Our Thinking
The World Through our Lens
Kaleidoscope is a CPG packaging design and prototyping agency headquartered in Chicago. We’re makers, thinkers, and opinionated observers of everything packaging. Here’s what’s on our minds — from design trends and sustainability to the forces reshaping consumer goods. For a deeper look at our capabilities, visit: strategy, packaging design, and prototyping.
Latest Perspectives
April 17, 2026
Packaging that looks stunning on screen can fall completely flat at shelf. Explore why high-fidelity prototypes are the difference between packaging that earns placement and packaging that loses it.
What Leading Brands Can Teach About Marketing to Millennials
Whether we call them GenY or Millennials, people born between 1980 and 2000 are about 92 million strong in the U.S. alone. By 2017, their spending power will be greater than $200 billion annually. This translates to roughly $10 trillion throughout the lifetime of...
Sustainable Packaging: A Holistic, Collaborative Design Challenge
There are many opportunities for the design industry to play a bigger part in product sustainability. Case in point: Many of the technological advancements in sustainable packaging suffer from issues that could be tackled through partnership with strong design...
Validation Research: Why Courage is Your Best Bet
As a design consultant and inventor, I have always struggled with the mandatory of validation research as part of the stage-gate process. Many large manufacturers, particularly in the CPG industry, require validation research prior to new product launches to assess...
2015 Sweets and Snacks Expo: The 6 things you need to know.
By: Alexandra Goff and Bridget Litzinger From seaweed snacks to beer-flavored jellybeans, the 2015 Sweets and Snacks Expo was a Willy Wonka display of confections and savories; four acres of on-trend delights from the farthest corners of the globe. What were the key...
Sustainable Packaging Design: 3 Things You Need to Know
Our CapabilitiesPrototypingWith some of the most comprehensive capabilities in the country, our prototyping team leads the industry in brand packaging support services. From proof of concept through execution at shelf, we work collaboratively with our clients and each...
Hot Trends and a Celebration at the 2015 Housewares Show
By: Audra Bielskus and Jennifer Bae Grab Your Oven Mitt – Here are the Hot Trends Colors were dazzling and products ran the gamut from fun new twists on traditional kitchenware to DIY kits for wine and beer drinkers. The array was beyond big, but here are some of the...
Top 6 Signs It’s Time to Update Packaging
CPG Trends TOP 6 SIGNS IT'S TIME TO UPDATE YOUR PACKAGING Fred Richards, CMO & PartnerMarch 26, 2019 Packaging, sadly, is one of the last things considered when it comes to the marketing mix. Advertising, PR events, stunts, social media and other “glamorous”...
Top 6 Tips for Private Label: Trends and Consumers
Private Label Trends TOP 6 TIPS FOR PRIVATE LABEL: TRENDS AND CONSUMERS Alexandra Goff, Account Director March 1, 2016 From February 25 – 27, Chicago hosted the 2015 StoreBrands Innovation & Marketing Summit. We boiled it all down to the top six tips for private...
If Packaging Were Your Only Marketing Spend
Imagine launching a new consumer product with no marketing budget—just the product design and packaging as your brand proposition. It’s a compelling hypothetical. And it was part of the discussion at January’s Package Design Matters Conference. Kaleidoscope’s...
The Power of Cross-Industry Innovation in Product Design
Each Kaleidoscope project begins with a client proposal and a promise to deliver innovation. How we achieve the big “Ah Ha” is the nerve-wracking part. But I know from experience, if you’re not nervous; if you don’t have an explorer’s zeal for discovery and a...
LiveGFree, Packaging Design by Kaleidoscope, Awarded New Product Line of the Year
StoreBrands released the winners of its fifth annual Innovation Awards program, which recognizes brands that excel via store brand differentiation. Winners were profiled in the November issue of StoreBrands and were honored with a special cocktail reception and dinner...
11 Tips for New Design Grads: Getting the Right Job and Keeping It
It seems like just yesterday I was graduating from college, crying that it was over, filling my Volkswagen Beetle to the brim and hugging my friends goodbye. But I was also ecstatic to imagine finally having a paycheck in my bank account and the chance to nail my...
