Be You, Not Them

Following packaging design trends will cost you big time.

I just heard a talk about design trends from an awards show. Received a trend report from a packaging supplier. Attended industry trade shows where you see a few originators and many copycat brands. Everyone’s sprinting towards a fresh new look that will smash records this year often aimed at the 21-35ish age groups…bringing in many dollars and looking great in digital media. 

A few brands seem to be killing it…hitting the trend reports, winning the coveted award or being touted as the next huge “it” product. Or better yet, becoming the quintessential “look” that becomes the face of explosive growth in a category.

So if there are half a dozen hot trends, should an emerging company with a new product simply just choose one and direct a design team to go with it? Would one of the trends still be hot when you’ve printed the label, applied it on the canning line, stacked it on pallets, warehoused it, distributed it and added it to the retail shelves? By the time the marketing, advertising and word-of-mouth creates some buzz will it still have legs? 

I’ll put a stake in the ground and say a good 80% of the nicely designed brands out there identifying as ‘cool trends’ were NOT copycats. They were created to answer problems and support authentic brands in fresh ways. We identify them now because their strategy worked and others followed suit.

We’re a design team that believes in creating a unique look and feel, based in strategy, to bring visual expressions to life for brands big and small. We’ve seen over the years that brand identity and packaging that is authentic and strategically designed to ‘zig’ when others have ‘zagged’ will grow and prosper.

Don’t be a copycat brand–it will cost you. Don’t get caught looking like the rest of the products you’re competing with on the shelf, stand out and create your own innovative solution that supports the strategy of your brand. You be you and your packaging might just become a trend.