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2024’s HOTTEST TRENDS for labels & packaging

What can we expect to see in 2024? What colours, shapes & symbols, design aesthetics and global technology will be used and how can you incorporate them into your branding strategy? QLM’s marketing team have compiled and condensed hundreds of options down to the top 5 that are most likely to influence customers and generate sales in 2024.

 

The world of labels, packaging and design is entering into a period of re-stabilisation in 2024.
2023 continued to experience lagging economic and supply chain effects from not only COVID but also a range of other global factors that put pressure on costs and service delivery. This year will see brands balance optimism with energy to grow their brands and build loyalty.

Check out our predictions for what will be the HOTTEST TRENDS in 2024 and let us know your thoughts:

 

PASTEL BUZZ
Peach Fuzz is the New BUZZ!

Hot trend pantone colour pastel buzz

Source: Pantone

Hot trend 2024 for labels

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

With the Pantone Color Institute naming the Color of the Year 2024 as PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz, this pastel orangey-peach colour is described as a ‘cozy and comforting hue, that captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It is all about re-establishing a sense of caring, sharing and collaboration’. Pastels have been super popular in various iterations in recent years, including Bright Pastels and in physical and digital combinations that create stunning visual contrast.  

Soft pastels in blue, pink and green are being used with soft gradients and background colours that transition from light to dark to add depth and complexity. Given the hugely successful song by Taylor Swift that is currently touring the world – Lavender Haze lyrics state it perfectly:  I feel the lavender haze creepin’ up on me.. Surreal, I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say!  It seems that pastels are set for a year of exciting re-emergence in fashion, packaging and design. Expect to see them across a range of products and mediums as brands look to take advantage of this warm embrace!

 

BIOPHILIC DESIGN
Get back to Nature!

Biophilic Design

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Biophilic design seeks to bring natural elements into our increasingly urbanised lives, creating products that connect with our human desire and affinity for nature. By incorporating these elements, materials, textures, colours and patterns into products and designs, it is said to stimulate conditions and psychological benefits linked to stress reduction, increased creativity and fostering a sense of well-being and harmony. 

Nostalgic colour pallets like browns, oranges and greens are seeing a resurgence due to design in this area. Brands that do it well combine a range of senses that invoke emotions linked to nature. This includes visuals, sound, touch, smell and sometimes taste. The crude early examples of floral bouquets or pine trees with matching scents are now replaced with products and designs that interlink natural elements creating engagement, emotional connection and brand affiliation. Combine biophilic design with sustainable materials and eco-friendly practices to reinforce your brand or company’s values & you may be on to a winning formula for sales.

 

AI DATA
Bridge the physical & virtual gap

AI Design

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Source: The Dieline

Source: Designer People

AI continues to grow in image creation and the design of connected and interactive labels and packaging. However, it is a business tool for the collection and analysis of data where it is booming! Brands of all sizes are using AI data and tools to make decisions about their labels and packaging. Of particular interest is finding ways to create or confirm if packaging and marketing campaigns are aligned with their desired (or current) market and demographic. It also has huge potential to identify new customers through A/B testing (where you run 2 or more potential designs or strategies to different audiences).

Creating ‘virtual’ concepts at a digital level allows brands to assess consumer sentiment without needing to spend money on final artwork, prototypes and marketing samples. But rather than just ‘replace humans’ or print, AI will allow businesses to gain insights, create options and then be able to adjust marketing and business strategies. People ultimately buy ‘real’ products so personalisation and customisation through AI becomes more about product and brand design that aligns the customer and brand connection, bridging the gap between virtual and physical.

 

RETURN OF DRAGONS
2024 is the Year of the Dragon

Source: Chus

Source: Koying Kelson Sit 

Source: Coca Cola

Source: QLM Label Makers

2024 brings in the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese (or Lunar) Zodiac. The Dragon is a magnificent and highly revered symbol in many cultures. They have long been popular mythical creatures, made all the more so by television series like ‘Game of Thrones’. The use of their symbology is linked to strength, power, charm, good fortune and success, with the important caveat of remaining down-to-earth and avoiding being too arrogant.

Different cultures utilise and portray dragons in different ways. From symbols of nobility to eternal vitality, boundless power and cosmic strength, dragons maintain a mystical and spiritual allure unlike any other animal in the zodiac. In Vietnam, dragons are often used for reassurance, believed to harmonise heaven and earth, bestowing goodness in life. From entrepreneurs to established brands, expect to see Dragons aplenty in 2024, for where there is a dragon, fortune and prosperity come.

 

A BIT OF HELP – PLEASE!
Design to Revive and Survive THRIVE

Source: Chus

Source: Nutworks

Source: Jamworks

Source: QLM Label Makers

The growing list of trends, technology, changing legislation and design aesthetics can be both exciting and overwhelming. AI, interactive and connected design, marketing strategies, sustainability goals & packaging options are all highly specialised fields that need professional and pragmatic advice. A ‘do it all myself’ ethos may fail to recognise that we cannot be ‘experts’ in many of these areas, resulting in mediocre designs, implementation and sales.

Smart brands assess their packaging against market expectations and conditions regularly, allowing them to ‘refresh’, ‘rebrand’ or re-align. Collaborating with appropriate leaders in a field will allow you to make informed decisions and get measurable results. Treating this as an investment can positively impact your business success. Keeping updated and current on packaging design and material options can be time consuming and confusing so ask for help. 

QLM works with a number of selected providers in the area of technology, strategy and design to bring your labels and packaging to life. They specialise in crafting and executing marketing strategies tailored to the unique needs of labels, packaging and integrated design to work across multiple platforms. Ask us how we might add some WOW to your packaging in 2024.

The best ‘trends’ aren’t about being someone else, they are the ones that allow YOU and your brand to engage in conversations with your customers and remain relevant. Above all they should act like a compass that connects with and builds new or existing relationships, keeping messaging and imagery aligned while also capturing attention and loyalty. Trends aren’t necessarily new and don’t need to be short-lived fads, they can be bold design choices that you make your own or rebel against to stand out and represent your brand authentically. 

The HOTTEST TRENDS of 2024 will work across a wide range of applications, packaging and design mediums. Let’s add some WOW to your packaging in 2024.

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