In this article, LinkedIn’s biggest packaging design influencer, Lisa Cain, unpacks the themes and stories that have impressed her the most in recent months.
Scroll through a supermarket aisle, and you’ll see it. Packs claiming to be green, clever, circular, compostable, refillable, or revolutionary. But when you look closer, the gap between what packaging says and what it does can be wide.
That’s exactly the kind of tension I explore in my LinkedIn posts, where I write regularly about the realities of packaging design, from big-brand strategies to overlooked usability issues.
This year, my posts that gained the most traction weren’t about the latest launch. They were about real-world problems. A refill that didn’t quite work. A pack that promised sustainability but created more confusion than clarity. A design that helped more people, simply by rethinking the basics.
The strongest reactions to my posts weren’t about novelty. They came when people recognised something real. A disconnect between a brand’s intentions and the user experience. A refill system that sounded smart but didn’t quite land. A material swap that created more confusion than impact.
These weren’t isolated examples. They pointed to bigger shifts in how packaging is understood, judged and valued.
Sustainability under scrutiny
There’s more awareness now around how easy it is to make something look sustainable. Surface-level messaging no longer holds up. A recyclable pack that doesn’t get recycled is still waste. A compostable pouch that only works under specific industrial conditions isn’t solving much without the right system behind it.
We’re asking better questions. Does the design reduce impact, or just move the problem around? Is it easy to separate materials? Will it work in different markets and disposal systems? None of these are new concerns, but the patience for vague answers is wearing thin.
Brands are still under pressure to be seen to act, but it’s becoming clear that performative packaging doesn’t survive close inspection. Good intentions aren’t enough if the execution fails.
Usability isn’t optional
One of the clearest patterns across my content this year was how strongly people respond to packaging that works well in everyday use. Design that supports people, not just processes.
That includes everything from how a lid fits a cup to how a person with low dexterity opens a product. Refill formats that are messy or hard to understand won’t be used, no matter how sustainable they claim to be. Inclusive design isn’t niche or specialist. It improves functionality for everyone.
The gap between intention and usability is still wide in many categories. There’s a lot of work being done around materials, but unless that’s matched by effort in how people interact with the pack, adoption will remain limited.
Creativity drives progress, not decoration
Creativity played a central role in many of the best conversations this year. Not in a visual or stylistic sense, but in how problems are approached and solved.
That might be through biomimicry, system thinking, or clever structural design that removes the need for glue or reduces transport space. It’s not always visible to the consumer, but it shows up in how efficiently the whole system works.
Creativity is what makes sustainability scalable. It turns a good idea into something usable, repeatable and commercially viable. Yet in many organisations, creative thinking is still treated as a final step rather than a core part of the solution.
Volume still the bigger problem
Many of the comments across my posts pointed to a shared frustration. Even when packaging is well designed, it’s still arriving in huge quantities. Sustainable packaging helps, but it doesn’t solve overproduction.
The conversation around materials is evolving, but it often stops short of questioning how much we’re making in the first place. The travel-size format, the single-use sachet, the seasonal special edition. All perfectly rational decisions in isolation, but together they add up to a system that produces more waste than most infrastructure can handle.
That’s not an easy fix. But it’s a necessary one. Sustainable packaging is a step forward, not a free pass.
Packaging tells consumer the kind of brand they’re dealing with
A lot of what resonated most this year was about how packaging reflects the priorities behind it. Packs that feel considered build trust. Packs that feel like shortcuts don’t.
When brands put care into both form and function, it shows. When the user experience feels like an afterthought, it creates friction. Sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly, but always with consequences.
A packaging format that reduces material use, improves usability, and aligns with the product inside does more than protect. It communicates. It reinforces value. It reflects the mindset behind the brand.
Looking ahead
The most interesting ideas in packaging today aren’t always the boldest or the most heavily marketed. They’re the ones rooted in how things actually work. Ideas that hold up under pressure, travel well across markets, and make sense for the user as well as the supply chain.
What stood out across the year wasn’t any single innovation. It was the appetite for better thinking. Less focus on slogans. More on systems. Fewer assumptions about what people will tolerate. More effort to design for how people actually live.
If there’s one shift I want to keep seeing, it’s the move towards more grounded, thoughtful design. Less noise, more clarity. Less pressure to impress, more focus on what works.
That’s been the thread running through the most engaged conversations on my LinkedIn this year. It’s where strategy, sustainability and real-world design challenges meet. And if the past year is anything to go by, people are ready for packaging that’s built on common sense, not just good storytelling.
Click here to follow Lisa on LinkedIn and get fascinating packaging insights every day.
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