The ‘MAYA Principle’ in Packaging Design: Balancing Innovation and Familiarity to develop successful packaging (re)designs
In a world where consumer attention is fleeting, brands must walk a fine line between innovation and accessibility. The MAYA Principle—"Most Advanced Yet Acceptable"—offers a strategic approach to packaging design and marketing communication that maximizes impact without alienating audiences. Developed by industrial designer Raymond Loewy, this principle underscores the importance of gradual evolution in design and messaging, ensuring that new concepts remain digestible for consumers.
Understanding the MAYA Principle
Consumers crave novelty but are also resistant to drastic change. In his design philosophy, Raymond Loewy noted that while consumers are drawn to innovation, they also tend to resist radical change. He encapsulated this tension in what became known as the “Most Advanced Yet Acceptable” (MAYA) principle. According to this idea, successful design achieves a balance by introducing cutting-edge features within a framework that remains familiar and intuitive. This principle informs strategies not only in product development but also in areas such as packaging and advertising, guiding brands to merge progressive ideas with recognizable elements.
© Brainsuite
A well-documented example of this approach is Apple's product evolution. Each iteration of the iPhone introduced advanced features while retaining core design elements, allowing users to adapt seamlessly. In packaging, Coca-Cola has successfully modernized its bottle design over time while preserving its iconic shape, ensuring that consumers continue to associate it with authenticity and tradition.
The Role of MAYA in Packaging Design
Packaging serves as a silent salesman, often being the first point of engagement between a brand and its consumers. Effective packaging design harnesses the MAYA principle by introducing innovative materials, shapes, or interactive elements while keeping key familiar visual cues. The visual similarity of the new design needs to hit the sweet spots between novelty and familiarity. This approach ensures that consumers do not feel disconnected from the brand's heritage or product promise.
© pioneermarketing.net
For example, sustainable packaging trends have pushed companies to explore biodegradable materials. However, when introducing such changes, brands often retain recognizable elements such as color schemes, typography, or logo placement to maintain consumer trust.
A study in the International Journal of Design found that while consumers appreciated novel shirt designs, they preferred familiarity in pants and jackets—reinforcing that degrees of novelty must be tailored to specific product categories.
© Hung & Chen, International Journal of Design
Applying MAYA to Marketing Communication
Successful packaging design strikes a balance between innovation and familiarity, ensuring that products stand out while remaining intuitive for consumers. The MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) principle is particularly relevant in this space, where packaging must capture attention on the shelf while still being recognisable and easy to navigate.
Take the beverage industry as an example—brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi consistently refresh their packaging with modern design elements, yet they retain core visual cues such as colour, typography, and brand identity. This approach maintains consumer trust while keeping the brand relevant. Similarly, premium beauty brands introduce sleek, minimalist packaging to signal innovation while ensuring that functionality and branding remain intact.
The science behind consumer perception supports this balance. Neuroscientific research shows that shoppers rely on cognitive shortcuts when making purchasing decisions. If packaging is too familiar, it may be overlooked due to repetition suppression—the brain’s tendency to ignore overly familiar stimuli. Conversely, if a design is too radical, it risks alienating consumers. By integrating subtle yet effective novelty—whether through shape, material, or visual hierarchy—brands can enhance product visibility and engagement at the point of sale.
Leveraging the MAYA Principle with AI
For brands striving to enhance the effectiveness of their packaging design, Brainsuite provides the AI-driven insights needed to strike the perfect balance between novelty and familiarity.
Our dedicated Packaging AI-App enables designers and brand managers to hit the sweet spot of visual similarity along the process. The AI App provides instant feedback on...
how novel/familiar a new design is,
how distinct it is vs. competition and
if it ensures an easy navigation within the range and brand block.
With this AI-App design teams can iterate quickly to get the balance of familiarity and novelty right. In-market study shows that the prediction of the AI-App strongly correlates with in-market sales uplift of re-launches.
👉 Learn more about how Brainsuite’s Pack + Shelf AI App helps brand teams to ensure in-market impact of packaging (re)design.