packaging as content
Contact Box Vox
Packaging Songs
join our pack
Recent Comments
- Nate Webster on Cámara Gloria | Gloria Cámara
- Sarah on Rat-Nip Revisited
- Scott F Barnes on Rat-Nip Revisited
- Sarah on Rat-Nip Revisited
- Bilal Madwar on Rat-Nip Revisited
- Daniel on Cantenna Round-Up
- Estiapack on Coffee & Cookies: Ben-Day Dots & Halftone Screens
- Estiapack on Package and Pointillism
- annemarie on Dissolving Tetrahedral Toothbrush Package
- Randy Ludacer on Dissolving Tetrahedral Toothbrush Package
Recent Posts
- Monsanto Come-maiz (Monsanto Corn-eater)
- Gloria Evaporada | Evaporated Glory
- Cámara Gloria | Gloria Cámara
- The M Savers Tomato Ketchup Splat
- The Targeteer Beer Can Launcher
- Another “Smiling” Package Design
- 3 Patents for “Square Cigarettes”
- Charles G. Shaw & The Perfect Gum
- Straw-Tipped Cigarettes
- Artificial Straws and Puff Profiles
Archives
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
November 18, 2010
Nested Packaging: Surprise Balls & Russian Dolls
Bombay Sapphire Layers Christmas Edition (via: Packaging of the World)
Super multi-layered packaging. On the one hand, it attracts and intrigues us. [See: surprise ball] It heightens the ritual of opening. So many layers—what the hell is in here? The diamond ring that comes in a refrigerator sized box.
On the other hand: super wasteful. So much packaging for such a little thing. You’re Amazon.com and your customers are getting pissed off. (photo below from Tamaraberg’s Flickr Photostream)
Sometimes the concept is naturalistic. (e.g. the layers of an onion) Other times, recursive like Matryoshka dolls (Russian nesting dolls).
A McDonald’s coupon promotion (via: PopSop)
(More layers of nested packaging, after the fold…)
A “Russian doll” envelope promotion
The multicolored, multi-layered artwork of Jen Stark (above, left)—while not packaging, does hold a certain fascination for package designers. Coarse’s brand packaging (above, right) seems to show her influence, as does Paul Betowski’s nested 2011 calendar, below.
(via: Design Context)
The nesting doll idea — otherwise similar, multi-sized containers fitting into one another — also brings to mind package arrays like the photo above. While these boxes could be nested together, that would certainly defeat their main purpose: to contain different sized products. (ball bushings, in this case)
I wonder if anyone has ever packaged their product line in a variety of different sizes, but with the added feature of packaging that could be reused as a nesting toy? A line of Mr. Bubble Matryoshka dolls, for example: “Each size sold separately. Collect all 10!”
Randy Ludacer
Beach Packaging Design
2 Responses to “Nested Packaging: Surprise Balls & Russian Dolls”
Kudos
Consumerism
-
Rob Walker’s Design Observer blog
-
The MKTG Tumblr Site
-
Justin Kirkwood's brand fiction site
-
The Unconsumption Tumblr Site
-
Interesting Found Objects
-
The Church of Stop Shopping
other pack-blogs
links
-
The Man Who Moved Manhattan
-
Belgian journalist, Tom Ronse's blog
-
I’m so in love with this.
This is great. I was just thinking about the whole ___ within a ___ concept and debating whether to coin the term “The Babushka Doll Effect” or “The Yo Dawg Effect”.
For “Yo Dawg” context, see: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/xzibit-yo-dawg