A First Look at Token’s Packaging
As Sr. Industrial Designer at Token, it’s my job to craft the physical experience you share with Token. The challenge is striking a balance that democratizes bleeding edge technology and luxury style in an unprecedented form factor. The ring’s design is timeless and universal, meaning it can be worn on the same hand that’s sporting Cartier, but fits equally well as a minimalist, stand-alone statement. Our packaging design philosophy had to reflect this quality in a strong, clean and spartan way.
The Token experience is inherently personal. As such, your first physical interaction with the ring starts with sizing your fit. It’s quite literally a manual process, giving you a chance to actually feel several rings on different fingers. This is a golden moment, and packaging to support it needed to be engineered in a way that doesn’t interfere with this crucial first impression.
I found inspiration to inform this moment in some unlikely places: from the crisp lines of a hardcover children’s book, the shell of a nautilus, a roll of Lifesaver mints, to the small ribbon that makes it easier to remove batteries from an old cassette player. The prototypes from these initial explorations were fun but either impractical or out of alignment with the Token ethos.
Our ultimate design evokes the feeling of holding a box of fine chocolates, and the care that goes into choosing the perfect one to match your taste. The rings are presented in an array, as equals. Cradled in high quality material and balanced on a knife-edge, they present the unique affordance of popping forward with a touch. The experience holds a couple of other surprises that I don’t want to spoil, but I think will leave you with a smile on your face.
I’m always happy to talk about industrial design and packaging. Want to continue the conversation? Connect with me on LinkedIn.
