This year, design trends are louder, bolder, and more nostalgic than ever — and we’re here to show you that recreating them isn’t just possible, it’s fun. We’ve put together 5 short tutorial videos showing exactly how you can recreate 2025’s biggest packaging trends using Adobe Illustrator and your own dielines. Whether you're a designer, a startup founder, or just packaging-curious, these step-by-step guides are designed to make trend-led design accessible to everyone.
Ethereal Sunset Gradient Packaging
Stunning, seamless gradients inspired by sunsets are everywhere this year. These flowing color blends often span the entire packaging surface and are paired with simple, monotone branding to let the gradient draw consumers in. Learn to use Adobe Illustrator’s gradient tool to bring a glow to your packaging.
Trippy Distorted Text Effects
Get groovy with warped typography. Pulling influence from retro design, this packaging trend gives your packaging a fresh and bold look. Text becomes art when distorted into wave shapes or curves, helping to add dimension to your packaging, and immediately draws the eye. Using Illustrator’s Envelope Distort tool, learn to create warped, vectorized text that looks professionally designed.
Groovy Retro Wavy Lines
One of the most eye-catching styles in 2025 packaging is dynamic, distorted, wavy lines as the background. It brings 90s nostalgia into modern packaging designs with groovy lines and the use of dopaminergic retro colors. By using mesh distortion on rectangles, learn to create your own retro waves for your next packaging.
Lovable Retro Mascot Characters
With retro designs making a comeback, retro cartoon mascots are no exception. These playful, line-drawn characters have been popping up on snack boxes, beverage cans, and more, bringing some vintage charm. Learn how to use AI and Illustrator’s tracing tools to build a scalable, editable vector mascot, adding some personality to your packaging.
Artistic Gallery-Inspired Packaging
In 2025, we are seeing brands let photography and illustrations take center stage on their packaging. Featuring bold designs and lovely artwork, this trend allows the artwork to shine with minimal text and product descriptions as accompaniment. Clipping masks are the key to adding designs to select areas of your packaging.
Closing Thoughts
Each of these styles helps you tell a different kind of story. Whether it’s evoking nostalgia, elevating your brand through art, or capturing attention on crowded shelves, finding the right packaging design for your product is a powerful marketing tool.
The best part is that these looks are achievable with the help of Adobe Illustrator. At PackMojo, we make it easy to turn creative ideas into custom packaging with a little help from our tutorials. Whether you're designing folding cartons, mailer boxes, or anything in between, we’re here to help bring your packaging designs to reality. Let 2025 be the year your packaging turns heads — and tells your story.