So Far Outside the Box, You Can't Even See It Anymore

Yesterday, the prepress department at Printed Specialties was all abuzz discussing the wrapping paper below.

Image courtesy of Gift Couture

Look at it. Seriously, look. Drink it in. Let it's concept wash over you. Let the simplistic genius overtake you. We did; we talked about it for 30 minutes. We picked apart the concept and what made it work so well. We writhed in envy as to why we didn't think of it previously. We even tried to come up with our own wrapping paper ideas (to no avail).

Imagine seeing a stack of presents like this under your family's Christmas tree. You can't help but smile. It's beyond brilliant. One of the reasons that makes this work so well is that the concept is so far removed from Christmas (no one remotely automatically thinks "Christmas" when you see a cheeseburger). Think of the new Kia commercials that have giant Guinea Pigs or Hamsters driving around town. Those commercials stick in your head because the general thought is so absurd, your mind can't help but to remember it. The same idea works here with the cheeseburger wrapping paper.

Another reason why this works rather well is due to it's overly simplistic nature. Simplicity and minimalism is the name of the game in the design world today, and this is no different. Meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and two buns. Not too busy of a pattern for the eyes to take in. Instantly recognizable as to what it's supposed to be portraying. A common food item most people are familiar with (a sandwich might've worked, but not as well). In the famous words of Steve Jobs - "It just works."

The point here being that sometimes the phrase "Think Outside the Box" is just the start. You have to think yourself out of the box as a start, but it's not enough. Leave the room, walk out of the building, and drive far away from the box. Good ideas and great ideas are what separates the memorable from the hardly notable.

Be well,