CPG Design: A Look at Viral Trends + Real-World Examples & Strategies

Graza. Fishwife. Brightland. These brands represent some of my favorite CPG designs. Marked by bright colors, bold fonts, and creative illustrations, this style of packaging is now moving beyond specialty stores and into big retail aisles.Graza. Fishwife. Brightland. These brands represent some of my favorite CPG designs. Marked by bright colors, bold fonts, and creative illustrations, this style of packaging is now moving beyond specialty stores and into big retail aisles. “If you walk into almost every major retail chain grocery store in the U.S., there would be at least one product that we designed, if not two,” says Mike McVicar, co-founder of Gander, a Brooklyn-based design studio. To help you create catchy consumer packaged goods (CPG) designs, I’ve gathered insights from Mike that you won’t want to miss — as well as CPG design tips and real-life CPG branding examples to serve as inspiration. Table of Contents The CPG Design Pendulum The Downside to a Trending Style Differentiating CPG Brands Through Design 5 CPG Branding Examples 7 CPG Design Tips for Creating Attractive Packaging The CPG Design Pendulum In the late 90s and early 2000s, good design wasn’t a priority for consumer packaged goods (CPG). Packages with call-outs and