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Branding & Package Design

3 videos about boxes boxing

Sponge Bob: boxes boxingPugilistic Packaging Revisited

As a package designer, I know something about boxes, but next to nothing about boxing. So really I have no business writing anything on the subject of prize-fighting. (Although, I did once post this vintage advertising postcard under the headline: Pugilistic Packaging.)

Recently, however, I’ve become obsessed with a not-so-famous boxer from the 1920s. So, despite my complete lack of knowledge, next month I’ll be writing something about about him and his career.

Usually, when I stray too far from boxvox’s primary bailiwick, I try to cover my tracks with some paper-thin, package-related rationale.

With that in mind, I’ve been checking into the etymology of “box” & “boxing.”

Unfortunately, “boxing” the sport doesn’t seem to derive from the same word as “box” the container. (Despite Dan Piraro‘s historically-correct-ish 2011 cartoon!)

box (n.1.) Old English box “a wooden container,” also the name of a type of shrub, from Late Latin buxis, from Greek pyxis “boxwood box,” from pyxos “box tree,” of uncertain origin.

box (n.2.) “a blow,” c.1300, of uncertain origin, possibly related to Middle Dutch boke, Middle High German buc, and Danish bask, all meaning “a blow,” perhaps imitative.

I won’t, therefore, have any etymological excuse when I post my 1920s fistic research next month. Still, even though the container and the sport are not related, Dan Piraro and I are not the only ones who thought they should be.

Boxes Boxing

Lots of people have envisioned boxes boxing. Similar to that vintage advertising postcard with patent medicines in a prize-fight. Only here it’s all about the homonyms.

1. Sponge Bob: “Idiot Box” episode

This episode was mainly about boxes as packaging, although it takes its title from a television set that was delivered in a box.

The episode starts with SpongeBob and Patrick waiting for the mail. Squidward sees a large box being delivered to SpongeBob and Patrick. They open the box, which contains a giant flat-screen television, and this heavily surprises Squidward. Patrick and SpongeBob throw the television away but keep the box to play in it. Squidward asks why they threw the television away, and SpongeBob explains that “We don’t need television, as long as we have our… imagination.”

The gag about boxes boxing in a boxing match was the punchline and the last straw for Squidward, after all the packaging shenanigans.

(More videos of boxes boxing, after the fold…)

[Read more…]

Twin Pack Milk Cartons

Twin Pack Milk CartonsSome (non-intersecting) “twin packs”

In our previous post we showed you a hypothetical structure for a pair of intersecting milk cartons.

Today we bring you a similar (albeit non-intersecting) idea: “twin pack milk cartons.”

Culled from American grocery store ads, I found these images in newspapers published between 1952 and 1976. I’ve also seen some more recent examples. (This “unitary” twin pack on Polypack’s website, for example.)

Some dairies sold quart size milk cartons paired together in “half gallon twin packs.” Mostly what you find, however, are half gallon size cartons paired together as “gallon twin packs.”

Benefits of “Twin Pack Cartons”

When first introduced, a dairy would often advertise the benefits of the new packaging. For example:

  • Saves Money
  • Easier to Carry
  • Keeps Milk Fresher

Some dairies would include instructions about separating the two containers. (See also: this 1952 ad for Farm Fresh milk and this 1966 ad for Beechmont milk.)

Twin Packs & Contents Declaration

Labeling these cartons posed some communication problems for their designers. Since the twin packs are separable, each carton must show its correct individual volume. But, the dairy would also want to highlight the twin pack’s combined total volume.

Sometimes they solved this by printing the total volume in words (“HALF GALLON” or “ONE GALLON”) spanning across both cartons. Other times the cartons are just the same as the ones sold individually, and it’s only the handle that shows the total combined volume.

Regulations & Prohibited Twin Packs

As popular as these were with consumers, they were surprisingly controversial in Pennsylvania.

From the articles I’ve skimmed, I gather that, in the early 1960s, Country Belle Cooperative Farmers tried to introduce the twin pack (already in use in many other states) to Pennsylvania.

The State Milk Commission opposed the new packaging. There were hearings. And decisions. And appeals, etc. Meanwhile, consumers appeared to be fully in favor of the new twin pack. Read-all-about-it, after the fold…

[Read more…]

Intersecting Milk Cartons

Intersecting Milk Cartons

I was hoping that “intersecting milk cartons” were already a thing. But, alas, no example seemed to exist online. So, for the 5th and final day of “Polyhedral Milk Carton Week,” I had to make it myself.

What are we looking at? My 3D animation showing the intersection of two gable-top milk cartons. They intersect in (more or less) the same manner as a polyhedral compound of two cubes.

Of course, milk cartons are not cubes. They’re more like rectangular prisms. And it wasn’t at all obvious (to me) what the intersection would look like with taller shapes.

So prior to making the animation above, I made this “maquette” using two actual gable top cartons. (You can see the evidence of my trial-and-error geometry on the left hand carton.)

Clearly my maquette was not ready for prime time. I figured a 3D rendering would be a better way of presenting my hypothetical dual container. 3D rending, however, is outside of my usual wheelhouse. What software could I download and quickly learn just enough to do this one thing? [Read more…]

The Space-Pak collapsible milk carton

Space-Pak collapsible milk cartons trademark specimen

Space-Pak “specimen”

For day 4 of “Polyhedral Milk Carton Week” we promised to bring you evidence of International Paper‘s collapsible milk carton.

