Old Fashioned Fruit Truck Packaging
Challenge
This client sells gourmet foods and luxury goods. They came to me and my team looking for a design for a unique, appealing package, melding Northwest farming heritage with a variety of delicious fruits and nuts from around the world.
Solution
My design was inspired by “old-time” fruit stands and 1940s delivery trucks, long-time staples of fruit orchards in the Pacific Northwest. Trucks from this era featured rounded, bulging curves, except the flat truck bed, I used round shapes for the windshield and windows and a classic grille style to convey the look of the era.
Result
The red truck overflowing with nuts and dried fruits appeals to both the products’ taste and aesthetics alike. Recipients of this gift will love the playful packaging while savoring its delicious contents.
Wine Crates
Challenge
GiftTree had acquired C02 laser engravers and wanted to explore how to use these new tools for engraving keepsake wine and beverage crates. The crates were designed to celebrate both personal occasions such as birthdays and home purchases, and business milestones, such as promotions, retirements and closing large deals.
Solution
I started by working closely with GiftTree’s production team to appreciate the new machines’ capabilities. I loved the hands-on process of learning how to design for these engravers. Once we understood their full range of possibilities, I took inspiration from the product design team and came up with concepts. We narrowed down the options to a few specific occasions, refined the designs, and then put the final choices into production.
Result
The engraved crates were a commercial hit. I was delighted to help people commemorate life’s special moments and achievements. Such occasions are often marked with gourmet food or wine gifts. Adding an engraved, keepsake crate, to keep as a reminder for years to come, turns an exquisite gift into an exceptional celebration.
Pint Glasses
Challenge
Beyond engraving crates, GiftTree’s product design team also wanted to explore ways to engrave drinkware. This strategy looked to tap into the beer-gifting market and expand product options to new demographics. I was asked to explore ways to engrave the pint glasses and create numerous brewery-style logo designs. Challenges to overcome: the texture of the laser-etched glass not fitting the desired look for this gift, and the pint glasses’ shape made it impossible to lay them in a flat position on the laser table.
Solution
The laser engravers were first used to etch designs into powder coating on stainless steel-insulated water bottles. This inspired our idea to etch screen-printed glasses. While concepting the brewery-style logo design, I researched pint glass suppliers and screen printers and then tested the options. We experimented with the engraver to get just the right look and texture. I helped the production team conceptualize and build jigs to hold multiple sets of pint glasses to solve the glass shape problem. The jigs were made of plexiglass precisely cut using the laser engravers. I created Adobe Illustrator templates to let the team easily cut and paste names and engrave multiple sets of glasses at once.
Result
The first pint glass design sold well. Customers could shop for gifts for a new demographic. It also made the new machines more versatile and reduced our production team’s labor, increasing their overall speed. This increased revenue and bred ideas for new products.