Interapothek Toothpaste
Designed by Eduardo del Fraile, Spain

Inspired by the silhouette of the toothpaste as it’s squeezed out of the tube, this package makes a mindless, daily task—not to mention a boring trip down the hygiene isle at the pharmacy—a little bit more exciting.

Very Very Bright Light Bulbs
By Julia Kim, School of Visual Arts

I only realize I need to buy light bulbs when I’m sitting in a dark room trying to simultaneously eat a sandwich and browse Netflix. If I saw these cute little guys at the store, I probably wouldn’t end up in as many sad situations (or, in the very least, I’d be able to eat without spilling lettuce on my pants).

Dr. Oetker Flour
Diego Aguilar, Brazil

Flour is the basis for so many delicious things, so why not have it look as pretty as the cookies it produces? This package looks like a baking mess—in a way that makes me want to pick it up, take it home, and whip up some dough.

The Bazingaa Boxer Hand Bombs
God Speed Co. Ltd., Thailand

Why aren’t all underwear packages interactive? Not only is this package condensed, easy to remove from it’s holder and made of recyclable materials, but the idea is unique and innovative. Though I don’t feel the need to buy boxers myself, I can’t imagine it being too enthralling of a purchase—unless, of course, it takes the shape of a grenade.

Smartas Toilet Paper
Anagrama, Mexico

Bright, young, quirky packaging for an everyday product. The lively colors and simple, sleek design matches the playful, punny product name, making it the prettiest toilet paper around.

Photo source

Stop for a moment and consider the insanity of this idea. Seriously, take a moment to reflect.

Done?

So, maybe we should change all the logos in the world to look like a windshields? Or maybe this construct is starting to sound like the ‘ol “world is flat” theory from few hundred years ago? Maybe we should step back a few feet and take a new perspective on how we interact with a brand. Maybe it isn’t about conforming to old, broken constructs but rather, understanding the context of these decisions and finding new perspectives from which to view a brand’s attributes.

Perspectives like, how do all sides of a package work in an orchestrated experience at the moment of interaction, purchase, use, storage and disposal. Maybe—just maybe—it has less to do with making the logo look like a car windshield and more about the entire consumer experience.

This post is not intended to insult those who still believe the world is flat, it is just offering a heads up for those individuals intending to take an international flight.

Make what you do matter and drop the old constructs.

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Have we piqued your interest? Visit Packaging That Sells online for information regarding registration, speaker lineup and conference schedule.

Then there is the Australian-style liqourice. This variety is smooth, soft and very thick (which is, what I’m told, makes it Australian). I purchase my favorite kind, Wiley Wallaby Australian Style liqourice, from the boutique grocery near the Capsule office that boasts a large selection of local Minnesota products.

What does my delicious Wiley Wallaby liqourice have to do with local products? It turns out, Wiley Wallaby is a Minnesota-based company, hailing from Perham–a small town about three hours Northwest of the Twin Cities. But you would never know it by looking at the packaging. Is this product local or exotic? Does it matter?

Brands undoubtedly capitalize on locale in the marketing of their products. Think of Volkswagen. From its “Das Auto” tagline to its Autobahn Sales Event with the adorable German spokesperson, VW relies heavily on its German heritage. Would a VW be as attractive without its German association? Likely not, as many purchasers are drawn to the allure of German automobile engineering.

So what does being Australian say about a brand? Aussie hair care products, produced in America by Proctor & Gamble (and not sold in Australia), sport the image of a kangaroo. Outback Steakhouse, founded in Tampa, Fl., models its image and dining experience around the idea of the boundless and adventurous Australian wilderness. Foster’s Australian lager is an Australian brand, but does not enjoy widespread success in its own country.

And Wiley Wallaby liquorice? There isn’t a kangaroo on the bag, but there is a wallaby, which pretty much seems like the same idea. With “Australian” to your name, even when you are not really Australian, you seem to take on the personality of natural, adventurous and larger-than-life.

