He earned a full-ride scholarship. His twin brother never really got him a gift for the past 22 years. After a lot of thought, his brother decided to make the coolest gift in man's history.
INTRODUCING....
TO CLARIFY
Tyler is my brother, and after earning a full-ride scholarship, I wanted to get him a gift (I couldn't remember when, if ever, I'd gotten him any sort of gift prior to this... so this had to be good).
I thought and thought and thought, then finally, I had a flash of brilliance; I decided to get him a 100% custom action figure - of himself - because I thought it was funny.
All laughing aside, I soon realized I'd spent good money on a gift that was delivered in a blank cardboard box stuffed with pale green packing peanuts. Sure, the action figure turned out amazing, but I wasn't going to do this thing half way; I needed great packaging to make it all come together as one cohesive, utterly stunning, better-than-anything-else-ever, gift.
So after days of searching for pre-made options, I had no other choice than to design and build a custom package myself. And thus, the "Tyler the Accountant" custom carton was created:
Tyler is my brother, and after earning a full-ride scholarship, I wanted to get him a gift (I couldn't remember when, if ever, I'd gotten him any sort of gift prior to this... so this had to be good).
I thought and thought and thought, then finally, I had a flash of brilliance; I decided to get him a 100% custom action figure - of himself - because I thought it was funny.
All laughing aside, I soon realized I'd spent good money on a gift that was delivered in a blank cardboard box stuffed with pale green packing peanuts. Sure, the action figure turned out amazing, but I wasn't going to do this thing half way; I needed great packaging to make it all come together as one cohesive, utterly stunning, better-than-anything-else-ever, gift.
So after days of searching for pre-made options, I had no other choice than to design and build a custom package myself. And thus, the "Tyler the Accountant" custom carton was created:
THE CARTON
Having to print and build this myself, I had to design something that:
1. Fit a common, affordable paper size (I aimed for 11x17")
2. Was sturdy enough to hold & protect a reasonably heavy 12" action figure
3. Was portable and easy to open & close
4. And was simple enough to build in 3 days (I tend to procrastinate)
My first thought was a traditional box shape. I knew a wanted an "action-packed" design style, and in my mind, cool action figure packaging was often a traditional, 6-sided rectangular box.
Now, because the action figure was 12" tall and I was aiming to fit the design on an 11x17" sheet, this traditional rectangular box was slightly too tall. I'd already considered doing a milk carton shape simply because I love the look of that shape and feel it's very fitting for "fun" stuff like candy, so why not for an action figure? I measured this box design, and found it would fit comfortably onto 2 11x17" pieces of paper!
I then added foam inserts to protect the figure inside the carton and topped it off with a magnetic closure, no tearing required.
Having to print and build this myself, I had to design something that:
1. Fit a common, affordable paper size (I aimed for 11x17")
2. Was sturdy enough to hold & protect a reasonably heavy 12" action figure
3. Was portable and easy to open & close
4. And was simple enough to build in 3 days (I tend to procrastinate)
My first thought was a traditional box shape. I knew a wanted an "action-packed" design style, and in my mind, cool action figure packaging was often a traditional, 6-sided rectangular box.
Now, because the action figure was 12" tall and I was aiming to fit the design on an 11x17" sheet, this traditional rectangular box was slightly too tall. I'd already considered doing a milk carton shape simply because I love the look of that shape and feel it's very fitting for "fun" stuff like candy, so why not for an action figure? I measured this box design, and found it would fit comfortably onto 2 11x17" pieces of paper!
I then added foam inserts to protect the figure inside the carton and topped it off with a magnetic closure, no tearing required.
THE DESIGN
It was time to get to the design phase of the project. I wanted to really represent my brother in a cool, but very pop, B-Movie sort of way. I decided what better way to do so then an illustrated photo-montage highlighting some of his good times leading up to this new phase in his life. I then complimented the illustrations with witty, sarcastic typography, and an aged, screen-print-esque color scheme. I covered the packaging with details and facts about him, stuff that only he'd appreciate, and to top it off, added the lyrics from a good luck sort of song, "Beg, Steal or Borrow" by Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs.
It was time to get to the design phase of the project. I wanted to really represent my brother in a cool, but very pop, B-Movie sort of way. I decided what better way to do so then an illustrated photo-montage highlighting some of his good times leading up to this new phase in his life. I then complimented the illustrations with witty, sarcastic typography, and an aged, screen-print-esque color scheme. I covered the packaging with details and facts about him, stuff that only he'd appreciate, and to top it off, added the lyrics from a good luck sort of song, "Beg, Steal or Borrow" by Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs.
Beginning to to play around with layout and typography.
Settled upon a color-scheme; began adding details.
Although the illustrations were based on real photos, I couldn't resist spicing some of them up a bit; particularly proud of the vampire teeth.
You're right, you could describe this as "Magical."
One side was a mock nutrition panel; this is the bottom portion.
Final packaging with the action figure.
Special thanks to ThatsMyFace.com for the action figure.
Fonts:
League Gothic
Reklame Script
Thanks for looking!
Special thanks to ThatsMyFace.com for the action figure.
Fonts:
League Gothic
Reklame Script
Thanks for looking!
