Minimalist Packaging Design Tips for Brands

In a broad sense, the concept of minimalism means to remove excess materials and objects from your life. It embraces a more simplistic lifestyle and takes on a “less is more mantra” to help eliminate elements that can be overwhelming to the senses.

Many brands are embracing and adopting sustainable minimalist packaging designs to appeal to larger audience bases and reduce their environmental impact. Minimalism impacts many different aspects of custom-printed packaging design from the exterior aesthetic of the package to reducing the amount of material that’s inside. Creating a simplistic packaging design doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sacrifice the protective or creative aspect, though.

How to Approach Minimalist Packaging for Your Brand

Adopting a minimalist packaging design for your products could actually help elevate your brand’s popularity if it’s done right. We’ve already seen how well simplistic aesthetic design can work for certain brands. That’s because minimalism removes all of the frills from packaging design and puts a spotlight on three things: branding, product education, and sustainability. Focusing on these basic elements adds a sense of sophistication and elegance to your custom-printed boxes and packaging while maintaining their quality and durability.

Key Factors That Influence Minimalist Packaging

Sustainable, eco-friendly, and biodegradable packaging has become a major deciding factor in whether consumers will choose to support certain brands. In an effort to reduce their environmental impact, many supply chain and logistics companies have also opted to reduce the amount of packaging they use. Several factors have influenced the decision to adopt a more minimalist custom-printed packaging design across multiple industries.

Type of packaging material. Kraft paper is quickly becoming the material of choice when it comes to replacing hard plastics in the packaging industry. Not only is it cheaper to produce, but it also has a number of environmental benefits. It’s biodegradable, compostable, renewable, and it can be recycled or upcycled into different products because it doesn’t contain any toxic chemicals.

Minimizing print. Simplicity is key when it comes to packaging minimalism. At the end of the day, the product should speak for itself and that’s exactly what minimizing the amount of text on the packaging accomplishes. All you need is a simple brand logo, the name of the product, a brief description, and maybe a few labels for different parts.

Packaging structures. Minimalist packaging aims to reduce the use of raw materials and waste while still maintaining the durability and integrity of the package structure. The goal is to deliver simple brand messaging and protect the product inside the package. Paperboard mailers and pillow boxes are a perfect example of this. They’re like sturdy yet flexible pouches that house small items such as jewellery, candy, and party favours. Bakery boxes also fit this mould because they’re strong enough to keep their shape and protect the items inside, but they also contain a very basic structure and minimal biodegradable materials that are safe to come in contact with food.

Elements to Focus on for Minimalist Custom-Printed Packaging

Combining all of the right elements can make for truly effective and impactful yet minimal custom-printed packaging. Here are a few packaging components that you should focus on for your brand.

Brand logo. A bold, yet understated brand logo will give your packaging an air of sophistication. It also lets your audience know which brand they’re supporting and makes a strong statement. Black print on a white backdrop (and vice versa) is simple and understated, yet bold enough to capture people’s attention.
Brand colour scheme. Build brand recognition and awareness by incorporating your brand’s colour scheme into your packaging design.
Essential information. Only include important information on your packaging such as your brand logo, product name, and your social media tags.
Design for product visibility. Give your packaging a unique and memorable design that makes your product stand out.

Benefits of Minimalist Packaging

The many benefits of minimalist packaging spans a large spectrum of areas. It generates higher consumer satisfaction, has a massive convenience factor, and a much lower environmental impact compared to traditional forms of packaging that use excessive amounts of raw materials. Then there’s the cost-saving factor for businesses. What’s not to love? Let’s explore some of these points a little further.

Saves Cost on Packaging Supplies

Using fewer packaging materials such as Styrofoam, plastic, and cardboard inserts saves brands and manufacturers a lot of money in more ways than one. Fewer materials means spending less money on those materials. It also means less time spent manufacturing product packaging, which means you can get your product to market a lot faster. The time saved on packaging production can be used to make and market more products. So, in a way, you could actually end up making money by reducing the amount of packaging materials used.

Lower Shipping Charges

Shipping fees are typically determined based on the dimensions and weight of the packaging along with the distance it has to travel to get to the end-customer. Reducing the amount of packaging material reduces the weight and makes it more compact. Although there’s not much that can be done about shipping distances, reducing the weight and dimensions lowers shipping costs for you and your customers. So, it’s a win-win situation.

Better Packaging Design

Minimalism results in a clean, sleek, and modern custom-printed packaging design that your customers will love.

Happier Customers

Using fewer materials makes for a much better unboxing experience. Customers will love that their packages are easier to open because it allows them to get to the products a lot faster. Plus, they can feel extra good about supporting a brand that cares about the environment enough to limit the number of materials in their packaging.

Order Custom-Printed Minimalist Packaging from Magenta Depot

Magenta Depot is a leading custom-printed packaging company in Canada. We provide brands all across the country with short-run packaging made in Toronto. Ordering your packaging from us gives you the Magenta Advantage: