Packaging Design Trends For 2024

With the holiday season upon us, we always get ready to look ahead to packaging design trends for the upcoming year. In this blog post, we’re showing you six packaging design trends we think will be big in 2024. Read on to get the full scoop!

Natural Materials

After the first full year of the plastic ban being in effect, we’re seeing an increase in the use of natural materials in packaging. The most obvious way to incorporate this trend is by using a brown kraft material! Our brown kraft provides an organic aesthetic (while also being completely recyclable!). Looking for other natural materials besides classic paper? We also offer alternative materials such as cornstarch, sugarcane, and even bamboo!

Incorporating this trend can also extend to the type of ink you use to print your packaging designs. Soy and water based inks are great natural alternatives to their traditional petroleum based counterparts! Check out our blog post on eco-friendly printing ink for more!

Utilitarian Design

Utilitarian design is all about function. This style prioritizes the usefulness of the design over aesthetics. Designs that use this style should be readable and useful, often achieved by focusing on text-heavy elements rather than illustrations. When using utilitarian design, understanding the importance of textual hierarchy will help ensure that the most important information is communicated to your customers.

Fluorescent Pops Of Colour

In 2024, we’re projecting a throwback to neon! Whether your packaging incorporates these vibrant hues in small ways or you choose to go all out, neon is sure to make a statement. Using highly saturated and bold colours in your packaging is an easy way to help your brand stand out on shelves.

If you’re planning to use this trend, beware when designing! Make sure that your designs are being made in CMYK rather than RGB. Since RGB is a colour mode more suited to digital applications, the vibrant colours you can achieve may not be translatable to physical and print applications! If you’ve already made a design in RGB, don’t worry! Our in-house graphic designer can help get your design as close to your original vision as possible!

Gradients

Back in 2021, we predicted colour mists as an up and coming packaging trend. This year, gradients are back but not just in colour mist form. We’re anticipating all kinds of gradients, from colour mists to full coverage! Gradients are an easy way to incorporate multiple colours in your packaging designs.

Playful

Add a touch of whimsy to your packaging by going playful! This style uses illustrations, cartoon styles, and playful fonts to create unique designs. Though this design trend can appeal to a variety of audiences, it doesn’t necessarily work for all kinds of businesses. For example, fun and innovative products may benefit from the use of playful packaging design to make them appear more approachable. On the other hand, businesses looking for their brand to have a more refined, luxurious aesthetic may not be as suited to this style.

Serif Fonts

When creating your packaging designs, choosing the right font can make or break the design. Serif fonts are traditional, and might seem boring but we’ve seen them take a more modern twist! By incorporating serif fonts in your designs, you can add a level of sophistication to your packaging.

Using this design trend is best for evoking tradition and simplicity in your packaging. Not sure how to choose a font for your packaging? Check out our blog post on how to choose a font for your brand!

How Can I Use These Packaging Design Trends?

One or more of these design trends caught your eye, but not sure how to incorporate them into your designs? Contact us to speak with one of our knowledgeable Business Development consultants and in-house Graphic Designer for a free consultation! Don’t need custom packaging but need help with design? Check out our Marketing Services for more!