I’ve been on a headphone and earbud collecting kick for the past couple or years. Sometimes I see some that just peaks my curiosity. One of those things was the " Baseus Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds for Women." They were on sale.
Just look at that! Yes, there is a mirror inside the case, and the case is covered in velvet.
Just take it all in.
Aside from the packaging, they have better sound and noise cancelling than a $30 earbud should. There’s even an EQ in the app; one of the presets is “fashion.”
My doctor recently ordered me a Cologuard test kit. The kit itself is a definite step up from the last kit of this type I used (roughly nine years ago), but the packaging is phenomenal: the shipping box is cube shaped, the parts are either securely held inside or are part of the inside structure. The entire inside of the box is a heavy-duty, form-fitted Ziplock bag that you seal after you’ve made your deposit. The box flaps have sticky tape on the inside, and the shipping label (the one with my address) peels off to reveal a return address label, already made out. Off to the UPS Store it goes.
I got a text from them, asking me to call to clear up insurance info, and while I had the guy on the phone, I asked him to relay my hearty satisfaction about their product and he seemed really pleased that I mentioned it.
And BTW, the results came back lickety-split – No blood or foreign DNA in the sample; indicates practically no chance of colon cancer.
Hot dog buns inside a toilet seat inside a pizza box. I love it.
A slightly older example is from when I was in college a bit over 50 years ago. There was a snack food called “Screaming Yellow Zonkers.” I had one once, and was not impressed by the food, but the box it came in was so cool that a lot of people on my floor bought them for that.
I loved Screaming Yellow Zonkers. Yes, the box was fun to read. Anyway, I’d like to see more whimsy and utility in mundane packaging again. Remember the tiny cereal boxes you could carefully cut open and use as a bowl? How about the Archies records on the back of bigger cereal boxes? How about a taco shell box with perforations in it to make a taco holder so you can fill up the shell easier? I happen to have a friend who works in the food box design industry and suggested the taco holder idea to him. He designs the dies that cut the boxes out. Maybe someday…
I thought it was when I was visiting RPI that I saw people majoring in packaging engineering but I’m not seeing it on their list of majors. Maybe it’s called something slightly different. Seems like an interesting field.
My cousin studied packaging engineering, and it’s not product design. Packaging engineering is about industrial packaging, materials, protection, efficiency, etc. You know, engineering, not art.
This is another labelling one, but amusing. There’s a fruit juice brand in the UK call Innocent Drinks. Not sure if this is still true, but they used to print, on the underside of the carton where it wouldn’t be seen unless you looked there…
Hah. I just did my first one last week and was similarly impressed by the clean and easy-to-use packaging. I tried to trick my grade school kids with the whole “do you want $10 or what’s in the box?” thing (a genre of Youtube short/TikTok I’ve seen), but they both chose wisely took the money.
I think that Sony needs a mention here. The packaging for my headphones was very minimalistic, all recyclable (it was just one piece), no plastic, and opened with one tab.
I wonder how much (if any) of the plastic you send back can be sterilized and sent back out as part of a new kit? I mentioned to the gent on the phone that I didn’t send back the tray – the part that goes between the seat and the rim of the bowl – because the instructions seemed to say not to. He said he would look into the instruction manual and get that clarified if it’s confusing. I think with a tiny bit of tweaking, that tray could be sent back, as well, and re-sent out. 90% of the kit could be re-cycled? I’m all for it. As it is, it’s way too efficient, practical and cost effective to catch on with the medical establishment (kidding).
Not sure if this counts, but the packaging / presentation of my ozempic is pretty cool. The box it comes in is compact and everything fits in it, and is easily put back in it. But the pen is a marvel. They made self injection as idiot proof as possible.
Years ago a friend got me these Mister Bacon vs. Monseiur Tofu bendable action figures. I took them out of the box for a while, but then I put them back in the box and displayed them on my shelf that way. Because I think the box, with all its silly quotes, is more fun than the actual toys.
The pictures on Amazon don’t show the sides of the box, which include these exchanges:
Tofu: “Go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!”
Bacon: “Bite me!”
Bacon: “Come and get it! You’re about to get served!”
Tofu: “Crève viande, crève!” (“Die meat, die!” according to Google Translate)
First off: they immediately know the box is for dogs. They must put smelly good stuff on them. Inside the cardboard box is a cute package treasure chest type box with a theme the dog doesn’t give a crap about. It’s colorful with cartoone-y characters and a story line.
The toys inside go along with the theme. The treats are usually the same. You choose that in the beginning of the subscription.
The dogs love it. But I’m afraid it’s geared more toward the human.
They are cute as heck. And the toys are decent quality.
ETA: the cats do NOT like the card board box it comes in.
You know why the Oscar Mayer Funpacks have that word in small print in the corner? When the item was launched, it had the word “Funpack!” across the front with a center tear-off strip, and young children were pointing out that their lunch had a bad word on it. Apparently adults who test-marketed this did not pick up on it.
Not the first time something like that has happened, either.
