Why everyone's doing visual decluttering (and where it leaves brands)

Does anyone remember being in high school (pre-frontal lobe development, having absolutely no sense of maturity whatsoever), and there was like this joke that anyone who peeled off the label on their water bottle or book was “s*xually frustrated” and would get relentlessly mocked?

Maybe that’s too niche.

Well, today, if you do this, you’re a different kind of frustrated – frustrated with the bombardment of visual marketing cues that flood our daily lives.

So much so, that it’s actually become a whole trend. As “brand fatigue” becomes common vernacular, people are starting to push back on the way every waking moment, even the most mundane – washing our face, brushing our teeth, taking a sh*t – is used as an opportunity to sell us something.

That’s why a growing number of people are suddenly visually decluttering. They're stripping labels off products, decanting shampoo into unbranded glass bottles, even turning pantry goods into a minimalist aesthetic statement.

According to Allure, this “label-free” movement is gaining traction among consumers who are simply sick of being shouted at by design.

The home, once a place of respite, has become the last frontier of marketing saturation. Every cupboard and countertop now comes with a logo, a slogan, or a promise of some kind of transformation. And people are fighting back the only way they can: by reclaiming their visual space.

At first glance, this might look like just another TikTok decor trend. But visual decluttering isn’t about aesthetic minimalism—it’s about psychological survival.

We’ve reached peak sensory overload.

The average person sees between 4,000 and 10,000 ads a day, from pre-rolls to packaging to influencer placements. And even when we think we’re “off duty,” marketing follows us home, into our most intimate spaces. The brand world doesn’t clock out; it lives in our bathrooms, our pantries, our laundry cupboards.

When people rip labels off, they’re not chasing some clean girl aesthetic; they’re muting the marketing machine. It’s a small, satisfying act of rebellion that says: “I’ll buy your product, but I won’t buy your disruptions.”

This trend isn’t driven by apathy—it’s driven by agency.

It’s a way for consumers to reassert control in a system that monetises every inch of their attention.

There’s a psychological concept called “stimulus saturation”, which says when the brain is bombarded by too many inputs, it starts filtering them out entirely. That’s basically the modern marketplace in a nutshell.

Branding used to signal trust. A clean logo meant quality. A bold design meant innovation. Now, those same signals have become nothing but noise.

Even minimalist branding has become a brand in itself.

Think of the endless sea of beige packaging, soft sans-serif fonts, and “quiet luxury” vibes. Blegh. We’re stuck in what one designer dubbed “the era of blanding.” Everything looks clean, neutral, digestible, and therefore forgettable. Visual decluttering is what happens when consumers decide to skip the performative part altogether.

Because no one’s out here seeking another packaging design style. They’re seeking mental whitespace.

Culturally, this movement mirrors broader shifts:

• From performance to peace. Post-pandemic, there’s been a collective craving for calm. Digital detoxes, “silent retreats,” soft living, and slow mornings, visual decluttering fits right in.

• From consumption to curation. Instead of flaunting brands, people want to curate meaning. Removing labels turns consumption into a personal, almost private act.

• From ownership to authorship. Consumers are no longer passive participants in branding. They remix, restyle, and literally edit the visual world around them.

This is part of a larger aesthetic swing. We’ve cycled through the chaos of maximalism - bright, bold, messy - and we’re now seeing a recoil. Like any pendulum swing, it’s cultural self-regulation.

What it means for brands (and why “less” isn’t the easy fix)

Marketers will, of course, need to adapt. Cue the rebrands: fewer colours, cleaner type, more whitespace. But slapping a minimalist label on a noisy brand is like whispering with a megaphone.

This isn’t a design challenge—it’s a trust challenge. Consumers aren’t asking for prettier packaging; they’re asking for space!!! Physical, emotional, visual space, from constant persuasion.

And what does that mean in practice?

• Design for calm, not attention. Attention-grabbing design feels outdated in a world where everyone’s overwhelmed. Consider tactility, neutral tones, and materials that feel serene rather than scream for notice.

• Invest in invisible branding. The next luxury signal might be silence. Brands like Aesop or Muji have built empires on quiet confidence with products that blend into your space rather than dominate it.

• Let the experience carry the equity. If your logo disappeared tomorrow, would people still recognise your tone, your service, your texture, your values? That’s brand resilience.

• Offer de-branded options. Think refillable systems or label-free packaging for people who want discretion. The same way some prefer “stealth wealth” in fashion, this is “stealth consumption.”

• Rethink digital clutter too. Visual decluttering doesn’t stop at packaging. Simplify your website, reduce pop-ups, slow the scroll. Calm is becoming a conversion tactic.

Here’s the tricky part: brands still need recognition.

The danger of all this minimalism is homogeny, when everyone looks quiet, no one stands out. So then, you must redefine presence. That might mean doubling down on sensory branding (scent, sound, texture), or leaning into narrative identity, the why instead of the wow.

We’re entering an era where distinctiveness won’t come from louder visuals, but from deeper emotional resonance. The goal isn’t to disappear, but to simply belong.

Visual decluttering is one symptom of a larger cultural exhaustion with attention economies, algorithmic aesthetics, and the relentless commercialisation of self-expression.

People are not rejecting beauty, design, or even brands. They’re rejecting the volume. They want to consume quietly. Live softly. Buy things without being told what those things say about them.

Maybe (hopefully), the next era of marketing won’t be about who can shout the loudest, but who can respect the silence and even facilitate it. 

-Sophie Randell, Writer