We’ve discussed a lot about packaging trends, various mistakes to avoid and the importance of biodegradable materials in our previous blog posts.
So, now it’s time to show you some of our top packaging designs that we feel meet the criteria of “great packaging!”
We gathered some of our favourite posts from September and shortlisted them to 5! Let’s see what we’ve got!
Agua Bendita Mezcal Designs
First up, we’ve got these beautiful designs by the Mexican Studio, Futura.
Futura created this bold, and visually appealing packaging for Agua Bendita, a local mezcal brand.
“This mezcal is dedicated to those who defy traditional norms. Thus, positioning themselves as a brand without rules for all adventurous souls.” – Agua Bendita
Futura was able to illustrate the values of this brand by representing it with a metaphorical and playful feel.
This is based on the symbolisms of the Mexican religious narrative, to open a way to experimentation and celebration. In turn, “blessed are those who defy common and current norms!”
We personally adore this design because it speaks authenticity to the customer and represents the brand in its true from.
The use of bright colours and geometric shapes are very detailed, making it a very unique design.
Moreover, the use of all-caps serif font with tight spacing between the letters and lines is an excellent typography choice!
In addition to the typography, we can also see the use gold foil finishing – a great way accentuate the product’s features. Together, they both help to bring the artisanal mezcal to life!
Rare Beauty Cosmetics
Rare Beauty, founded by Selena Gomez is another example of great packaging as it successfully celebrates the idea of an individuals’ unique beauty!
Generally speaking, the cosmetic line itself is simple and humble. This way, it fits into each individual person’s world, rather than imposing its own style onto the user.
Keeping this in mind, Established NYC was tasked to create Rare Beauty’s new packaging designs.
By working closely with Selena and her team, Established was able to create a distinct, sophisticated and fun packaging design.
It’s able to reflect the high quality of the formulas themselves, as well as the personality of Selena too!
The line is built from simple, geometric shapes in a neutral, but feminine matte peach with accents of classic gold.
The typography is a combination of a classic editorial serif with a custom-designed script font by Established to reflect a personal hand note from Selena, as well as connecting to each of the users personally.
The simplicity of the design really resonated with us and it’s a great example where we can see geometric shapes in use!
Lately, geometric shapes have been a top design trend in the industry because they help to bring structure and cleanliness to a package.
Now you would think that by using geometric shapes, you’d have to show big 2D shapes all over your package, but luckily that’s not the case!
By adopting smaller geometric shapes, you can still successfully achieve an elegant, minimalistic and clean design!
Monday’s Child
Monday’s Child is a a British e-commerce brand that sells handmade, luxurious children’s dresses. These dresses are delivered to your door in bespoke mailer boxes, made from recycled cardboard.
As a matter of fact, the designs for the all their boxes are created to represent a doll’s house! How cool is that!?
Every box comes with a painting on top, to indicate the places where you need to cut windows and doors.
Once you cut out the windows and doors, you can use the box as a toy. It’s so simple and really it’s upcycling at its best!
This is a personal favourite of ours because it is such a creative way of repurposing packaging materials!
Although mailer boxes are 100% recyclable, when businesses opt to add finishings it can impact the box’s recyclability. This includes glossy/matte lamination, gold/silver foil or any additional varnishing.
However, by taking the initiative to invest in custom designs such as a doll house or by incorporating pre-cut die-lines, it’s a great effort to show you’e a sustainable brand.
Moreover, it adds to the overall user experience because it encourages hours of imaginative play. In turn, this packaging is not only sustainable, but it also encourages brand loyalty!
Currently, Monday’s Child has 4 different sizes of doll houses that customers can choose from ,along with its limited edition Christmas boxes.
Seedlip’s Latest Gift Set
Seedlip is an American company which makes non-alcoholic spirits and cocktails. It revolves around the use of nature, both in the botanicals used in its offerings, and visually with the exquisite illustrations that adorn the distiller’s labels and branding.
Consequently, it’s not surprising that the company would opt to use mushroom packaging for its latest gift set!
Nonetheless, we’re so impressed by the way the distiller chose to execute the material to represent its brand!
The gift set’s mycelium-based material in use, is from The Magical Mushroom Company.
It’s lightweight and compostable, so it will break down in your compost bin, in as little as 40 days.
In addition to the fungi squeezed into the packaging, the gift set also comes with a highball glass made from 100% recyclable glass, while the tags come from seeded paper.
Even better, you can plant the thyme paper in the biodegradable packaging-turned-planter and, voila, you’ve got some fresh herbs!
Generally speaking, mycelium-based packaging requires fewer resources to produce and adds nutrients to the soil, going beyond biodegradable to bio-contributing.
Currently, multinational companies such as Dell and Ikea already use this type of material for their own products.
However, this is by far one the best applications of mycelium from a design perspective!
The use of colours and artwork goes so well with the natural colour of mycelium, that the company is able to achieve sophistication with minimal design required.
Moreover, the resulting product has properties similar to Styrofoam, so it’s very protective and can be easily molded to create custom packaging inserts as well!
Interested in finding out more? Be sure to check out our blog post on other popular alternative packaging materials!
Limited Edition Hocus Pocus Canned Wines
Last but not least, we stumbled upon these limited edition Hocus Pocus canned wines and we’re so obsessed!
Eliqs Beverages & Design Shop partnered with wine-maker Besa mi Vino to brew up two varieties of Sanderson sisters-approved wine.
The cans come in a rosé and white wine, and both feature custom designs of the wicked trio!
The rosé wine pack comes in spooky-red cans with the faces of the sisters on them.
For each sister, a different dialogue from the film, is cleverly incorporated with the wine. For example. Winifred’s can says “I put a spell on you and now you’re wine.“
Similarly, the white wine’s packaging is available in midnight blue, with the silhouettes of the Sanderson Sisters in front of a full moon and also read, “I put a spell on you, and now you’re wine!”
In this example, Besa mi Vino does an excellent job of using a limited edition marketing strategy.
This strategy carries that there’s a sense of immediacy and exclusivity, as the products would only be available for a short time and/or in limited numbers. Thus, creating a limited edition product can give your product prestige.
Likewise, the same strategy can be used for seasonal packaging!
By using the Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus, Besa mi Vino has definitely gained a lot of publicity as the movie has a fan following from the past 30 years and is a classic Halloween favourite!
With that being said, it’s excellent from a marketing perspective!
In terms of design, the colours and typography in use are very fun and bold, so they’re bound to catch the eyes of any one passing by!.
Feeling Inspired?
Now that you know some of the best packaging examples, all that’s left is for you to think about how you can incorporate similar styles, techniques and strategies into your own packaging!
Comment below your favourite packaging designs, we’d love to hear from you!
Are you feeling inspired? Contact us today for a free consultation, where our in-house design specialists can help to bring your ideas to life!
