Frogfile

Hemlock Printers, Frogfile Office Supplies and Grays Harbor Paper came to Change to help position their 100% post-consumer-waste copy paper.

Initially, the request was for a simple sticker on each pack describing its green credentials.

However, it became apparent that copy paper packs were an untapped advertising medium – no copy reams at office supply stores used their 8 x 11 shelf facings to communicate anything more than basic information.

With this insight, Change began to build a unique communication medium, with a very unique message.

The packs we created were origami: if you cut out and folded the wrapper, it formed a tree. If you stacked the reams, their wrapper designs formed a tree. And if you stacked the cardboard boxes used to store 10 packs, the graphics on their sides formed a tree trunk.

The packaging was rewarded with 7 international design awards. More significantly, though, the ‘seen to be green’ packaging helped Frogfile land its largest office supplies client.

Final kudos: in January 2010, the design is being celebrated at a Design Retrospective at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). This show, titled ‘Cut Paste’ will look at the tradition of ‘creative reuse’ in Canadian Design – from First Nation’s crafts, to punk rock DIY, to contemporary examples by Douglas Coupland, Paprika and Tobias Wong.