The Role of Managers, Market Trends, and Design Culture in a Growing Problem
Many times, while shopping, I’ve picked up a product that looked familiar only to realize it wasn’t the brand I thought it was. It just had packaging that looked very similar to a well-known foreign brand.
Part 1: What’s Happening in the Market?
Copying in packaging design has become very normal in Iran. And it’s not just about colors or shapes some companies copy everything: the name, the product formula, even the full layout and visual style of a foreign brand.
Sometimes the design is so similar that it’s hard to tell if the product is Iranian or not.
To some managers, this might look like a safe move: it’s cheaper, faster, and already tested. But it leads to a market that looks and feels the same everywhere. No new ideas. No real brand identity.
And this issue doesn’t stop with brand owners. Many graphic designers start projects by looking at what global brands have done. Instead of researching the local market or understanding Iranian consumer culture, they just search for a similar example and follow that.
Of course, being inspired by good design is different from copying. But in many cases, the line between the two is lost.
This isn’t a rare experience. In fact, it’s become common in Iran’s market. More and more local products are copying the look of successful international brands. Instead of creating their own unique designs, companies are repeating what has already been done elsewhere. At first, this might seem smart. But it can actually hurt the market, the consumer, and the creative side of the industry.
One reason this keeps happening is that Iran’s market lacks good access to data and product libraries. Designers and companies don’t always have tools to explore better ideas, so they go with what they see.
There’s also that old saying: “Don’t reinvent the wheel.” But in design, that can be misleading. Packaging is not just a pretty box. It’s a way for a brand to speak to people, to stand out, and to connect with culture.
Sadly, today’s store shelves often look like a row of safe, repetitive designs rather than a space for creativity and new ideas.
Part 2: Why Is This Happening?
This trend isn’t just because of bad taste. It has deeper reasons.
The first big reason is fear of risk. Many business owners don’t want to take chances on something new. They prefer to copy what already worked elsewhere. It feels safer and easier to sell.
The second reason is the short-term way of thinking. Many brands don’t invest in long-term identity or quality. They just want fast sales. So, if something worked for a foreign company, they assume it will work here too.
Then there’s the issue of cost and time. Creating an original package takes research, time, and budget. Copying something already made is faster and cheaper. So clients often ask designers to copy instead of create.
This affects the design industry too. Many smaller agencies and freelance designers accept these copy requests just to make money. Even bigger agencies sometimes say yes, because they need to keep clients happy or avoid losing the project.
In this system, creative designers are stuck. Either they give up their standards, or they lose the job. Over time, copy-paste design becomes the norm. “Good design” gets replaced with “safe design.”
Worst of all, most decisions are made without studying the local market or culture. People decide what looks good based on foreign examples not based on what really fits the Iranian audience.
Part 3: What Happens to the Audience?
One big problem with this trend is that the audience’s taste stops growing.
Packaging is supposed to help people understand a product and trust it. But when everything looks the same and none of it fits local culture people stop expecting anything new.
They get used to the same look and feel. They stop looking for different or creative options because those don’t exist on the shelf.
Over time, this leads to a weaker sense of taste in the public. People don’t experience fresh ideas. Designers stop trying. And the market becomes dull.
The Bigger Problem: The Future Is at Risk
This doesn’t just affect today. It affects tomorrow too.
Children who grow up seeing only repeated and copied designs won’t learn how to imagine something new. Their creativity is shaped by sameness.
They won’t learn to ask questions like:
“Why does this look like that?” or “What makes this design special?”
At the same time, young designers learn early that copying is more accepted than creating. They are trained to play it safe. To repeat, not invent.
So, creativity gets blocked before it even begins.
If this continues, design in Iran will lose its voice. Not just professionally but culturally. Because design isn’t only about tools or software. It’s a language. It’s how we speak to our audience, to our society, to the future.
And if we always speak someone else’s language, what happens to our own?
Conclusion
Copying in packaging design may seem like a quick solution but it comes with a high price.
It limits creativity. It weakens competition. It harms public taste. And it shapes a future where people expect less, and designers imagine less.
If we want to change this, we need to start at the top with the people who make the decisions.
Managers and brand owners must see packaging not as something to imitate, but as a chance to stand out, connect, and create.
Because good packaging isn’t just a box.
It’s a message.
It’s a chance to speak with culture, with people, and with the future.
