Fred Hart
Creative Director
Interact, a food and beverage packaging design and branding agency based in Boulder
As the beverage category has “naturalized,” simplified and cleaned up ingredients, we’ve seen form follow function and art mimic life. Beverage design over the past few years shifted towards minimalism and “transparent” design mimicking these “clean” evolutions. HPP juices like Suja and Blueprint, nut milks from New Barn and Malk, drinkable soups like Tio and Zupa Noma. and startups like Nomva and Mother Beverage all exude this simplistic design trend.In 2017, we’ll see the pendulum swing past this simplified design trend towards self-expression, moving the conversations from the “what” of brands into the “why,” a rich and emotional territory. Early adopters of this trend are brands like Humm Kombucha, PepsiCo’s new LIFE WTR and even vintage-turned-cool LaCroix. They all use expressionistic design to inspire people, drive engaging personalities and tell unique stories beyond just the “what” of the product. Color, pattern and evocative typography will come to prominence more than ever.