Packaging with Personality: 8 Moves

Wearable Packaging

Wearable Packaging: Packaging that you can wear—like a handbag charm—containing your sunscreen, lip balm, fragrance, or even tea and coffee. What began as a practical solution for on-the-go essentials like balms and sanitizers has evolved into a design statement that blends humor with sophistication. Aokka Coffee, for instance, now delivers its 250 ml brew in a cantimplore-like format—turning everyday consumption into a stylish accessory.

Totemic Forms

Totemic forms: Packaging forms that merge tactile and sculptural qualities—echoing interior design language—to elevate everyday products into decorative, display-worthy objects. Tactility is a highly desirable attribute for chronically online consumers craving sensory connection. Tanker & Loona, with its portable urinals for men and women, exemplifies how functional containers can blend into interiors with elegance and discretion.

Unexpected Formats

Butter in tubes? Wine in cans? Deodorant packed like it would be toothpaste? Dubbed “chaos packaging”, this strategy places familiar formats in unexpected categories, sparking joy, curiosity, and humor—and boosting giftability. Even Bose joined the game: their new SoundLink Plus comes in several colors, but the yellow one hides inside packaging disguised as a butter bar.

3D Packaging

3D or die-cut packaging brings a sense of play and surprise—revealing sculptural shapes or pop-up details as you open it. This trend taps into childhood nostalgia, reintroducing wonder into adult categories like beauty, food, and gifting. Costly to produce, yet powerful when the goal is retention—people keep it, display it, and remember the brand.

The New Can-Do Attitude

The new can-do attitude: Cans are moving beyond drinks and food, performing well in beauty, coffee, haute cocktailery, and even small accessories like socks and underwear. Their visual appeal grows with diverse forms beyond the traditional cylinder, while the click of nowness comes from extra-small sizes that feel fresh, collectible, and shareable. Jarsking Packaging is exploring cans for beauty and haircare too, adding a sleek, tactile twist to everyday routines.

The Return Of The Serif

The Return of the Serif: Large-scale, chunky serif typefaces are making a comeback—designed to create impact while retaining a sense of premiumness and approachability. As Gen Z becomes the dominant generation, the old Millennial Minimalism and its sans-serif reign are being swept away by a wave of maximalist reaction. Think nostalgia, readability, and honest typography—fonts that don’t rely on Canva tricks.

Kidult

Kidult Packaging: Dopamine-inducing and playfully nostalgic, this packaging trend taps into the world of games and collectibles. Designs that offer crisis-weary consumers a moment of escapist joy will continue to resonate—especially among Gen Z, for whom fun and emotional release are part of the purchase experience.

Toy Packaging

Toy Packaging: In line with the kidult movement, this direction merges playfulness with sustainability—leaving behind a precious toy or decorative element. Often refillable, these designs aim for emotional retention, encouraging consumers to keep the packaging longer than usual and transforming it from a disposable container into a collectible object.

Until next time,

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