Packaging

I'm of an age now where I can simultaneously remember something being new whilst being a little uncertain that things weren't always that way. So, it's a blend of many years of experience and failing faculties. Nice.

I think the first unpacking experience I had where the process of getting to the goods was a significant part of the pleasure of having something new was my first iPod.  (Apple: that would make sense.) Rather than tearing one's way to the object of desire, the 'unboxing', as it came to be known, was something to be savoured. Indeed, in the ensuing years, unboxing videos began to appear on YouTube. 

And now it's hard to remember that you used to buy things in a box and perhaps the most thought that would have gone into the packaging was the photo on the front. Now it's become so absurd that when I bought a car from Audi a few years ago, I was taken into a special room with music playing (Fleetwood Mac's 'The Chain', obvs) and the car was unveiled from underneath a huge black cloth. It was one of the most awkward experiences of my life.

Of course, the tide has (rightly) turned on packaging. My pleasure at unboxing some Sonos kit a couple of years ago was marred by how unnecessarily sumptuous it was. 

Today, after a slightly less torrid day in the office, I unboxed this, a new Mac Pro. And, actually, it was well done. Still tasteful, still enjoyable, but verging on the minimal. Nice work, Apple. 

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Reading: Bill Drummond's 'How To Be An Artist'.