42 Examples of Asian Packaging

Globalization has resulted in the gradual homogenization of graphic design style preferences around the world, but this doesn't mean that there aren't some distinctive patterns found throughout contemporary Asian packaging. Across the food, beverage and beauty industries, there are some frequently featured motifs and aesthetics that can be traced within countries and across the continent.

Cutesy imagery of dolls and cartoon animals is frequently found in South Korean branding strategies, often inspired by illustration and film. Lately, Japanese packaging design has churned out beautiful wooden boxes, origami cartons and more digitally inspired projects like printing barcodes onto banana peels. Chinese researchers have been looking into creating rot-detecting labels that change color when bottled edibles have expired. Meanwhile, the successful Prompt Design firm of Thailand is breaking into a more universal interest in vivid graphics and bold colors for packaging all sorts of goods around the world.

The main feature to note about Asian packaging collectively is that bags, bottles and boxes are often visually harmonizing traditional symbolism with contemporary principles of global art.