For the record, Capsule’s resident Aussie–Research Manager Yvette Webster–claims there is no such thing as Australian-style liquorice. But would we be as likely to buy Wiley Wallaby if it boasted Perham-style licorice? Maybe. Maybe not. But the question is worth asking yourself as you go about consuming in your daily life.

What does location say about the brands we associate ourselves with and the products we purchase? What do our choices to purchase those products say about us? And are we at all concerned about authenticity? All this thinking is making me hungry. I think I’ll go buy a bag of liqourice.

To celebrate the milestone, Kraft is rolling out the Limited Edition Birthday Cake Oreo, complete with sprinkles in its trademark frosting. The new product also features bright new birthday cake packaging with candles and a commemorative 100th birthday message. In appreciation of this beloved snack, Capsule would like to take a moment to recognize some of our favorite Oreo moments.

Oreo’s iconic stamp that identifies each chocolate wafer cookie.

Early packaging for what was then the Oreo Biscuit.

Wow! This is much more epic than “Double Stuf.”

Oreo ad circa 1924. Lemon filling – who knew?!

Classic Oreo consumption.

Modern packaging, same great product.

The Limited Edition Birthday Cake Oreo packaging.

Think about it. We did.

When asked by Experience Engineering and Panda Express to design a more authentic chinese dining experience. We looked at the entire experience and considered each moment to identify ways to make it more memorable, engaging and authentic.

One of the artifacts of the experience we found to be rather interesting were the uniforms. How many quick serve restaurants have a polo and logo as their primary “uniformity” element in employee wardrobe? Too many, perhaps.

We considered what happens when someone has to wear a “uniform” outside the restaurant. This led to the design of a more fashionable wardrobe for the staff. The uniformity was clear when you entered the experience, but not overbearing when an employee wore a “uniform” home.

The result would be employees enjoying what they wear to work. And, when you make improvements to an employee’s experience, it will likely make a positive improvement on the customer. We all know this to be an over written truth.

We considered and had designed moments for hundreds of other parts of the Panda Express experience. “The Panda Passport,” pictured above, was another moment designed, but we will leave that one for future discussions.

If you would like to hear about more of these designed moments in advance of our publishing them here, call Kitty Hart. If you have a thought on a designed experience, please leave it, we are interested in hearing your perspective on this perpetually changing design methodology.

If you’re just enjoying the reading, continue to do so.

His work had a profound influence on our design business.

We found something profound in the idea that we could design experiences. It wasn’t really new to the world, just new to commonly understood business practices. From the start of our business, this approach became a way of thinking for us. It was ingrained in our conversations on the design of anything, we considered the design of an experience to be the highest order. Because it wasn’t just the design of one artifact, but the design of everything from artifacts to human behaviors.

This led to conversations on design with many clients and prospective clients over the years. It also led to a significant amount of work where the design principles of experience design were applied. And, within this, the design of moments infinitum.

Here’s one you might enjoy from a couple years past.

Designed Moment: Caribou Coffee.

How do you like your coffee handed to you? One hand or two?

Think about the gesture when a barista hands you a coffee with one hand. Sometimes it’s gentle, other times it’s just thrown up there and then on to the next cup. What happens when you ask someone to use two hands to put your coffee on the serving counter? The gesture is more deliberate, more coveted and more of a designed moment for the customer.

This was one of the moments we helped design with Experience Engineering back when we worked with Caribou Coffee. There were hundreds of other moments, but this one just felt like the right way to start this conversation. Small moment, yes, but important to convey the quality of what the artist (barista) has created for you, the customer.

Coffee delivered any other way is just a cup of coffee. Coffee delivered from a Caribou barista is a more thoughtful experience. We like to think we had some influence in that designed experience.

Thank you, Caribou, for such a great working relationship.

Update! Joe Pine is hosting an Experience Economy workshop on December 6, 2012 in Minneapolis. Click here for more information. 

The Capsule field crew visited our nation’s capital for the Fancy Food Show recently. The show was plentiful in new food options and just before the awards ceremony Kitty Hart was given the opportunity to meet Cat Cora.

http://www.catcora.com/