With two young kids it was hardly surprisingly that Christmas generated a lot of material for the recycling. Torfaen (where I live) have only just recently begun cardboard collection so that's a step in the right direction but I'm still uneasy about the shear amount of all of this rubbish. This got me thinking...

 Kids packaging (or breakfast cereal boxes for that matter) have typically been through some heavy duty printing: with numerous inks & finishes etc. I doubt that there is much that can be recycled from the energy spent on the printing aspect (but please shout out if you have any thoughts).

That being the case, what if there were a much more Draconian legislation on the recyclability of packaging? What if the cardboard/material had to be ultra-recyclable? What if only a tiny % of the packaging surface area could be printed on and, even then, only an ultra-low impact, monotone ink were used?

You're probably thinking that this would lead to some pretty uninspiring packaging - brown text on brown cardboard. And I'd have to agree with you.

But what I was thinking was this.…

What if you viewed that boring packaging through your smart phone (or, better still, some sort of wearable "shopping glasses") then the packaging could spring into life; your smart phone would recognise the packaging and would, in realtime, superimpose hires (environmentally friendly!) artwork onto it. Pick the box up and rotate it in your hands, and you'll see the artwork.

How would the smartphone/glasses recognise the product? Could be via bar code, QR code, snap tags. It would then consult an online database and retrieve the associated digital artwork to superimpose.

How would it position the artwork? Well, this is one for the image people but I'd say there are markers/symbols on the packaging so that the software "knows" how that package is oriented & what to render where (this reminded me of the "Space Vision System" on the Internation Space Station).

Print is Dead

 But of course we mustn't just think of static 2D artwork - let not the old print world constrain us - the superimposed packaging could be multimedia of course: product slideshows; video, latest reviews of the product etc. Perhaps the retail outlet itself might control some aspects of the packaging which can help with up sell/cross sell (e.g. "Want the GI Joe with the rubber hand grip as well? Go to aisle 4").

Personalised Packaging

 Furthermore there is a fantastic opportunity to weave in identity; what if the packaging presented you was personalised to your needs/tastes? E.g. a child might want to see the toy being played with but a parent my prefer more emphasis on safety features/recommendations?

Shopping Glasses

Shopping at toys-r-us would be a completely different experience! Without your smartphone (or "shopping glasses") you'll see rows of bland, environmentally friendly packaging. With your glasses on, you'll have a shopping data layer. Want to see all the toys which are suitable for under 8's and which your friends rate? Sure! Highlight those but leave everything else dimmed.