LRXD is the Original Health & Happiness Agency. For over 50 years, we’ve worked with the leading and emerging global brands in the areas of health, mental wellness, organic & plant-based food & beverage, restaurant, education, travel, sustainability, and social impact.
We are a strategic and creative partner for companies on a mission to make healthier, more joyful lives accessible for all. By scaling these purpose-driven brands, we help compound the positive impact they have on people’s lives as they bring good to the world and help replace the brands that don’t.
With help from top minds in the future industry, we’ve compiled a comprehensive annual Future of Health & Happiness report that describes and decodes the forces and trends that will define that next decade of health and well-being and how these forces will transform culture and business. When envisioning the future, we predict a brighter, bolder, more collective tomorrow, where health and well-being become accessible priorities for all.
In this post, we set out to decode three key trends that will define the coming years of health and happiness product, service, and package design.
The Emerging Culture of “Well-Care” Design
We are entering a new era of enlightenment. A recent Kantar Health & Wellness shopper study uncovered that people no longer perceive the idea of “being healthy” and “being well” as the same. Being healthy is considered a mode of physical survival, while being well represents self-care, joy, and connectedness to other humans and nature. “Well-Care” is a term that covers both areas.
Product and service design will begin to reflect an increasingly connected system of self-care, mental care, and equality of care. We can expect to see more holistic product and service solutions that also bring communities together.
THE WELL’s new Live Cleanse is a holistic program of nutritional recipes, supplements, a 45-minute kickoff, and closing sessions with Dr. Frank Lipman and other experts to help people stock their fridge and cabinets, access to twice-weekly health coaching sessions and group meditations, and provides a supportive community hub on Facebook.
Photo Courtesy of: The Well
Well-Care design cues will evolve to give us a sense of circular healing, positive vibrational energy, cleaner body and mind, and communal connectedness.
We see this in the recent architectural design of Barlis Wedlick’s new wellness renter in Armonk, New York, known as “The Beckoning Path.” The property forms a well-care ecosystem that brings nature, nature-made materials, living shapes, and people together as one.
Image by Peter Aaron
Part of Well-Care in the future will be our focus on Mood Care. When LRXD was future-proofing the digital design for Hubert’s Lemonade, we ensured that every interaction delivered the brand idea that drinking a Hubert’s causes unexpected joy. As people shook their phones, they would get joyful and surprising experiences throughout the site.
Emerging Design for the “Eraser Economy”
Immunity is the new status. We will continue to see a rise over the coming years in “eraser products” for protection and self-modulation. These products help reverse the adverse effects of anything that might harm our minds and bodies. Think anti-hangover, anti-addiction, anti-toxin, anti-radiation, and anti-pollutant solutions.
Product and package design will reflect antidotes, medical symbols, and emergency kits, or they will elegantly strip away harmful ingredients and elements.
LRXD worked with an alternative sweetener company, Sola, which caters to Keto enthusiasts, to create a brand world that would stand the test of time. The identity and packaging needed to communicate the benefit of chef-crafted, low-glycemic, and low-carb products. Our designers literally erased the sugar molecule from the logo and used cutaway windows to showcase the bare and better-for-you ingredients.
Mother Earthing Our Well-Being and Package Design
Mother Earth is also having a moment of greater enlightenment. We now view her as a powerful healing force and mood modulator within our daily healthcare regimen, on top of something we need to protect and save for a better future.
According to Vice Media, 80% of Gen Z-ers believe in the power of spiritual energy fields. “Earth energy” elements, like rose quartz and gem infusions, are now mainstream ingredients in beauty and self-care products, claiming to deliver magical healing. We are shifting toward “circular systems” of living. And technology and nature will come together like never before.
As regenerative farming has increased, we now focus on the responsibility of educating people on why soil regeneration is so critical in protecting our future.
Growers organic tasked us with redesigning its batch-made soil brand, and we discovered that cannabis growers know what they want when it comes to soil exactly. Better organic soil yields stronger crops, and those crops produce a more consistent harvest. When they pick up a bag of soil, the label needs to tell them everything they need to know in an instant, or they will choose something else. Cannabis growers also rely on science and data to bring increased accountability and trust to the industry.
The Growers brand is helping to grow a better tomorrow. Their facility uses minimal amounts of fossil fuel and water in the manufacturing process. Plus, the whole facility runs on wind and solar-powered electricity while supplemented with conventional power.
The entire brand story comes to life on their packaging in a futuristic way. Every product features a “data dashboard” infographic, giving greater transparency to organic quality and performance.
Regenerative nutrition will also give people the opportunity to live their best future. We need to regenerate and balance our gut flora with prebiotic and probiotic nutrients to stay healthy over time. A good belly leads to good immunity. GoodBelly is a leading probiotic-based juice drink — important for people who want probiotic benefits without the dairy that can sometimes irritate intestinal systems.
When LRXD redesigned the brand’s packaging, we knew that the natural fruit ingredients were crucial to rebalancing the intestinal microflora and healing the gut. We showcased these ingredients in their most natural and delicious state on the shelf.
Health & Happiness is not a mystery to be solved, but a work of genius that we create. Together, we as a design community can make healthier, more joyful lives the next normal. We wish everyone a brighter, bolder future of creation.
