Design Project # 3

The newest assignment I received in my design foundations class required that I create some sort of container/packaging for my necklace.  The container had to be functional, meaning it had to actually contain the item and be able to open without falling apart.  To those of you who don't already know this, that means I have the daunting task of creating models, actual models of the container I am trying to create. Let me tell you there was a reason as a child I preferred coloring to Legos, I was never able to make any sort of cohesive structure with those darn plastic pieces before I got frustrated and pushed the whole thing over.  I knew those Legos would come back to haunt me, I just didn't realize I would ever be graded on my model making ability.  Now, back to the present challenge at hand, I have to come up with a container the really speaks to the timeless aspect of my necklace.  It needs to be durable enough that it can be handed down from one generation to another, and it cannot speak to a specific era, because the necklace is timeless.  I basically have the challenge of creating a dateless container to hold my necklace.

My initial idea was to create a miniature version of a hat box, with a large silk bow to hold the lid on.  I chose this style because I liked the idea of stacked hat boxes in a closet.  They remind me of something I would have received from my grandma and would keep just for the novelty of the item.  I also geve some serious thought to the companies that have trademarked their packaging in a very effective manner and three companies really came to mind, Hermes, Chanel, and Tiffany.  The packaging for each of those companies is at once iconic of the brand, the luxury, and the classic vibe consumers associate with each one of those brands.

Image from www.luxist.com

Image from www.fififlowers.com

Hermes boxes are associated with the luxurious and uber expensive items that Hermes sells.  Interior designers have used these boxes to accessorize a number of different spaces, from closets to entry ways.  Like Hermes packaging, Tiffany too has managed to create packaging that adds to the iconography of the brand by using their signature Tiffany blue on their packaging.  Now the little blue box generates as much excitement as the item held with in the box.

Image from hatterandhareevents.blogspot.com

While Tiffany blue and Hermes orange boxes are trademarks of their brands, they are still in full color, while Chanel has really cornered the packaging market with their iconic black and white packaging.

Image from www.deluxemall.com

All of these brands have well established packaging for their luxury goods.  They seem all to have in common a simple design schematic.  They are all rectangular or square boxes, with two color combinations.  Their brand lettering is simple, understated, and relatively small in comparison with the size of the boxes.  They all have some sort of ribbon included, which is not very original for packaging, but it is a classic way to say packaging.  I liked the idea of the simple and elegant, and hat box is what spoke to me.  I put together a collage of hat box images that I really liked.

Next I came up with the proportions of the box, which would be a 8 inch diameter circle that was two 3 inches thick, including the lid.  I thought that the profile of a woman in black and white on the lid wearing the necklace in gold would really stand out.  I thought that the box could be white with black piping, and that the ribbon could be black.  

When I presented this idea in class I was told that the idea of a hat box as packaging really dated the object to a specific era (when hat boxes were popular) and didn't speak to the timelessness of the object.  I was also told that I should google minimalism and create a "box" that really disappeared, so that the necklace was the center piece.  I agree that a hat box is a throwback to an older generation and thus is not consistent with my sentiments that the necklace is timeless.  However, because I am not related to Harry Houdini, creating a container that disappears will be very difficult for me.  So for now this grad has to go back to the drawing board.