Packaging Design in 2020

In an era of growing eco-awareness, Packaging is increasingly presented as an unnecessary evil. Something to be eradicated altogether for the sake of a better planet. But is it really that simple? Nigel Reyes is Senior Account Manager at WECOM4U — a leading brand design agency in France which designs a range of Consumer Packaged Goods for national and international brands.

Positive Change

With the rise of climate change activism and the corresponding backlash from consumers we find that global brands and independent retailers appear to be embracing change. While many are seen to be riding a wave of eco-responsibility for their own benefit, it is also achieving tangible results by reducing plastics, sourcing alternative materials, reducing print designs to a minimum and encouraging consumers to shop using reusable containers and in-store dispensers for a limited range of items such as nuts, muesli, pasta, rice, orange juice or flour.

Scepticism

The argument against Packaging, however, often falls into the same trap created by the No Logo movement of several years ago — a collective protest against large corporations and their ability to influence and manipulate the consumer. On face value, a « no packaging » argument makes sense — a great deal of today’s packaging tends to over-promise when it comes to the actual product found within. If we were to strip away all the layers of deceit and « expose » the product we might, in theory, get closer to the truth. Hurrah! Let the product speak for itself!

Unfortunately it isn’t quite as straightforward as this seems…

The simple answer is that packaging is a means of orienting and informing the consumer. It helps to reinforce our beliefs and guides us in our purchasing decisions. Without packaging we would struggle to classify, evaluate and differentiate between products. Sad? Surprising maybe? But very much a reality of consumer behaviour.

The real “transparency” of reusable containers

There is no doubt that reusable bottles and containers offer a means of reducing waste. If nothing else, they signal a change in consumer behaviour and attitudes, but they don’t really address the core problems of consumerism in the first place. In fact, the more cynical observer would also note that we now have a glut of companies making « eco-responsible » products that wouldn’t otherwise have existed in the first place. Each adding to the energy consumption bill and the tonnes of waste piling up around us.

Food safety and security

We mustn’t forget that Packaging has a functional role to play. Keeping goods in a hygienic or protective environment is paramount to ensuring that the products we buy can be consumed with a high level of confidence that it is safe to do so.

Health warnings, storage instructions, use-by dates and allergy notifications, to name a few, cannot be clearly communicated any other way — and certainly lose all kind of traceability if we are stocking up on goods sold from self-service distributors at your local store. If it were not for packaging and mandatory information, many of us would really be left in the dark about what we are consuming.

If common-sense is to prevail, a less « extreme » view about packaging is required. One that strikes a balance between the utopian and the pragmatic. But that doesn’t mean that packaging designers should shirk their responsibilities.

The role of packaging design

So if packaging is here to stay, what can we do about it to really make a change that benefits brands and consumers?

For starters, there is a practical side that can be tackled by manufacturers and design agencies alike. It boils down to the fundamental role of packaging — to delight and to inform. A well-designed packaging for consumer goods is essentially a blank canvas on which to project a brand’s image, deliver product information, and ultimately guide a consumer to take appropriate action when it comes to disposing of the container (such as correct recycling).

This calls for a better alignment of manufacturers with recycling policies in place where the product is sold and consumed. In turn, this would help to ensure that items are not just condemned to land-fill, but actually given the best possible chance for circling back into future production cycles.

Packaging also carries the responsibility to educate. Yes, there will always be a couple of poetic lines dedicated to extolling the silky-smooth virtues of a hand-cream or the delicious refreshing taste of a fruity beverage….but we are also better off knowing when we are eating far too much sugar or fat for our own good. Compliant packaging design offers such an opportunity, not to mention the possibility of providing a link to a dedicated website or information service.

On a lighter note, a 2016 essay by award-winning author Ruth Royale posed the question « What can package designers learn from drug dealers? ». While highly satirical in nature, it does raise a few valid points in the context of designing credible packaging:

Sustainable Design

While this move is aimed at helping the venue to reach some of its sustainability goals (and distance themselves from single-use plastic) it also throws up additional opportunities for brands (and package designers) to extend traditional branding to a different format, and re-design identities to achieve an impactful but stripped-down version, devoid of colour and focused on delivering a simple, effective message.

Where to next?

So where does this leave us in 2020? Hopefully not at odds with genuine change and positive action. We must all try to address the damage we are doing to our environment. However, before we hear another criticism levelled at Package Designers or another case for banishing all packaging, let’s take a minute to question what each and every one of us is doing to make a difference. With increased awareness comes a renewed responsibility to not leave the issue “under wraps”.

Final Thoughts

I’ll leave you with a quote from a forthcoming report that tackles “consumer behaviour in the midst of eco-awareness”:

“There is a tendency for individuals to make a few lifestyle choices (e.g. eat no meat, shop with reusable containers, sort household waste into different bins….) and then justify to themselves that they are doing their bit for the future of humanity. However, this behaviour goes hand-in-hand with a bias to complain about those who travel by air, or about the dominance of fossil fuels and the ubiquity of plastics in industry. Because they deem that to be unacceptable behaviour. Yet many will not blink an eyelid when they « absolutely » need to binge-watch another televised series, while permanently charging a plethora of unnecessary electronic devices and ordering pizza from the other side of town….Pointing the finger at the product or the packaging does not solve the fundamental issues at stake. In fact, the marketing message can also be a solution. A means of driving change…”

Related posts:

Travelling can be fun only when you fully enjoy your vacation without losing any of your valuables. It is very difficult to keep your luggage safe while travelling. We very well know that a lost…

We often fall into the binaries of the digital and the analogue, positing one against the other. Even when we diffuse those boundaries, we continue to maintain the separations of IRL/VR or…

The time it takes to write a thoughtful tweet may not be worth the limited audience that actually reads it. So how should you use your time on Twitter more wisely?