Sensory Starvation: What the Return of In-Person Networking Means for the Future of Brand Design
I had a call at 2 PM yesterday with a packaging designer who’s incredibly brilliant and well seasoned in his niche. As the call wrapped up, he shared a sentiment that I don’t think will be true for much longer: “when brands need to cut costs, packaging is always the first to go.”
While this may be true for Fortune 500 companies, I believe something is shifting underneath that perceived sentiment: we are suffering from collective sensory starvation.
For the last few years, brand-building was defined by digital efficiency—quicker feeds, flatter graphics, and scalable digital campaigns. But in a world moving too fast, efficiency has created a void. We scroll and click, but we rarely feel anything which means we likely don’t remember anything either. The resurgence of live gatherings, real-world events, and physical art isn't an accident; it is a direct response to a digital environment that lacks warmth, weight, and presence.
When human connection moves back into the physical realm, brand strategy has to follow. And that means brand packaging, social media, and PR events are about to look—and feel—radically different.
Remember Vinyls?
Similar to the colleague I spoke with yesterday, many packaging designers today feel hopeless about the state of their craft. In an era dominated by e-commerce logistics, standard shipping boxes, and cost-cutting digital-first brands, it can feel like traditional packaging design is being commoditized out of existence.
However, packaging isn't dying—it is entering its resurgence.
Consider what happened to music: streaming made music weightless and instant, which ironically sparked a massive revival for physical vinyl records. People didn't buy vinyl because it was cheap or convenient; they bought it because they craved the ritual, the artwork, and the tactile experience.
Packaging is undergoing the exact same evolution.
The Fall of Transactional Unboxing: The generic "unboxing video" era is fading because digital audiences are immune to flat visuals. Shipping a product in a plain brown box just to deliver an item is table stakes.
The Rise of the Micro-Niche: Mass-market packaging may stay functional and low-cost, but premium and niche packaging is becoming a category of physical art.
Brands are beginning to realize that physical packaging is one of their few remaining uninterrupted touchpoints. It is no longer just a container; it is a high-touch ambassador. With the barrier of entry to start a business drastically lowering in the age of AI, founders should no longer try to serve the masses. They need to create unforgettable tactile and visual experiences, which in turn, changes the perceived value of the product. This is ground zero for cult-like followings.
Designing for the Senses: Beyond Visuals
When packaging shifts from utility to art, design expands beyond what looks good on a screen to what feels memorable in hand. Neuroscience tells us that sensory cues, weight, texture, and scent, bypass rational thought and go straight to emotional memory.
We are seeing a rise in high-touch, sensory packaging techniques:
Sensory & Scented Pigments: Inks embedded with micro-encapsulated scents that release fragrance upon touch or unboxing.
Tactile Paper Substrates & Finishes: Soft-touch coatings, heavy-cotton rag papers, blind embossing, and architectural structural folds that create a physical rhythm during unboxing.
Weight as Quality Signaling: Heavier, intentional structural materials that signal craft and luxury before the customer even sees the product inside.
While these multi-sensory techniques are not always cost-effective for mass-market shipping, cost-efficiency isn't the point. The point is signaling extreme intentionality.
What This Means for PR & Social Media Strategy
Our team is currently working on a launch event for a local snack business here in Portland. As we build the event agenda, creating a uniquely curated experience is the only thing on our radar—because, quite frankly, showcasing a new bag against a branded photo backdrop just doesn’t cut it anymore. If we’re asking people to show up for a brand they’ve never heard of, the incentive needs to be more experiential.
Planning this launch highlighted two major shifts in how we now approach PR events and social content:
PR Events Become Immersive Spaces: PR activations will move away from photogenic backdrops designed solely for Instagram photos. The new PR event focuses on spatial design, real-world community, and multi-sensory immersion beyond a live DJ.
Social Media as the Documentarian: Instead of social media being the end destination, it becomes the lens that documents real-world experiences. Content will highlight the physical—capturing the sound of a box opening, the texture of a press kit, or the atmosphere of an offline gathering.
The Takeaway
I don’t believe the return of in-person networking is a temporary post-digital trend—it’s a signal. It tells us that audiences are exhausted by living entirely in their feeds.
For brand leaders, strategists, and designers, the takeaway is clear: the future of brand strategy and packaging design isn't just about what people see on a glass screen. It's about what you can make them touch, smell, and feel in the real world.