Gift Lift

In the spirit of “Share a Coke” we created a unique package that invites two people to share a fun, premium unboxing experience. To that end, we created a simple mechanism that elegantly raises the cans, revealing them from the packaging and allowing for easier access. Each side has a pull tab that breaks the lever loose to lift the cans, requiring both people to partake in the unboxing which adds to the sharing theme. Our original prototype had the cans positioned side by side, but to refine the lifting mechanism and make it clearer whose can is whose, we shifted to a front to back orientation. A major goal of ours was to cut the entire package from one piece of paperboard to reduce cutting time and material usage, thus decreasing the carbon footprint. At first, the levers were separate components glued to the main structure, but we eventually devised a way to fold the paperboard over itself, creating a stiff, one-piece structure. The earlier prototypes were cut from 16 pt paperboard, but to increase rigidity, we switched to 20 pt which yielded immediate benefits. We considered leaving gaps in the side panels to reduce material, but to have adequate surface area for graphics and preserve the unveiling theme, we decided to keep the cans completely covered. The handle makes carrying easy and the hole on top increases access to the pull tab. Finally, we have an option to add a custom message on the inside as a cherry on top of a special shared experience. 

Design Rationale Document