There's no unboxing like an Apple unboxing. Unfolding (or tearing – we're not here to judge) Apple's sleek white packaging is a key part of the whole product experience – and now, a new photography project is paying tribute to the carefully considered cardboard.
From the innards of an AirPods box to, well, all manner of unidentifiable pieces of tiny, fiddly white card, Johann Clausen’s new personal project puts the various examples of Apple packaging front-and-centre in extreme close-ups. (Check out our best Apple deals if you're ready to do some unboxing.)
Some of Clausen's packaging photos (Image credit: Johann Clausen/Wallpaper*)
Not only is the project a paean to Apple's incredibly considered design, but it also presents an "intriguing game of deduction" to the viewer, as it isn't always entirely (or even remotely) obvious what product some packaging elements correspond to.
According to Wallpaper*, Clausen's setup (consisting of a view camera and digital sensor) was designed to bring out "details of textures while creating distortion-free reproductions of the objects". Indeed, up-close, it's hard to tell that these are often such tiny fragments of packaging.
Can you guess which products these come from? (Image credit: Johann Clausen/Wallpaper*)
Clausen is clearly a huge fan of Apple's packaging design, describing the "sacred symbolism" of each object, as well as how at times "it felt like photographing utopian architectural models rather than just packaging".
(Image credit: Johann Clausen/Wallpaper*)
With so much web space dedicated to images of the products themselves, it's nice to see some of Apple's lesser known and appreciated design work take centre stage. And with so many exciting new products announced last week, including the beautiful new 2021 iMac, there are no doubt plenty of new packaging designs around the corner
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
