Melissa Lang, Author at Design Shard

Packaging, of course is created to protect the products inside, it’s there to inform the customer of the product and act as a means of promotion of the brand, but design enthusiasts know that packaging has a secondary dimension: to create a thing of beauty that upholds a brand’s identity and engages the audience their target audience.

Today, we live in a world where we are saturated with information, images and messages. Everything we could ever want to know is right at our fingertips, but with this comes an overwhelming sense of overload. It’s harder than ever to break through the noise and find calm and this has led design to adopt new minimalism. Designers are saying enough is enough and channelling the need for simplicity through distilled packaging design.

Minimalist design does not have to be blunt and cold, but instead can be used to articulate the important aspects of the packaging design, communicating the brand’s message clearly and evoking emotion in the customer. When executed correctly, this emotional connection encourages audiences to buy.

The Unboxing Experience

Today, we live such busy lives it can often seem there is no chance for us to slow down and enjoy the world around us and often we’re purchasing goods in a hurry. Great packaging design connects an emotional part of our psyche and brings increased pleasure from the purchasing experience.

We demand to be entertained today; the packaging we choose does not only have to protect the product inside but must act a way to bring pleasure to the user. Brands are looking to engage with their audience across multiple platforms in order to enjoy success. This means guiding users to share their packaging experiences on social media and tap into the emotional needs of 21^st century buyers. In a recent study, Dotcom found that nearly 4 in 10 consumers would share an image of a delivery via social media if it came in a unique package.

Mandarin Natural Chocolate

In order to communicate with customers the simplicity of Mandarin’s chocolate, a simple design was needed. The brand only product confectionary made with organic cacao and cane sugar. The lettering against the plain background echoes the ethos of the brand by eliminating all that is unnecessary and focusing purely on quality.

Simple design is not the lack of imagination; moreover it is the result of extremely considered choices. Designer Takashi explains this:

“We felt that we wanted a typeface with pointed serif to express the sharpness we feel when we hold high-quality chocolate in our mouths,”

Businesses Adopting Minimalism

The minimalist movement is not slowing down, and for businesses that are looking to adopt these methods and do less with there are some basic steps to follow:

Create Value

Understand why your customers are choosing your products and make this the focal point for the design, whether this is value for money or a health benefit.

Use Colour

In minimal design, you can use colour to speak to your customers instead of words or graphics. This is a great way to signify flavours. Choose colours your customers can instantly recognise as representing a flavour to avoid any confusion.

Use Packaging Tape Effectively

If your e-commerce company is shipping items, the packaging can still enjoy minimal design. Ensure the unboxing experience is upheld using printed packing tape that represents your brand’s identity. The price is very similar to clear tape and you will enhance appeal whilst communicating your chosen message to your customer.

Stand out from the crowd

Minimalism is brave; it steps away from the flashiness of the early noughties and stands out for that reason. Consumers have come to expect certain things from their packaging and are refreshed when the rules are broken. Why not make a bold claim as Boxed Water did to draw customers to your product?

Trident

The key to successful packaging in 2016 is simplicity of the brand’s message. Trident has succeeded in this by communicating the purpose of their Xtra Care chewing gum product. Its purpose of the product is to protect teeth and gums from acid between meals. The design uses bright graphics as a mouth, the chewing gum visible through a window acting as teeth. This clever strategy removes the need for text and uses humour to connect with prospective customers.

New Minimalism in 2016

Once, minimalism was the art of taking away but new minimalism is the art of using just enough. By focusing on the essentials brands are able to cut through the 21^st century noise and communicate with a new sense of clarity. Customers are looking for a different experience from their packaging today. The packaging must inspire, entertain and bring joy all whilst conforming to the fundamentals of packaging protection and availability of product information. Brands, both big and small can use new minimalism to add, rather than detract from the packaging experience.

If you are wanting to create a professional logo design for 2016 – have a think about what’s already out there. Your business logo is part of your brand’s personality, let it speak for you!

