LUXURY PACKAGING


dominant visual languages of premium. Reduce the palette. Strip back the graphics. Remove the unnecessary. Say less. But this creates an increasingly


important question: does restraint create more value than visible complexity, or does it risk invisibility altogether? As Gaby Granier, Boundless Brand


Design’s Associate Strategy Director, observes, “The question isn’t really which creates more value; it’s which is right for a specific brand, consumer, and category context.” In environments increasingly shaped


by fast scrolling and fragmented attention, restraint carries a hidden risk. It can disappear. Yet visibility alone is not value either Gaby continues: “Yes, excessive


restraint risks rendering a brand invisible, especially in an environment built on fast scrolling and superficial engagement. But that’s better read as a creative challenge than a reason to avoid it.” Jorge introduces another layer


of tension here: “This is completely brand dependent. If Apple suddenly launched something visually chaotic and overcomplicated, it could contradict their entire brand narrative.” There is another dimension here, too.


Less can feel more premium, but only when consumers understand the intent behind it. As Jamie explains: “In luxury, less can


absolutely be more, particularly when backed by genuine quality and substance, executed with true craftsmanship. Clearly communicating the meaning behind less can be a real opportunity to build perceived value.” That may be the more uncomfortable truth behind premium design today. Minimalism itself has become a trend. And once restraint becomes a trend, it risks becoming another form of visual conformity. The question isn’t whether to simplify or amplify. It is whether the decision feels inevitable for the brand behind it.


When refinement starts looking familiar Refinement is often treated as evidence of quality. But refinement without identity quickly becomes repetition. As Gaby puts it, “When it stops telling


you anything about the beliefs of the brand behind it.” There is now a growing tension between


clarity and sameness. Across categories, products increasingly borrow from the same visual language of quiet luxury, understated palettes, and stripped-back aesthetics. The result is that many products feel carefully designed, but are increasingly difficult to distinguish from one another. Gaby is direct on the distinction: “Refinement that favours simplicity


JUNE 2026 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • 33 PERCEIVED VALUE


STARTS WITH THE BRAND. REPUTATION SHAPES


EXPECTATION LONG BEFORE SOMEONE TOUCHES A


PRODUCT, AND THE DESIGN, MATERIAL, AND CONTEXT CAN EITHER REINFORCE THAT EXPECTATION OR EXPOSE A GAP


because a brand genuinely rejects over- complication works. Refinement that feels lifted from a basic Pinterest search will never feel unique or truly premium.” Jamie adds another dimension: “When


refinement has no direct relevance or link to the brand and becomes a template rather than a position with meaning and benefit to the consumer.” At that point, refinement stops


behaving as authorship and starts behaving as imitation.


The moment of truth is physical While perception is built across multiple channels, the final decision often happens in a single moment: in the hand. Visual design creates expectation.


Material, weight, texture, and finish either validate it or quietly dismantle it. As Paul explains, “The most powerful cue


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