Fortunately, there are people who like it, and who are passionate about packaging design, such as the good people of The Brand Union, in Hamburg. They have helped to set a new standard in sticker packaging: Check out the packaging for Shufflesome stickers for iPod shuffle 2nd generation.

This packaging plays in a different league, compared to what i have devised for Shufflesome stickers for iPod nano. But take a look! There is some virtue in it:

Stickers for iPod nano are packaged in so-called stockcards. The inspiration comes from postage stamp stockcards, which are used by stamp collectors. They are manufactured using black cardboard with a clear film affixed at the top, for protection. To customize them for Shufflesome stickers, they are cut to the size of the backing paper. Then, white labels with details about the sticker design and artist are affixed on the cardboard. A super-thin foil is wrapped around the cardboard and fastened on the backside, with a sticker in the shape of the Shufflesome logo.

This solution meets my goals and constraints for this packaging:

• It is not primarily made for display in stores, but for delivery by mail
• It fits inside a standard mailing envelope
• It provides stability during delivery
• It is lightwight, so that shipping charge can be kept to a minimum
• Costs are low
• The overall look and feel is sufficient to support the fact that Shufflesome stickers are of good quality, with regard to both materials and print.
• It is different from anything else out there.

After all, the packaging has to be a bit different to support the goal of the Shufflesome workshop: To shine a spotlight on graphics, to make them live, to make them anything but trivial or generic, to make people appreciate them and not take them for granted, to make them available directly from the source - from the artist, to see a design not just as a byproduct, but to see it as made by someone with an intention.

Related entries:
New designs: 26 for Nano, 15 for Shuffle
The simple version