The team at Alpha was looking to revamp the packaging for Skybuds, their line of truly wireless earbuds. The main focus was to reduce costs while still keeping the package engaging and informative for the consumer. For a small product that fits in one's ear, seeing is believing, and it was crucial that the consumer be able to see the physical size and shape of the buds while in the package.
The design process started with a series of quick marker sketches exploring various ways to display the buds as well as how to open and interact with the packaging. From that group, a basic direction was chosen and some quick refinements followed. The design then moved into CAD for fine tuning and to address all the small (but important) details such as accessory storage and basic graphics layout.
The result is a package with strong physical presence on store shelves, but still saves significantly on size and cost of materials compared with the previous package. The buds are displayed behind a clear window, and held securely in place with high-quality, protective EVA foam. The foam creates a thick boarder around the buds, both giving the window a strong visual impact as well as making the jewel like buds pop against the matte foam. Angled foam sections above and below the buds provide better viewing angles as well as reducing the chance of shadows being cast over the buds in the store. Simple graphics and Alpha's bold cyan color make the packaging visually striking, but still keeps the focus on the buds, letting the product itself do most of the talking.