When MBN Creative was looking for a poetic way to encourage others to contribute to a local charity while also demonstrating their branding and packaging skills, they were inspired by the scientific theory known as “the butterfly effect.”
Rather than seeing if the flapping of a butterfly’s wings could indeed contribute to the creation of tornadoes, they set out to discover if releasing nearly 1,000 one-of-a-kind, folded-paper butterflies into the world could generate much-needed funds for Fristers, a charity that helps teenage mothers.
The packaging they designed for this is as intriguing and ambitious as the idea.
Printed by AccuLink, the piece arrives in an unassuming looking Brown shipping box. However, the moment you open it and see the words “Positive thoughts” printed on the inside flap, the excitement begins.
Other positive messages appear on the undersides of the remaining flaps as they’re opened, framing a generous amount of Red tissue paper inside. Parting the paper reveals a matching Red box (MBN’s brand color) that instantly intrigues with its unique shape – one that allows it to be easily pulled out and held from the top or the sides.
Resembling a futuristic Chinese food takeout box, it makes me feel like I’m in the presence of something truly special. And I have not even opened it yet.
Digitally printed CMYK, the box is brimming with abstract illustrations of butterflies fluttering around persimmons, all brought to life by Spot Gloss UV and Scodix Digital Gold Foil.
So rich and subtle are these touches, you cannot help but slow down and drink in every detail.
The tiny Gold Foil butterflies and Soft-Touch lamination add to an already enticingly tactile experience.
Unlatching a simple die-cut tab closure at the top allows the box to be opened, showing off MBN Creative’s branding philosophy printed in Red on the White underside of the lid. Look closely and you can even see a faint hint of butterfly shadows behind the words “Fortune favors the bold. Bold favors the creative. Creative favors the brand.”
Another Red panel “aflutter” with butterfly illustrations folds outward to reveal a sophisticated tab-lock closure, another tiny Gold Foil butterfly at its center covering both flaps.
By now I’m so caught up in the magic of this whole delicious unboxing experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if I found a butterfly inside. And I do!
In this case, it is a vibrantly colored, tightly folded paper boasting its own 1-of-a-kind pattern. This was achieved using HP Indigo’s Mosaic digital printing software, which sampled 1 main illustration (or “seed pattern”) to create 1,000 unique patterns in all.
Also inside the box is another digitally-printed, 1-of-a-kind sheet with “Spread the good fortune” printed on one side, along with an explanation of the project. A small card inside urges the recipient to scan the accompanying QR Code to bring up a video that will show them how to fold the paper into another butterfly.
(MBN Creative pledges to contribute $1 to the Fristers charity for every person who posts a photo of their own butterfly on social media and tags the branding firm.)
Adding a sweet finishing touch to this unboxing experience are gourmet fortune cookies, each containing a printed fortune inside, their borders using the same patterns as the Mosaic-generated sheets.
It isn’t just the Digital Gold Foil that makes this project shine. It’s also the exciting way that each and every component encourages recipients to engage with it, generating donations to a good cause along the way.
