Responses by Anders Bollman, creative strategist, Bedow.
Background: GBGT Box specializes in climate-smart, functional packaging for the premium sector. Few in the packaging industry communicate the impact of their products on the planet, but GBGT Box is determined to change the industry standard by explaining the carbon footprint of its boxes. For the influential packaging fair LUXE PACK in Monaco, the company wanted to show visitors a product where each package would clearly convey its impact on the Earth’s resources. And, of course, it wanted to excel in printing quality and packaging design.
Design thinking: Without the fine balance of its atmospheric layers, Earth would be nothing more than another floating rock in space. Thanks to its lovely atmosphere, it sustains all sorts of incredible life. Just as the atmosphere protects life on Earth, so too does a box shield its contents from harm. With its low-impact materials and construction, GBGT Box goes one step further, protecting life on Earth while producing premium-crafted packaging.
Challenges: We needed to come up with a narrative that could incorporate all five boxes while allowing them to stand on their own, yet fitting them into one overarching theme. The narrative also had to convey GBGT Box’s dedication to sustainability. With its wind turbine–powered facilities, the company boasts 100 percent renewable, fossil fuel–free electricity.
The second challenge was crafting each box and illustrating the different atmospheric layers. We wanted to make sure that the importance of the atmosphere was conveyed without getting too scientific. Part of the brief was to make the boxes visually eclectic and show different printing techniques and materials. We solved this by having each designer at the studio create one of the five boxes.
New lessons: Learning about the dedication of GBGT Box to the craft of making boxes was truly inspiring. And, of course, reading up on the atmosphere and the intricacies of its layers.
Visual influences: We always let the brand narrative guide our creative work. It should inform all decisions in a design process. And, each box was influenced by a particular event or phenomenon from each layer in the atmosphere—like the mesosphere, where meteors burn bright before colliding with Earth’s surface and becoming meteorites. The most famous of these extraterrestrial stones is illustrated on the mesosphere box.
Time constraints: It takes time to produce the packaging when making a physical sample of this complex project. All of it had to be done before LUXE PACK, so we were pressured to come up with a smart system quickly. A bit of pressure can inspire.
Specific project demands: We challenged GBGT Box on what is technically possible in terms of printing. But, we also got the company to strategically mark its change from being a specialist in customized packaging to a company that also takes responsibility for a sustainable future.
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