"The goal of the project was to create an object that is both elegant and precious, yet ephemeral." - Petre Spassov, PS Design
Feel that slight chill on the back of your neck just behind the summer’s blistering temps? That’s the avalanche of banal corporate greetings headed your way in just a few months time in all of its yawn-inducing glory. Determined not to be lost in the green-and-red slush pile, designer Petre Spassov of PS Design crafted this fun and interactive gift box with a stylish surprise inside. “Tell us about the surprise,” you ask. Sorry, first we tackle that cool packaging. (No sulking)
Starting with French Paper’s Speckletone 100-lb. Cover, Petre screen printed it by hand using acrylic gold and silver metallic Speedball inks.
“Experimenting with the different paper stock and acrylic inks, we were able to find a stock and ink combination that will not crack when scored and folded,” says Petre.
Next, he and Rebecca Spassov created custom die cuts that, he adds, were “an interesting challenge to create to properly support and protect the package contents.”
But the idea that transformed this from a good idea into a great one was the creation of a tear strip that, when pulled all the way around, opens up the package like the blooming of a rose, revealing the surprise within.
“Inside the hand-folded box is one of five unique ornaments which were laser cut and etched from quarter-inch white acrylic to stand out against the deep green of a Christmas tree,” Petre explains. “Each of the five ornaments features a unique ampersand that was lettered by hand before being vectored for production.”
If, in the giving of gifts it is indeed the thought that counts, what potential client could open such a fun and creative box and not think, “Thank you for feeding my need for inspiration?”
Sabine Lenz is the founder of PaperSpecs.com, the first online paper database and community specifically designed for paper specifiers.
Growing up in Germany, Sabine started her design career in Frankfurt, before moving to Australia and then the United States. She has worked on design projects ranging from corporate identities to major road shows and product launches. From start-ups to Fortune 500 companies, her list of clients included Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Deutsche Bank, IBM and KPMG.
Seeing designers struggle worldwide to stay current with new papers and paper trends inspired Sabine to create PaperSpecs, an independent and comprehensive Web-based paper database and weekly e-newsletter. She is also a speaker on paper issues and the paper industry. Some refer to her lovingly as the "paper queen" who combines her passion for this wonderful substrate called paper with a hands-on approach to sharing her knowledge.