PKN's upcoming LIVE event, New Frontiers in Packaging Print, will include Gwen Blake of Boxer & Co's deep dive into key consumer trends informing design choices for printed packaging.
Managing director of award-winning Sydney-based design studio, Gwen Blake – also, incidentally the author of a book on packaging design, Packaging a Punch – will be shedding light on how contemporary consumer behaviour and social consciousness is shaping not only the types of products they want to buy, but also the packaging they want to receive them in.
Blake joins an impressive line-up of speakers at the PKN + Print21 LIVE forum on 3 August in Sydney's Darling Harbour, who will deliver a range of topical content of importance to brand owners, marketers and the professionals designing and printing their packaging.
Blake will explore three main themes:
A Plastic-Free Society
Plastic-shaming is this year’s ‘carbon footprint’: Conscious consumers are clamping down on their purchasing of plastics in packaging, driven by the national unification of the ban of single-use plastic bags. Brands need to revise their entire suite of packaging in line with new consumer demands and expectations surrounding this eco issue.
Inclusive By Design
Society is moving towards ever-more inclusive ideals; from acknowledging the human right to marry whomever you want, to gender-neutral bathrooms, to brands that make ‘one product for all’-esque products that avoid stereotyping their users. This trend is likely to blossom across categories, with consumers calling out packaging that is unnecessarily gendered, ageist, sexist and otherwise exclusionary, and instead demanding packaging and branding that embraces all.
Stylish Sobriety / New Restraint
Consumers are increasingly aware of limiting their consumption of particular products, however they don’t want to miss out on the social benefits of particular rituals, such as after-work drinks, or sharing snacks with friends. In addition, millennial audiences are navigating ‘adulting’, ie. growing up, without compromising their lifestyle choices, so seeking products that meet their needs.
Stylish sobriety is emerging as a trend for ‘free from’ products, such as sugar-free or alcohol-free products. These products look and feel like the ‘real thing’ however don’t contain the ingredients that are perceived as harmful, allowing consumers to indulge guilt-free. In line with this is a timeless, streamlined aesthetic that is softer than radical minimalism, and that is focused on mindful problem-solving.
Tickets to New Frontiers in Packaging Print are available here.
More information on the agenda can be found here