Make 2016 the year for your logo rebrand. It doesn’t matter if you get it right the first time, look at brands like Apple and Virgin! Did you know that originally Apple’s business logo from 1976 was hand drawn picture of Isaac Newton? There he was sitting under a tree where an apple fell. The logo was much different from it’s now minimalist look and even had a quote: ‘A Mind Forever Voyaging through Strange Seas of Thought – Alone’. It wasn’t until Steve Jobs suggested that the logo may not be practical for the products they were creating until they thought about changing up their logo’s look. Apple thought about their product and how they could feature a logo on it that wouldn’t become outdated quickly. As we all know their current business logo is much more minimal – a simple metallic apple with a bite out of it.

Why 2016 trends are important for your business

Changing trends in the production of logos are frequent so it is always good to keep your eye on what is happening next. As your company grows, it will change and you will start to discover what your business’ identity is. As your company expands its personality will start to grow and values may change. Does this mean that your business logo design must change too? Potentially. Keep your business’ personality current and have a design of logo which reflects your company in 2016 – now twenty years ago. Does it have to change drastically? No, but make sure you not only interact with your customers through corporately but visually.

So why should your business keep up with the trends? If it’s not broke don’t fix it right? Wrong. Even companies like McDonalds – one of the world’s biggest and busiest food chains change up their business logo. McDonalds is a company which is great at living in the moment. McDonalds has not one, but four different logos! Each area used differently. There is the simple golden Masterbrand “M” arch which we all know and love! Then a similar arch with the “I’m Lovin’ It” tag which feeds off of their famous 2003 campaign. They also use “I’m Lovin’ It” and “McDonalds” in black text logos occasionally. Can you believe that The “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign launched in 2003 and McDonalds still uses the logo, this may be one of the most memorable campaigns in the past twenty years, could your company be next?

A new logo adds excitement to a brand and a touch of freshness and like McDonald you do not need to do it yearly, but by changing it up once or twice it isn’t as noticeable but creates a spark about the brand. Remember although you are changing your logo it should still mean something to you and your customer. A good logo can speak a thousand words to your customer so make sure you create something which speaks the truth about your business. Don’t create something trendy which has no meaning to your business, this may confuse your customer and they may end up thinking you are a completely different company. This is the same as adjusting adding something fancy to a logo that is already poor designed – in that case you may be as well to start from scratch. Starting from the beginning works for unestablished brands whose business may not be taking off as well as they would life. However, if a company like Apple were to completely redesign their logo in 2016, not only would it cost them millions of pounds to rebrand but would annoy a lot of their customers – this is why having a great logo from the get go is so important.

Minimalist Logos

Minimalism isn’t something that has appeared overnight. This logo design concept has been growing over the past few years and has been seen in everything from art, fashion to interior design. Web design has also taken on the trend and many sites have begun to strip back since this trend picked off in 2014 and now it is reflected in the strong desire for minimalism in logos this year.

Minimalism is usually a flat design that uses as few or just 1 colour. This means that the logo is the main priority and works for big fashion brands like Chanel and Celine – their logos do not need to be to be flashy as they already have a reputation of high-end brand.

When Phoebe Philo joined French designed Celine in 2008 she wanted to strip back on the fashion design: “I just thought I’d clean it up, make it strong and powerful – a kind of contemporary minimalism.” She also applied this approach to their company’s logo. The Celine logo was already all in capital letters but Philo directed that it was refined further under. When designing the logo Peter Miles an art direct designer from New York who assisted in the design claimed that: “I don’t think I’ve ever worked with anyone so precise and detailed as Phoebe …She sees things microscopically. ‘Can you just make the logo two millimetres shorter?’ ‘Can you move it down there by three millimetres?’ I had to change things by the smallest margins… but always for good reason”.

As one of the biggest fashion brands in the world – take note that your business logo is so important! Use a simple style, create a straight-to-the-point design and apply it to your brand! A top tip for using your logo online! In blogging and eCommerce, it may be an idea to create a website design which is mainly while – to create focus on the logo and the brand. This works well for plain black text business logo.

