Apple Has a Package Designer Whose Only Job Is to Open Boxes



It's no secret that Apple sweats every last detail when it comes to their products. Of course, Apple's attention to detail stretches out far beyond the product itself and even encompasses the packaging in which their products are shipped. Is it any surprise then that Apple employs a package designer whose only job is opening boxes? For Apple, packaging is more than how a product is nestled comfortably inside a box. They believe the customer’s experience begins when they open the box, which is why they hired someone to see what kind of experience that would be — all in an effort to perfect the customer’s unboxing experience. At one point, Apple’s packaging room was filled with hundreds of iPod box prototypes so that Apple could determine which box lent itself towards evoking the emotional response Apple was looking for upon opening up a product for the first time. How a customer opens a box must be one of the last things a typical product designer would consider. Yet, for Apple, the inexpensive box merits as much attention as the high-margin electronic device inside. Indeed, there's a method to Apple's detail-obsessed madness.