Redesigning the Chocolate Box
09/24/2020
Have you ever been excited to receive a box of chocolates from a loved one, only to discover that it’s impossible to decipher which flavors are which, and it’s difficult to grab chocolates in the middle of the box? You’re not alone.
Richard Cadbury’s first chocolate boxes were beautifully decorated for Valentine’s Day. According to history.com “Cadbury marketed the boxes as having a dual purpose: When the chocolates had all been eaten, the box itself was so pretty that it could be used again and again to store mementos, from locks of hair to love letters. The boxes grew increasingly elaborate until the outbreak of World War II, when sugar was rationed and Valentine’s Day celebrations were scaled down. But Victorian-era Cadbury boxes still exist, and many are treasured family heirlooms or valuable items prized by collectors.” Since its conception in 1861, we’ve seen heart-shaped boxes printed with cupids and roses. Boxes can come in many different shapes, but the overall design of the chocolate box is dated, unoriginal, and hasn’t seen any major innovations since its invention.
Current Designs of the Chocolate Box
09/29/2020
Upon clarification, I realized we would actually be redesigning the packaging for individually wrapped chocolates, like these:
Which honestly just made the process more of an opportunity, because this packaging is even more uninteresting than receiving a heart shaped chocolate box.
From the activity in class, I learned that I may have to be doing some math for this project, which is something I’ve gotten used to not using very often. Doing the math ahead of time is beneficial for precisinion and craftsmanship, especially if we will not be able to use tap eor glue in our final compositions. I’ll have to take advantage of nets to construct my final carrier. I also learned that tall cylinders make a very good tool for trapping mice in the studio and safely putting them back outside.
Through beginning to craft the first sketch models of my carrier, I learned that it’s good to always leave a little extra room as opposed to not enough. You don’t want your objects to get smushed in the carrier. Also, it’s a lot easier to cut off extra cardboard as opposed to adding on a little more.
My first sketch model was inspired by poker chip carousels. I enjoyed this idea because it made the process of receiving chocolates a more fun and interactive experience for the user.
There are a few flaws in my first design. If you hold the model from the handle at the top, the top comes off and the chocolates fall. You have to hold it from the bottom and turn the handle. The actual moving part is not very smooth. Overall, I think this design has some good qualities I could bring into my future designs.
10/01/20
For my second sketch model, I tried a different approach and ran into more challenges than my last model. I was inspired by the type of pop-up books and cards we used to create in elementary school. However, upon building a three-dimensional box, I realized that the pop-up mechanism only really works if you’re working in more of a two-dimensional landscape with card stock paper at the heaviest.
I attempted to turn my rectangular prism box shape into more of a triangular prism, as this would give the model one fold similar to a fold in a card, and allow me to explore my pop up idea more successfully.
Overall, this design needs to be planned out more accurately, measured with more room to give to the chocolates if I want to explore it further.
10/06/2020
Last class, we talked about the qualities of an excellent carrier and a horrible carrier. A good carrier is functional, sturdy, easy to use, aesthetically pleasing, authentic to the object it is carrying, and possesses quality craftsmanship. Some secondary characteristics would be reuseability and share-ability. On the other hand, a bad carrier is complicated. It may attempt to outshine the object it is carrying. It could also be difficult to figure out how to use, or simply just tacky or ugly.
My approach to my carrier has changed significantly, even just over the past week. For my third sketch model/first initial prototype, I took the characteristics of my object into more consideration. Gift-quality chocolates exude an aura of rich and luscious luxury. These chocolate are often filled with flavored creme or caramel. For this carrier in particular, I wanted people to be able to infer what was in the carrier before they opened it. I wanted the opening process to be simple, yet enjoyable.
As I move along this project, I am trying to make a carrier that is more true to the object it is carrying, as opposed to having a lot going on just for the sake of showing off an intricate design.
10/08/2020
Between my last iteration and this one, Stacy and Steve suggested I make the opening/closing mechanism more rectilinear as opposed to curvilinear in order to follow the form of the object. I strongly dislike the closing mechanism I came up with, but i think I know the direction I’m headed with it.
I was proud of myself this time for creating a carrier that did not use tape. While my tabs system could definitely use some improvement, the basic idea and concept is present. I also enjoyed how I decided to present the chocolates in my carrier diagonally, because I feel like this furthers the impression of richness I wanted the user to experience when opening the box.
Overall, I think I will
10/13/2020
During the peer review on Thursday, my group suggested I add a handle and make the carrier generally smaller. While I did make the carrier smaller (13x13" square to 11x11" square), thus using less cardboard, I was not able to explore the handle idea. I also attempted to improve the opening of my carrier. I’m more satisfied with this opening system than my last model, but I still think it could use some work. I didn’t do this on purpose, but the openings of the box kind of look like the wings of the eagle that’s present in the Ghiradelli logo, although I know this doesn’t really matter when only taking the form of the object into consideration.
I also improved the tabs system and made the measurements more precise, which I’m satisfied with.
You may noticed that the bottom piece is taped on. This is because I miscalculated the planning of my template so that it didn’t work when I tried to put the box together. Although I don’t think I will be using this exact closing system again, if I did, I would take this into consideration.
10/20/2020
After speaking with Nick and Alice during class time on Thursday, I got a better idea of what I needed to do for my final carrier. I knew I needed to add at least some indication of where to place your hands, and I knew I wanted to keep the drama of opening the carrier while still keeping the opening elegant and intuitive.
For the opening system, I ended up deciding on two interlocking flaps. This way the chocolates are secure while still providing some interaction with the carrier.
For the “handle”, I chose to cut the first layer of cardboard 10 cm in the middle so that the corrugation was exposed. I felt like this provided enough differentiation from the rest of the box so that you would intuitively put your hands here. I’m content with how this aspect turned out.
For the tabs system, I kept it simple by only making nine tabs where the vertical botttom dropped down. The weight of the chocolates themselves in addition to my scoring both sides provided enough force to keep the diagonal pieces down when the chocolates are inside, as well as when they are not.
Overall, I’m happy with my final product. Over the past few weeks, I learned a lot about keeping things simple, but elegant at the same time. Going back to look at my first sketch model is very interesting comparing it to my final carrier. When the project was first introduced to us, I was focused on making something unique that provided some sort of fun interaction. However, this approach did not take the form or protection of the object or of the object into account. It’s ironic that my final design has somewhat similar aspects to an original chocolate box. However, compared to what we think of as a chocolate box, I think the interaction with and presentation of my chocolates is better.