Hand drawn Logos

Technology may be taking over but keeping it authentic is a big trend for logos in 2016. Do you love the fresh look of a hand drawn font or logo? Virgin’s logo has kept its hand drawn since it’s rebrand in the 1970s. The myth that surrounds Virgin’s logo is that a young designer scribbled, what is now iconic signature, on a paper napkin! Richard Branson chose this design due to its ‘in your face’ straightforwardness, passion and energy. Due to the era it was born, this punk inspired, hand written logo is known and loved worldwide. Virgin has expressed that it represents the “exciting, ever-disrupting world of Virgin and adorns everything from planes and trains to health clubs and banks”. Perhaps this is why hand-drawn style is still trendy in 2016? hand written fonts bring a personal aspect to company as consumers enjoy the connection they feel to it.

Virgin is a brand which is hugely involved with its customers and are renowned for their good customer service. Hand written fonts are great for companies who want to connect with their consumers and also for brands that don’t need to be too serious and want to take a lighter approach when it comes to branding. This style also allows designers to be more creative with colour, tone and design.

Line Art Trend

Is less more when it comes to logos? Line art is a big trend in 2016 and it can be seen from catwalks to tattoo art to of course – logos! This trend was popular in 2015 and it looks like it is here to stay.

If your business is inspired by art and design, then monolines could be the option for your business logo. The term “monolines” comes from the single, thin lines that are used in the designs. This line is usually the same thickness throughout the design and normally the one solid colour – black.

This trend can usually have been seen in restaurant or coffee industry. As mentioned time and time again in the graphics, simple can be most effective. However, this type of style can be as fun as you want it to be – use your imagination.

Modern Retro/Vintage Designs

Another trend which is back from 2015 is vintage! This is great news if you like the combination of modern flat styles of today matched with shapes and styles that have been seen in older logos. We love this fresh take on a traditional style, which can always be a great way to combine things you already know and turn them into something no else has seen.

Vintage style may not be as sleek as other styles such as minimalism but that’s the thing with this trend they are striking and definitely will catch your consumer’s eye at first glance. Looking at these designs for the first time allows the customer to get a really good feel about what your brand is about and works will for businesses that have a quirkier personality.

Letterstacking

Letterstacking is a forecasted trend for 2016. This is a trend that has come and gone in the past but it slowly but surely gaining its popularity back. It can be argued that these trickier business logos do gain the attention of the consumer by drawing then in and making them figure out what it is they are trying to say.

These type of logos appeal to a consumer who enjoys a challenge – someone who likes to break things down, re-arrange them and create something of their own. If you want a mainly text based logo then this is the style for you. Perfect for any creative business – it offers consumers the chance to breakdown what the companies message in what designers call text bytes. We love this look because it both stylish and out of the book, if you are looking for something different this may be the way to go!

Negative Space Logos

Negative Space is one of our favourite logo concepts, not just for 2016, but for every year! Think of the WWF panda – yes you know the one! The WWF Panda is a gorgeous design and another great example of how a company can use an iconic image to attract its consumers.

Negative space will continue to amaze in 2016. The concept behind this design is that it may not be something you see first, but when you sit it, it speaks to you and you understand what it is saying. That is what makes this type of design work. By looking closer at the design the consumer is able to pick up on a deeper message and your business logo becomes much more special. This is why negative space will continue to lure many more businesses to explore its strengths.

Kinetic logos

If you don’t know what a kinetic logo is think of Nickelodeon’s bright orange logo. Also known as Dynamic logos, kinetic logos adjust and change but elements of it will stay the same. This idea is appealing for a business logo that works well but needs to freshened up slightly. This style of logo also has become a good way of summing up information about the company in “byte-sized” pieces.

The Kinetic logo is able to make consumers automatically see what the direction of the company or brand is whilst in real-time. Make sure the message of the company is not lost whilst experimenting with a kinetic business logo.

Google is a logo which is a great example of this as it changes daily with regards to any events, birthdays or an anniversary that occur on that day. The Google Doodle fascinates the consumer because it is constantly changing – however it looks the same, meaning that nothing about the brand has. This trend is one of the most competitive as it needs to live up to its consumer’s expectations and consistently provide something new.

Keep it simple

The main thing to remember from this article is to keep it simple! Don’t get too complicated with your business logo. Lots of corporate logos are moving away from text and using icons. With the digital age moving forward and app development in business taking off – get used to knowing companies by their business logo. Look at Twitter and Target for examples of this. Are you thinking of rebranding and looking for inspiration?

Author: Melissa Lang

Minimalism Inspiration in Packaging Design