I was hoping to find some decent photos of their Space-Pak™ carton showing its side panel score lines. But the best I’ve been able to come up with is the magenta “specimen” (above) from their 1995 trademark filing.

The company touted its collapsible design as a way of making milk cartons more practical to recycle.

Because environmental concerns are critical to our customers, our liquid packaging division has responded with creative solutions. One example is Space-Pak, a half-pint milk carton used widely in schools. It flattens when pressed along scores on two sides, reducing volume and taking less space in landfills.

from International Paper’s 1994 Annual Report

Is it true what they wrote? (“used widely in schools”?) I’ve looked for evidence of this and found hardly any.

Space-Pak™ did, however, make a brief splash in 1993 when some public schools in Connecticut tried it out…

[Read more…]

Polyhedral Milk Carton Week (day 3): Wandering Stars

Polyhedral Milk Carton Week (day 3): Wandering Stars
For day 3 of “Polyhedral Milk Carton Week,” let’s talk about this black and white photograph entitled, Wandering Stars.

Oliver Helfrich and Antje Peter’s collapsible milk cartons

Oliver Helfrich made these gable-topped polyhedral paper sculptures for the 2010 book entitled The Book of Paper. Sharing authorship of the image, of course, is Antje Peters, co-author of the book, who made the photographs.

From milk cartons to tissues and take away coffee cups, paper plays an integral role in our day to day lives and yet we often take it for granted.

They did mention “milk cartons” in the press release for the book. But nowhere can I find any further discussion of the Wandering Stars construction.

Wondering about the Wandering Stars title

Not sure why they gave these abstracted milk cartons that particular title. The ancient Greeks called planets “Wandering Stars” (ἀστήρ πλανήτης) and they named the galaxy after milk (γάλα, gala).

Maybe that’s the reason? But, then again, it might mean something else altogether.

We’ve seen lots of packaging patents for collapsible bottles and the like. Here, Helfrich has whimsically invented some geometrically-collapsible milk cartons. The varying heights suggest a sequence, although it’s open to interpretation whether these cartons are being collapsed or extended.

The thing is, International Paper did, in fact, produce a collapsible milk carton in the 1970s. (Something we will be looking into on day 4 of “Polyhedral Milk Carton Week.”)

 

“Non-Developable” Milk Cartons (3 kinds)

1. The non-developable ruled surface named “milk carton”

(Day 2 of “Polyhedral Milk carton Week”)

Just learned something new! Someone has actually named a certain mathematically-defined hyperbolic surface: “milk carton.”

I found out about this on the French website, mathcurve.com, an online ENCYCLOPÉDIE DES FORMES MATHÉMATIQUES REMARQUABLES.

Looking more deeply into this somewhat hyperbolic milk carton, however, I think that it was really named berlingot and then the website translated the word into English.

Berlingot surfaceIf you look up the definition of “berlingot” you find that it has two meanings. It can mean either a tetrahedral-shaped twisted hard candy, or a tetrahedral-shaped (Tetra-Pak) carton. And (in the real world) one of these definitions can sometimes contain the other.

The MathCurve Website also tells us that another possible name (not French) for the berlingot surface could be “humbug.” (Since “humbug” is another name for this kind of tetrahedral candy.)

2 more “milk cartons” after the fold…

[Read more…]

Polyhedral Milk Carton Torus

left: Gerard Westendorp’s torus made from 8 “crumpled” milk cartons; right: Ruth Asawa’s 1986 sculpture, “Aurora”

Gerard Westendorp’s Milk Carton Torus

This month I found the left hand photo above by Gerard Westendorp with the instructive caption, “Crumple 8 milk cartons into a torus.”

There must something mathematically fundamental about milk cartons. Since Dutch physicist, Westendorp is not the only mathematically-inclined artist using milk cartons in this way. (See also: A simpler approach to auxetic package design)

I like that he calls his cartons “crumpled” rather than “creased” or “folded.”

As if he merely crushed them and they naturally assumed this torus-shaped form. Of course, that may just be a translation thing.

Which, I suspect, is how Victor Alexandrov came to use the word “crush” in the title of his seminal paper, “How one can crush a milk carton in such a way as to enlarge its volume.” (Note: The milk cartons that Alexandrov crushes-to-enlarge are the tetrahedral Tetra-Pak type)

And yet, there are naturally occurring geometric patterns that can emerge from mere “crushing.” (See: Shell buckling toilet paper roll.)

Aside from his milk carton torus, Westendorp also folded a milk carton into a sine wave shape. (above right)

In addition he has designed a number of hinged polyhedra. One of which appears to be related to his finalist entry for the 2008 Pro-Carton “Young Designers Award.”

Ruth Asawa’s milk carton sculptures

Ruth Asawa‘s 1984 paper maquette (on the right) tell us that her 1986 sculpture, Aurora, had more to do with origami than milk cartons. Seen alongside of Westendorp’s milk carton torus, however, it’s clear that she could have constructed it with milk cartons.

Which is less farfetched than it may sound, considering that Asawa did indeed use milk cartons to make sculptures. (Especially with children.)

(more about Ruth Asawa, after the fold…) [Read more…]