Inspiron is a PC, laptop and all-in-one range from electronics manufacturer and on-line retailer Dell. UK and US based multidisciplinary design studio Dowling Duncan, now Mucho, working in collaboration with Dell’s Visual Identity and Brand Experience team, developed a new packaging system for the Inspirion range confidently mixing technological cues, functionality and a craft-like aesthetic.

I have seen this kind of solution before (check out Morse Studio’s work for Falcon Enamelware and Office’s work for Ebay) but I think in this instance it feels like a subtle but smart union of the expected (a corrugated board) and the unexpected (a white screen-print) within the computing market. By simply inverting the common black print treatment it rejects the conventional and appears far more communicative, suitably reflecting both affordability in its single colour, uniqueness in its tone and the customised nature of the products through its application across a tactile craft material. The illustrations are straightforward, practical and well rendered, specific enough to be associated with the Dell brand but generic enough to be utilised across the complete Inspiron range. Their juxtaposition of heavy fills and fine lines in conjunction with a geometry and isometric perspective really captures the technological aspect while offering a neat contrast to the aesthetics of the print and material choices.

The print is clean and unusual, the structural design practical and functional, the substrate crafted and ecological and the illustrations appropriately technological. Resolved these cues deliver a far more designed sensibility that successfully builds more equity into the brand and elevates the consumer experience.