The strongest brands aren’t choosing between creativity and consistency. They deliver both.
As the pace of change continues to accelerate, brands are embracing far more playfulness in how they express themselves. Maximalism, expressive illustration, characterful typography and bolder tones of voice are showing up across categories, signaling a willingness to loosen up and lead with personality. Even with all that creative freedom, the fundamentals haven’t shifted. Enduring brands still anchor themselves in purposeful hierarchy, clear intent and sharp decision-making about what belongs on pack versus what’s better expressed elsewhere in the brand world. And when those fundamentals slip, that’s when packaging starts to “lose the plot”—drifting from the core idea consumers depend on to recognize and choose the brand. Packaging can do a lot, but it can’t—and shouldn’t—do everything. Which brings forward an essential question in today’s landscape: with so many ways to show up, what is the single most important job the pack needs to do exceptionally well?
Across categories, the most resilient brands share a familiar trait: their packaging works because it’s built on a strategic idea supported by distinctive assets that carry meaning forward. Creative excellence isn’t a one-off achievement. It’s the result of a brand expression designed to scale, evolve and hold up over time. And while the environment around brands keeps shifting, the opportunity inside that shift is energizing—there are more ways than ever for a brand to express its character, as long as the core idea stays strong and clear.
Why a Good-Looking Pack Isn’t Enough Anymore
The pressure on packaging has never been higher. The real test isn’t how a pack performs in ideal, controlled conditions—it’s how it holds up in the wild. A minimal DTC label may sing online, but placed on a crowded physical shelf, surrounded by louder competitors and faster decision cycles, it can disappear in seconds.
This tension—between crafted beauty and commercial impact—is something brand teams face daily. Modern brands must design for environments that are noisy, compressed and constantly shifting. That’s where a strong brand expression becomes invaluable, ensuring the work stays expressive without sacrificing clarity or recognition.
And this is where consumer insight plays a decisive role. With so many elements a brand could express, the key question becomes: what should be expressed to help the consumer choose? Insight filters the noise—narrowing the design to the signals that matter most in the moment of decision.
Where Enduring Packaging Really Begins
A single piece of packaging can capture attention, but a strategic design idea is what builds memory and keeps a brand recognizable across contexts. It creates the consistency shoppers rely on as they scroll past a thumbnail or scan a crowded shelf. It shapes how the brand stretches across formats, variants and channels. It also sets expectations—giving consumers a sense of who the brand is before a single word is read.
“The meaning of ‘shelf’ has completely changed. Discovery starts on TikTok at night and ends in the snack aisle the next morning—so packaging has to perform across that entire journey. And with 65% of Gen Z finding new snacks online first, packaging is competing with content, not just the category.”—Emily Flannery, Managing Director, LPK
Strong brands share a few characteristics. They start with an idea that gives the brand meaning. They define assets that anchor recognition. They establish hierarchy so information flows naturally. And they leave room for variation so the brand can expand without losing what makes it distinct. In today’s fast-moving environment, this clarity becomes a decision-making engine—helping teams filter what truly belongs on pack, what supports the consumer in choosing confidently and what should live in the broader ecosystem instead.
Idea and Execution: The Two Sides of Creative Excellence
Inside any strong expression is a partnership between idea and execution. The idea is the strategic blueprint—the meaning that drives direction. The execution is the craft—the typography, color, photography and form that bring that meaning to life.
When the idea is strong, it sets emotional territory and helps teams understand what the brand should feel like. Execution then translates that meaning at a level where details matter: the weight of a typeface, the lighting of a photo, the rhythm of color across a panel. These are the elements that make a brand recognizable at a glance and readable at a distance.
When idea and execution move together, expression gains elasticity. It can stretch into new SKUs or categories without losing coherence. It can modernize as tastes shift. It can show up across retail, digital and social environments while maintaining a sense of self. This alignment turns complexity into possibility—giving teams more ways to elevate the brand without sacrificing the clarity consumers rely on. And if the work starts to feel disjointed, that’s usually the signal that a Big Idea is missing—a unifying concept that brings meaning, cohesion and direction to every execution choice.
Why Design Ecosystems Matter More Than Ever
The conditions shaping brand teams today make cohesive brand ecosystems not just valuable—but essential.
Portfolios continue to grow in complexity. Flavors, formats, functional claims and channel-specific offerings multiply quickly. Without a structured expression guiding the way, individual SKUs start drifting and brands lose the thread that holds their story together.
Consumer behavior is fully omnichannel. A pack must work from three feet away and in a 150-pixel square. Hierarchy and clarity become non-negotiable when a shopper may only register a shape, a color block or a familiar word before deciding. Insight becomes the compass here—distilling what the consumer actually needs in that micro-moment.
Category codes are blurring fast. Beverage looks like beauty. Pantry goods look like wellness. Brands need expressions that stay flexible and grounded—able to evolve with culture without losing their core identity.
Teams are increasingly distributed. In-house, agency and production partners all contribute to the output. A strong ecosystem becomes the shared language that keeps the brand cohesive even as responsibilities shift.
The Building Blocks of a Resilient Brand World
The must-have design fundamentals every marketer and brand leader should be planning around in 2026.
Certain elements consistently shape strong packaging systems, regardless of category or price point.
Logos function best when they carry meaning. The strongest marks are simple enough to scale but expressive enough to signal the brand’s character. Whether monogram, symbol or wordmark, the logo should serve as a stable anchor across formats.
Hierarchy shapes how shoppers understand the pack. Brand, product and variant information need to be organized with intention so the eye travels naturally. When hierarchy is clear, it reduces friction and strengthens recognition across a wide range of sizes.
Color is still one of the fastest forms of recall. A disciplined color system helps a brand stand out while giving shoppers confidence as they move across the portfolio. It also sets the emotional tone—fresh, indulgent, calming, energetic—before any words are read.
“Emotional benefit is becoming a primary purchase driver. People are choosing snacks, beverages and pantry goods for how they want to feel—energized, calm, balanced. That expectation changes what brands need to express, a concept we unpacked in our recent trend report, The Desires Index.”—Sam Hartman, Senior Strategist, LPK
Typography is the brand’s voice made visible. The type system should reflect the personality of the brand and remain consistent through its variations. When type is chosen intentionally, it creates continuity that holds the system together.
Product depiction brings the idea to life. Photography, illustration or abstraction each send different signals about quality, craft and taste appeal. The key is choosing an approach that supports the idea and maintains clarity across the line.
When these components are defined clearly, the system becomes repeatable. When they’re executed with craft, the system becomes memorable
Designed to Grow
As brands navigate 2026, the opportunity isn’t just to design packaging that works today. It’s to design a system that will keep working as the brand expands, adapts and evolves. A system that flexes without breaking. A system that holds meaning as new SKUs join the line. A system built with enough intention to hold up over time and enough openness to stay evolve.
Brands now face a choice: they can maintain what’s familiar until competitors force their hand, or they can make intentional shifts now that strengthen cohesion and set the stage for future resilience. The teams willing to evolve their expression before they’re pressured to will be the ones shaping how categories look, feel and compete next.
And considering every aspect of the design from concept to distinctive assets and how those are brought to life, are what turns great design into a lasting one. is what turns great design into lasting brand value—and why this moment calls for more ambition, more clarity and more courage in how brands express themselves moving forward.
ABOUT LPK
LPK is a modern brand consultancy and packaging design firm that applies insightful strategy and beautiful creativity to harness change—making momentum that grows brands and businesses.
