Think Packaging x Print Room - A Best Awards Finalist!

We were excited about the idea of creating our own branded T-Shirts. However, we encountered a slight hurdle—we needed more people in the studio to meet the minimum order requirements.

Given that our business thrives on collaboration and working across various design disciplines and sectors, we approached The Print Room. We invited them to partner with us and design and produce multiple T-shirts, as that's their specialty.

The idea was to package these in a bespoke box, showcasing our talents in structural packaging, and send these out to each other's clients as a limited edition, self-promotional gift. The challenge was to create a memorable unboxing experience. Rather than just receiving a T-Shirt in a courier bag, ripping it open and chucking it on, we wanted the recipient to take and savour the moment to get to the goods. The box is designed to show the cardboard's effortless natural beauty. There's purposely no print or branding on this box, just lovely raw, sharp edges, perfectly crafted and scored so the front panel glides open, mimicking the motion of screen printing. We incorporated a mischievous face into the box design to add a personal touch and reveal the sender's identity. The box could be sealed and interacted with by utilising a design feature in the mouth, popping open to reveal the tee inside.

On the back of the tee, the puff screen print gives a tactile feel; this also provides thickness to the image that mimics the grooves of corrugated cardboard. The bottom side seam is embroidered with a 'tear strip' to link to a favourite opening experience when unpacking special items. This is a nod to opening something sealed, unique and new. Custom pips were created using ribbon with a matte print to create a subtle tonal design. These were heat pressed onto a gloss ribbon, and the design appears in a particular light. Likewise, the custom neck tag was created with heat-pressed vinyl onto gloss ribbon to show the partnership between the creative forces behind this collaboration.

We f*cking cardboard. And T-shirts.

Submitted by the Think Packaging team as part of the Best Awards entry.


Pou Auaha / Creative Directors
Mat Bogust, Blair McGowan, Chris Brun, Jon Thom, Finn Gallagher