you & i, items on a shelf

It's not what's on the outside that counts, it's the WHOLE product.

What most people have a tendency to forget is that "whole" intrinsically refers to the inside and the outside. When it comes to purchasing commercial goods (everything from Fido's treats to hair products), most people belong to one of two consumer identifications: packaging judge or packaging apathetic. The prior assume that if the outside looks good, the inside must follow suit. (My natural tendency lies here.) And the latter think, Who cares what the contents come in, as long as the contents are good? Both avenues are extremes and have ultimately resulted in a marketplace far too littered with ugly wrapping and disappointing products.

Applying lopsided focus to any leg of good marketing strategy leaves consumers unbalanced, overly accepting of the unacceptable. The obvious problem with my soap box speech is that reality flies in its face. If grocery store shelves are any indication, it's a fact that companies with disgusting packaging will never learn the importance of aesthetics simply because there's no one to teach them. People don't boycott products because the package isn't well-designed. (But they should.) Likewise, companies that put makeup on their blemished products will never learn about customer satisfaction because there's a limitless number of people who haven't fallen for their facade yet. (This scenario is less prolific than the other. All it takes is wasting your money once. Also, people seem less willing to buy something they don't like solely because it comes in a pretty box. But I digress...) As long as companies push product, there's little motivation to change it. Ergo, the eyes of the (adept) graphic-design community continue to tear.

The hidden pearl in the commercial carnage is that some companies have reached beyond the line of aesthetic (or content) complacency. Companies like:

Organix [hair products]
Burts Bees [whole-body care]
LaraBar [yummy bars]
Savanahh Bee Company [soaps, lotions, etc.]
Izze [natural soda]
Tazo Tea [ummm...]
Teavana [see above]
Zuke's [dog treats]
Method [cleaning products]
Hammer Nutrition [low-energy fixes]
Mrs. Meyer's [cleaning products]
Clif Bar [more yummy bars]
Jones Soda [I refuse to even put it]
Kiss My Face [body care]
CloudStar [everything for man's best friend]
Hugo Naturals [whole-body care]

If you haven't heard of some of these, go introduce yourself. They'll make you happier. Promise. :)

This all becomes strangely pertinent when we realize that you and I are just items on a shelf. We're "for sale" to others as friends, husbands, wives, employees, bosses, and every other relational label you can imagine. Just like a bottle of shampoo, we should be as appealing as possible on both the outside and the inside. Humanly speaking, most content mishaps are more correctable than packaging ones (plastic surgery not withstanding), but having a third eye doesn't mean you can't dab a little mascara on it.

The disconnect in all this is our contradictory standards. We have a propensity to judge each other by the cover and our groceries by the pages. This explains well why there are beautiful people you couldn't be paid to be friends with and products you love that come wrapped in a gag-fest.

So, yes, beauty is skin deep. And, yes, it's what on the inside that counts. But the package and the product don't have to be mutually exclusive, for us or the things we buy.