Through the advancement of technology and with the quality of packaging increasing, there has been a focus amongst many packaging designers to produce visually intense work that looks different from what has come before. But packaging has become so sophisticated and impressive that sometimes it can feel a bit much.
That’s why there has been a recent shift towards minimalism, with many brands choosing to reduce the complexity of the designs. Here we take a look at some striking examples of minimalist packaging design that are extremely effective in what they do.
Defying expectations
One innovative use of minimalist packaging came through a limited-edition campaign run at London department store Selfridges. The No Noise range took some of the high-street’s most famous branded products and removed the names and details from the packaging. The result is certainly eye-catching and striking, and it does an extremely effective job of subverting our traditional assumptions about branding.
Minimalist packaging can be used in this way to defy the expectations of the industry – even when used by famous names like Heinz, Marmite, Levi’s, and Clinique. Sometimes it is the aspects that you leave out of your packaging designs that can be just as powerful as what you put in.
Minimalism and natural sustainability
Establishing the advantages of minimalism is undoubtedly one of the most popular trends in packaging – but another is that of sustainability. And interesting, the two concepts potentially have a lot in common, making the combination of sustainable packaging and minimalist design one that many new products are opting for.
Consumers no longer find it acceptable to use excessive plastic or materials that cannot be recycled or composted. Leading sustainable packaging pioneers The Bag Broker offer biodegradable vacuum food bags that biodegrade in less than 90 days when composted properly. Many organisations are choosing these sorts of materials and combined them with simple but effective minimalist designs to show that unnecessary excesses are a thing of the past.
Think about the minimalist design on sustainable and health conscious products like Graze boxes for a great example of minimalism and sustainability coming together.
Allowing products to speak for themselves
One of the most effective reasons for choosing minimalist packaging design is because you want the visuals of the products to stand out for themselves. A great example of this can be found on the packaging designs of Lush, a brand of ethical and forward-thinking cosmetics. The company is well-known for products that are brightly coloured and imaginatively designed.
In this case there is clearly no-one need for lurid packaging to catch the eye, as the products themselves do a fantastic job of doing this. If your products are already visually impressive then it can actually look worse if you have very ‘busy’ packaging.
Lush utilises generally entirely black and white boxes and pots, as well as labels on bottles, often showcasing the colours of the products inside through clear plastic.
Making an impression
Sometimes the use of minimalist packaging is in line with the standard branding choices of a business, but sometimes companies will use minimalism in order to shock or surprise its audience – in other words, to make an impression on them. You can visit this site to find the best Branding Design Agency in this regard.
When design agency Ampro wanted to impress its clients with a gift, they opted to created ‘undercover pinot noir’ – red wine delivered in simple white bottles labelled “milk”. The company’s objective was to ensure that its gift would stand out above the others sent by other clients and partners and in this sense, it was very effective.
Bucking market trends
Craft beer has become extremely popular in recent years – it is now common to see beers in supermarkets and specialist stores, often easily identifiable thanks to its unique and eye-catching label designs. Well known names like BrewDog, Beavertown Brewery and Yeastie Boys have memorable colours and design that have undoubtedly played a part in their success.
So when you get a brand like And Union completely bucking the trend and opting for an entirely minimalist packaging design, it can really help them to stand out from other products in their marketplace. If your market is saturated with busy designs, it can actually be a more minimalist approach that makes you more visible.
