Designer Profiles Sponsored

October 29, 2020 •
Palettes and the pandemic: New designs and gift-giving styles for 2021

{Sponsored} Every year when the new Pantone colors are announced, designers across all industries consider how these palettes will impact both overall product lines and consumer choices.

We sat down with Nancy Dickson, creative director at The Gift Wrap Company (TGWC), to talk about gift-giving forecasts and their upcoming 2021 lines and style.

When the creative team at TGWC starts the planning process for a new year, they spend time researching, via magazine subscriptions, social media, online trend The Gift Wrap Company 2020 Just be Kindservices and at trend shows in North America and Europe. As a team, they discuss how the new color palettes they’re seeing – and overlapping threads through all of them – could find a way into their lines.

They also pay attention to social trends, and with the pandemic in 2020 causing lockdowns (mandated or otherwise), many consumers have given significant importance to their home life: gardening and cozying-up their homes. “Security might be the biggest takeaway,” Dickson said. “People are turning to what is comfortable, safe and secure amongst this global uneasiness,” Dickson continued.

COLORS

A retro and mid-century modern feel is back, with more clean-toned palettes compared to the past few years. Neon shades have taken a back seat while colors that evoke serenity become the focus. This plays in perfectly with the direction consumer shopping trends are heading in, with safety and comfort taking center stage.

ICONS

Rainbows continue to dominate, and TGWC has created some modern rainbow motifs to match the 2021 palettes. This includes toned-down versions of the traditional rainbow and metallics, two of the styles that have given traditional rainbow designs a modern edge. Llamas and bees are popular among the cutey critters that the market will see in gift wrap, as well as animal prints and always The Gift Wrap Company 2020 Birthdaypopular botanical designs. Mushrooms and fruit repeats will also emerge as “new florals” for the 2021 collection.

Foil-stamped and encapsulated, non-shedding glitter accents will continue to appear as well. For those who like glitzy designs, the glue-encased glitter is perfect since it won’t linger in the environment wherever the paper was used – or become part of the landscape.

SHIFT IN GIFT GIVING, GREETING CARDS

In this time when not everyone can be together in person, gift giving is all the more important. It’s a way to show you care, and Dickson has high hopes for this holiday season and beyond. “We don’t need junk or excess,” Dickson said. “I would like to see gifting becoming more meaningful … have a personal and meaningful touch and be conscientious, eco-friendly and reusable.”

A new push to support friends and the USPS alike during these strange times includes sending handwritten greeting cards to friends in lieu of visiting until things settle down. At the start of the pandemic, “so many people were isolated. The Gift Wrap Company 2020 RainbowReaching out, that’s how you pass time and make yourself and the person on the other end feel better,” Dickson said.

TGWC has a line of boxed gift cards that are perfect for the trend. The holiday cards and thank you cards they’ve always offered are still available, but now the team is working on adding new thank you and blank notecard designs to the mix.

HOLIDAY 2020

Predictions on how much longer we’ll be under the thumb of COVID-19 vary, but it appears the holiday season might be closer to normal than we expect. In crises, consumers usually cling to traditional styles in gift wrap and bags, but The Gift Wrap Company is seeing significant sales of both traditional and the fun, bright, whimsical styles they created as we headed into the pandemic.

While stores were slower to start picking up what they needed for holiday 2020, Dickson reports that things have begun a steady climb in the world of gift wrap. This bodes well for the gift and stationery industries as shops and consumers look to bounce back after a tumultuous 2020.

To learn more about The Gift Wrap Company’s designs in wrap, bags, cards and more, visit www.giftwrapcompany.com.

© 2020 The Gift Wrap Company




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