It’s been a mammoth year for the packaging industry – and certain design trends have dominated 2024.
Here’s a quick guide to what’s been hot (and what’s not) in the last 12 months.
Eco-conscious packaging options
It’s number one for a reason! The emphasis on eco-friendly materials has remained strong. Recyclable, compostable, and biodegradable materials like recycled paper, bamboo, and plant-based inks are now standard in the industry; if your supplier isn’t offering them, you need to look elsewhere.
Fashion and FMCG brands are increasingly exploring these options to communicate their sustainability efforts directly through their choices of packaging. Slimmed-down wash care labels and more compact mailing boxes can both be used to reduce waste, as can using materials that is recyclable and/or reusable.
As a practice, eco-conscious labelling also involves including details on where the item’s materials have been soured from, how it has been produced, and what customers need to do with it when it reaches the end of its shelf life. We’ve certainly noticed more businesses getting on board with this idea in 2024.
Personalisation and customisation
This is where Hallmark Labels excels – so we’ve been pleased that the demand for personalised packaging is greater than ever!
We’ve found that, for fashion brands especially, user-generated designs or limited releases with one-of-a-kind details have proven to be popular. What’s been clear is that inviting your customers to contribute design elements, either through brand apps or in-store experiences, really does help to deepen engagement. Businesses have also been tailoring designs to reflect local cultures or markets, which has resonated well with diverse consumer bases and added a sense of exclusivity to certain products and campaigns.
Interactive features
Scannable codes linking to exclusive content, product care tips, or ingredient sourcing stories have been an effective way for brands to offer more information without cluttering their packaging up with too many design details – and many of our customers have been asking us to incorporate QR codes into their templates.
Some manufacturers and retailers have also been exploring AR-enhanced labels that provide a virtual brand experience, allowing their customers to engage with the product in a more immersive way.
Tactile packaging
Brands have been loving unique textures, such as velvet or matte finishes, or embossed and debossed patterns, because they have been giving their packaging a more premium feel. For fashion items, textured tags or boxes have continued to elevate the unboxing experience, too, along with beautifully branded tissue paper.
Interactive, colour-changing inks have been becoming more popular, especially for products that need temperature control.
Simple vs bold typography and imagery
This year, more has been more! Minimalist aesthetics have finally been challenged by bold, large typography and dynamic graphics. Oversized logos, punchy slogans, and statement graphics have particularly appealed to younger consumers looking for brands with a strong personality.
Packaging that tells a story through illustrations or visual timelines, such as the journey of sourcing materials, has also gained traction. This approach has been particularly appealing for artisanal or ethically sourced products and has aligned itself well with the general storytelling trend that’s been gaining pace in fashion circles.
Retro and vintage looks with a modern twist
2024 has seen a resurgence in retro designs, particularly for brands aiming for a nostalgic appeal. This trend has been reimagined with fresh colour palettes or digitally enhanced graphics, merging old-school charm with modern aesthetics.
Fashion companies in particular have been creatinglabels that emulate classic tailoring tags or old-fashioned print styles to give their brand timeless appeal.
Seasonal colour palettes
Many brands have been deciding to introduce seasonal or limited-edition colour schemes to align with customer mindsets at different times of the year. For example, even though they will have a set of colours they want to use as part of their brand kit, many have been opting for softer, pastel shades in spring, and warm, deep tones in the autumn to mix things up a bit.
More broadly, colours have been chosen to reflect more eco-conscious choices. Greens, earthy tones, and neutrals have continued to dominate sustainable packaging.
Accessible packaging
Ever keen topromote inclusivity, brands have been incorporating Braille and raised symbols into their packaging designs to cater to visually impaired customers. Inclusive packaging has been extended to easy-open designs and larger fonts for even more convenience.
We’ve also found that culturally sensitive and gender-neutral packaging design has become a priority for many businesses. This is because contemporary brands have been striving to create packaging that appeals to everyone, avoiding stereotypical colours or imagery wherever they can.
Functional and reusable packaging
One thing that will never change, regardless of trends and behaviours, is that companies will always want to invest in functional products. Packaging that serves a secondary purpose, such as storage bags, reusable totes, or containers, have been adding value for our customers and enabling them to bring down waste at scale.
There has also been an uplift in requests for labels that can be removed or recycled without any hassle, as this makes it easier for consumers to discard of their packaging responsibly.
Products with enhanced anti-fraud measures
For luxury fashion items and high-end products, anti-counterfeiting technology has remained a crucial part of our customers’ toolkits. Holograms, UV-reactive inks, and tamper-evident seals have provided added layers of protection and assurance to customers – and items like our anti-return ribbons have quite literally been flying off the shelves since the start of 2024.
Some brands have also been leaning into blockchain technology, incorporating this into their packaging for authenticity verification and enabling their customers to trace the product’s journey from production to purchase.
At Hallmark Labels, we appreciate how important it is to embrace labelling and packaging trends. We’re supplying our products to a competitive space that’s always evolving, so of course we (and our customers) need to move with the times. We’ve been fascinated by the shifts that have happened this year and look forward to seeing what’s in store in 2025.
That said, there are some elements to labelling and packaging design that will never go out of fashion: robust materials, clever designs, and impeccable finishes will always combine to create items that help businesses stand out in crowded markets and deliver a top-notch experience to the people who buy from them.
Contact us to find out how we can help you merge tried-and-tested design principles with emerging concepts to make sure your labelling and packaging strategy delivers maximum impact!
