Our 2024/25 trends report celebrates 10 influential packaging design trends identified from over 2,000 entries to our annual competition. This unique perspective of global innovation in packaging design outlines new and evolving trends shaping the cosmetic and beauty industry today—from significant innovations in sustainable materials to visually striking and culturally connected designs. 

Beauty remains one of the most pioneering spaces for packaging design, shaped by functionality, aesthetics, and, increasingly, sustainability. In particular, three key trends showcase how beauty and cosmetics are leading the way in progressive design that adapts to the needs of our world and consumers today.  

Leave No Trace

Remarkable innovations in beauty packaging design help to solve real-world problems.

Each year, we are blown away by designs that help to solve the critical problems our world is facing, and this year, the beauty industry showcased design solutions that drive this trend. Packaging that re-uses waste materials, helping the world move towards a more circular economy without compromising aesthetics, sets the standards for other industries to follow.

Woola is one of many pioneers in material innovation that is working towards eliminating single-use plastic in packaging and making use of industrial waste. Woola’s Wool Gusset Envelopes, which repurposes approximately 200,000 tonnes of wasted wool in European countries, has become a sustainable alternative to plastic bubble wrap. The wool’s properties—resilience, elasticity, water resistance, and the ability to protect products from extreme temperatures—make it a particularly effective, lightweight packaging solution.

Another inspiring product which repurposes industrial byproducts is WASTECARE™, the first skincare product made from industrial wastewater from textile dyeing. Crafted from layered recycled cardboard, the packaging is designed for shipping without additional materials. Inspired by biochemical formulas, its dot-and-line system illustrates Japanese characters, while plant-based ink prints data about sustainable dyeing.

Simple Shapes Meet Stand-Out Shades

A striking evolution of the Bold Visuals trend, which appeared in our first-ever trend report, this energetic design trend champions geometric-inspired shapes paired with bright primary colors to create visuals that command attention.

Beauty brands have increasingly simplified their brand identities with neutral, minimalist, and clean color palettes that nod to the clinical innovations that have shaped the formulations or highlight the purity and naturalness of the ingredients. Yet we’re starting to see an uptick in such brands now embracing vibrancy, color, and simple geometry in their brand identities— color codes that seem to capture positive energy, vitality, and freshness, which awaken the senses. 

Nolla’s plastic-free personal care range exemplifies this perfectly. Its dynamic and vivid use of blues, greens, and oranges centered on its graphical play on “O” (signifying its zero plastic waste proposition) is one of the reasons why the brand has achieved award recognition. This playfulness and optimism injected into brand identity and design is a bold step away from the understated aesthetic dominating the beauty category. It signals a new shift or rejuvenation in the approach to visual beauty product positioning. This is set to create more standout on shelf and pave the way for more bold designs to emerge.   

Rising Wave is a men’s fragrance brand whose design is inspired by the invisibility of scent, yet its impact on mood. The iconic motif and contrasting two-tone colors draw upon the five fragrances in the range: “Natural,” “Frank,” “Slow,” “Mode,” and “Smart.” Again, this is a strong example of colors aligning with moods and scent, creating a vivid design system that is visually striking. 

Meanwhile, the toWild “RAN” Essential oil skin care series juxtaposes vibrant neon with earthy brown to create distinction across its lines and stand out on the shelf. It is a striking example of bold colors complimenting rather than dominating beauty packaging design.  

Solo Symbolics That Captivate and Connect

Moving away from previous trends such as layering that maximizes space to include more crafted visuals, designs, logos, and copy, Solo Symbolics strips everything back to focus on one brand signifier. These mono symbols, paired with some impactful design, allow brands to effectively communicate their story while establishing a lasting connection with consumers and increasing recognition.

Mirelle wanted a visual aesthetic that would enhance the private-label skincare brand. The overall concept clarifies the product’s fragrance and character by creating different, visually playful, and standout graphic Ms across the range.

Florasis launched the Forever Bloom Creamy Liquid Eyeshadow, a set of liquid eyeshadows that shows the culture of 12 floral deities through creative structure and jewelry. Blending cosmetics with culture, the packaging design includes jewelry and accessories that can be detached and used as brooches or hair accessories, allowing users to express their creativity. 

The INGENI Fortune Hand Cream celebratory Chinese New Year gift box features a sole exclamation mark formed from the product outline shape and a lucky coin. The symbolism of this simple punctuation, which—in its own right—is expressive and bold, is supercharged by the gold hue in which it is delineated against the red. 

About the Author

Chloe Scanlan is Marketing Manager at the Pentawards, the world’s leading platform and community dedicated to packaging design.