It’s challenging enough simply designing humble pieces that will be sent off anonymously into the real world. Now imagine the pressure when you aim to craft an enticing promotional piece to not only celebrate the launch of your own studio, but also doing so by taking over the concept store Raumkomplett and turning it into a packaging laboratory during Vienna Design Week.
No problem, said Gerlinde Gruber and Martha Ploder, the duo behind packaging design firm Hey Sister!, who found a fun and functional way to illustrate their philosophy of creative packaging design: “Packaging construction and graphic design are as inseparable as siblings.” (Which, all of this talk about sisters and siblings to the contrary, they are not.)
What Makes This CREATIVE Package Design?
Guests during Vienna Design Week were invited to create their own packaging by combining deceptively simple looking pre-printed, interlocking sheets – with 5 different black and white designs from which to choose – into their own custom diamond-shaped carton bags, allowing them to experience for themselves the playful interaction between graphic design and smart packaging. The possibilities were endless.
Each 312 x 186 mm (12.3 x 7.3 inch) piece was offset printed by AV + Astoria Druckzentrum on 285 gm (190 lb.) Metsä Board Prime FBB Bright paperboard, meticulously die cut by Kombipack. This included interlocking tabs as well as cleverly shaped holes through which a selection of brightly colored cords could be threaded. Pulling tight the cord cinches the bag closed. Alternatively you can leave it flat and store papers inside.
This creative packaging design is a deceptively simple looking interactive marketing tool that highlights the power of clever design. And that, of course, is Hey Sister’s bread and butter. As they observe, “Packaging can be fun for everyone when the design is playful and easy to handle.”
