships, race cards, even submarines in this. some studies have discovered that children are able to create and communicate better through the use of these boxes.

Manipulating these materials refines the senses on a physical level, further raises questions, and offers them a chance to think in creative, more innovative ways. Building different toys in cardboard and wood also increases the awareness a person has for themselves, and the objects that popular this spatial dimension around where you are, so it’s good for them to learn spatial awareness through this. 

Cardboard is Art 

There is actually a museum that actually does trace the history of cardboard, and it showcases the history of cardboard that’s there. It’s something that showcases the boxes that were used in order to transport silkworm and moth eggs, and also illustrates the more modern usages of cardboard as well. This is something that’s located in France, which might be cool if you’re dropping into the area and need something to do in between seeing the Mona Lisa and everything else that’s there.

A lot of packaging benefits from cardboard, and here, we went over some of the cool aspects of cardboard, and why it’s a great product to use as well. ‘

How Packaging Companies are rewarding Designers 

Packaging research and design. With graphics and packaging style being a large subject of debate and study, there are some companies that are taking it a different way. Brisa, which is a bakery in bologna, has created an incentive for packaging design of the different products that they offer. 

Die cut templates can be downloaded, and every designer, creative, and artist can choose formats, apply the different graphics that they feel are appropriate, and from there, win over 25 packs of the goods that they sell, and this is a box that they’ve been allowed to design too! 

Pizza and bread are two of the major items that this offers to their customers.  That’s because Brisa is made primarily from wheat that’s grown in the area called Abruzzo.  Right now though, they’re looking to expand to new ventures, such as coffee, chocolates, and other products. They also offer Colombia and panettone too for people to purchase. 

Examples of This 

There are other companies as well besides Brisa that are taking advantage of this.

Starbucks is one of them. The coffee giant encouraged people to draw their type of choice on their paper liners, and it can be printed as a limited edition incentive. With over 4000 drawings there was an involvement that was unprecedented as well.

Ikea is another one. This one asked creators to design characters or animals based off their own decision and invention. They wanted to take these creations and make them into exclusive toys that they sell. The participation was huge, and the sales far exceeded the expectations that they have.

Garofalo is another one as well. He actually highlighted and changed the cooking time on the packages based on user feedback. While it didn’t involve drawing, this offered a better type of experience for the users, and changed the way that the company regarded this packaging. 

Customer Centered Packaging 

One of the things that this does is that it offers packaging that’s customer focused.

This is a great idea for a variety of reasons. First, it shows that feedback is integral to brand success. It also encourages people to engage in what’s called crowdsourcing. This is more democratic and is better for packaging experience.

It also confirms the graphic refresh, and the importance of such. Even if it’s seasonal, or not seasonal, there are a lot of benefits to refreshing these graphics too.

It’s also based on what’s called prototyping. Even with smaller runs, it offers a user testing that happens in real time whenever you need to use this.

Finally, it can strengthen that relationship that brands and people have, allowing for designers that are new to try new things. This can offer a unique test and allow them to put their creativity to the table. For new designers, doing this can offer a unique means for you to get the most that you can out of your packaging experience.

There are a lot of benefits to creating a competition for packaging.  This can offer a new outlet for users, different formats, and also offers a unique change to the same old corrugated and classic cardboard packaging. If you think your packaging needs refreshment, this is a good way for you to take this to a new, immersive level. You can try out new variants, and you can get packaging companies to send you the copies of this, especially if it’s within that timeframe that they offer.

Then, in real time, you can test out this packaging, and see if it’s right for you. 

Lifestyle Brands and Their Packaging 

Lifestyle brands are starting to look at their packaging, and many have started to make changes to influence their packaging and consumers.

You might not notice this right away, but these brands do embody the positions and values of different groups of people. Through this, they boost audience loyalty and also are able to leverage their sales to improve them. It brings a sense of belonging to the users that are here too.

There are different brands with a ton of influence that goes beyond just functioning, so it’s not just the product, but the identification of the values that this has with your brand.  It also is good for focusing on how brands will promise and from there, improve the world around them too. 

Examples of this 

This type of sector is usually affected by food and other sectors related to that.

With more and more consumers interested in being healthy, food comes like this, and the diets come based on both ecological and ideological choices that were there.

One example of this is the “made in Italy” brand which does echo a call of being genuine, offering a quality taste, and also being really good for you too. 

A lot of people like this too because it’s a product that praises itself for being light, and free from lactose, glucose, and other nasty components that people attempt to avoid as much as they can. 

It is something that’s grown a lot too, with more and more people choosing the vegan, veggie, and the vegetarian brands of these foods, and it’s increased their sales by over 5% in a lot of cases.

This is something that’s a manifesto for a lot of people and is a true mission for many people that are there in a variety of different ways. 

Food origin labels are slowing down in growth though. The plus sign is actually one that is still being used, and it is still popular on certain brands of food. 

There is also an increasing need for clarification of different environmental factors on some of these products. This has caused a growth in the turnover rate, as more and more people are looking for foods that are tasty, but also are healthy for you.

Not to mention, another interesting sector that’s grown is non-GMO foods. This is one that’s on the rise, with more and more people looking for these varieties of foods. 

This is something that a lot are looking for, as with the additions of different toxic chemicals in our foods now, a lot are becoming more aware of this. through choosing these healthier foods and other brands, it allows you to get the best types of food that you can, and also tells you about the different health-conscious choices that you can make.

This isn’t just for vegetarians and vegans either. A lot of people are choosing foods that are labeled as healthier, whether for health and wellness issues, to help with weight loss, or even just to have a healthier outlook on life.

Lifestyle brands need to start looking at this type of packaging for their products, and this is important, because you can make different prototypes as well with the pertinent information and different characteristics, print this out to others, and get it to people all throughout the world. Even with limited runs or small groups of people buying this, it’s imperative to look at this. consider this when you manage lifestyle brands, and also make it so that you can print, and from there build the brand too.