Prof Rahul Nair on the influence of packaging design

“Packaging can be theatre, it can create a story.” This quote by Jony Ive, a close collaborator of Steve Jobs, who served as the head of design at Apple appears in the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. It is reflective of how over the years, packaging has moved from being just a container to an experience that creates a narrative and makes a product feel special through careful design.

Today, packaging is one of the most influential drivers of consumer experience. It is one of the first interactions a customer has with a brand, the protective layer that carries products across long and unpredictable supply chains. At the same time, packaging plays a crucial role in enhancing a product's appeal and influencing customers’ desire to purchase it. It also communicates its value, quality, and brand identity, making it an important factor in consumer decision-making.

With a rising focus on ESG, packaging is also used by companies to signal their commitment to sustainability. These shifts are reshaping the design industry and opening new and career opportunities for young designers.

If we look closer at the numbers, the scale becomes clear. Growing faster than the global average, The Indian packaging industry was valued at around USD 50.5-billion in 2019 and is expected to touch USD 204.81-billion this year. This pace of growth is driven by a unique mix of forces. FMCG consumption continues to rise, exports are expanding, and eCommerce has changed the way products move across the country.

The growing urban middle class, the rapid rise of tier two and tier three cities, and the inclusion of rural India in online commerce have created new challenges in transportation, climate variation and handling. Social media has made aesthetics, unboxing and brand storytelling central to consumer expectations. Government initiatives like Make in India have also made manufacturing and packaging quality critical to India’s global competitiveness.

These factors have also led to a fundamental change in what businesses expect from designers. They want packaging that goes beyond good-looking graphics or a protective layer. They want packaging that can communicate while complying with regulations and, importantly, reduce waste. Packaging has become a strategic business tool, and designers are central to this transformation.

Rules around food safety and organised retail are pushing businesses to rethink materials, clarity of information and structural design. Consumers want packaging that maintains hygiene, stores the content and also is easy to open, easy to carry and easy to dispose of. The pharma sector adds another dimension where safety, legibility and user-friendly interactions become extremely important. Together, these shifts have created a steady demand for designers who can combine creativity skills with technical and regulatory know-hows.

This is also why sustainability has become non-negotiable. Brands are under pressure to adopt recyclable materials, reduce plastic use and meet EPR norms. This has given rise to a need for designers who can think more holistically, blend creativity with engineering, understand materials deeply and consider long-term environmental impact at every stage. For young designers, this makes packaging one of the most future-ready careers in the design ecosystem.

Packaging design thinking requires a transdisciplinary approach. It is not about just designing a package but rather, a complete solution. A packaging designer must examine the entire journey from the factory to storage, transportation, unboxing, use, store and eventual disposal and recycling. Hence, it requires an understanding of material science, design, supply-chain behaviour, regulatory frameworks, consumer psychology and brand strategy.

Education plays a central role in preparing the next generation of packaging professionals. Students can enter the field through visual design, industrial design, engineering, institutes like the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) continue to provide deep technical expertise through their programs. At the same time, emerging institutes like BITS Design are embedding packaging into product design pathways that holistically covers the domain, including sustainability and technology-driven studios to match evolving industry expectations and global standards.

The skills required go far beyond surface styling and include knowledge and skills of design, material choice, prototyping, CAD tools and digital simulations. Designers need to be creative, a problem solver and must understand various barriers, print requirements, production limitations and regulatory requirements, especially in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging. Equally important are empathy, communication and collaboration, because packaging design is always a team effort that involves engineers, manufacturers, sustainability and marketing experts.

As the fifth-largest sector of the economy, packaging plays a key role in India’s economic ambitions. As Indian brands expand globally, packaging becomes critical in ensuring shelf presence, product safety, cost efficiency and export competitiveness. When designers are involved early in strategy building, planning, developing, sourcing, testing and supply-chain conversations, companies capture these gains more effectively. For the next generation of Indian designers, packaging is the stage on which stories of innovation, sustainability and national ambition come alive.