YouTube Breaking Be@riers
YouTube’s 2023 end-of-year gifting program and the first-ever BE@RBRICK™ AUDIO collaboration
PARTNERS YouTube – Brand Team
Advoc8 / &DROP – Experience Agency
SO Dsgn – Design Agency (Packaging)
Big Box Little Box – Packaging Manufacturer
STORYAt the end of each year, YouTube shows gratitude to some of its most influential creators and artists from around the world with a one-of-a-kind, personalized gift. In collaboration with YouTube, our goal was to curate an unforgettable gift, design a show-stopping unboxing experience, and, most importantly, demonstrate YouTube’s gratitude for all the efforts of its creator and artist community throughout 2023.
This year’s gifting theme was Futuristic Tech, so we partnered with RINARO ISODYNAMICS ahead of their November 2023 launch of the BE@RBRICK™ AUDIO speaker. As a popular collector's item, BE@RBRICK perfectly fit our theme, especially with the added Bluetooth functionality. Together, we curated custom neon-colored BE@RBRICK AUDIO speakers that aligned with the theme while celebrating the vibrant personalities of YouTube creators and artists.
THE CHALLENGEFor the fourth consecutive year, we've had the privilege of partnering with Advoc8 and YouTube to lead the packaging design experience for their year-end gift, from concept through production. Our Industrial Design and Brand Design teams collaborate on both the structural and graphic design, always beginning with storytelling to set the vision. Our role spans setting the visual aesthetic for the entire program, structural box design, graphic exploration, prototyping, and visualization. Once the packaging design is finalized, we work closely with the manufacturer to ensure the design intent is realized. From concept to delivery, we ensure the packaging experience is fully brought to life, with the gift arriving safely in the hands of YouTube creators worldwide.
THE OUTCOME3-month project completion – Concept Sketching to Shipping
Excellent production quality – Maintained true design intent
Safe shipping – millions of combined miles worldwide
Incredible response from YouTuber recipients
Packaging Design
Visualization
Production Support
MOODBOARDSON DISPLAYAs a thank you for your extraordinary contributions, enjoy this gift that mirrors your unique personality and one-of-a-kind creativity.
VAULTUnlock a rare bespoke artefact dedicated to your invaluable past, present, and future creator achievements.
STRUCTURAL EXPLORATION
GRAPHIC EXPLORATION
OPENING EXPERIENCEWe thoughtfully designed the box to create a dynamic and layered opening experience with just enough suspense and intrigue to keep YouTubers engaged and warrant turning their unboxing into content for their channel. The outermost box is a slipcase alternating white and black panels—an unexpected spin on traditional white and black tech product packaging.
To further elevate our futuristic theme, we created a technical, abstract graphic pattern of shapes extracted from the internals of the BE@RBRICK AUDIO speaker.
THE SEATBELTThe BE@RBRICK AUDIO is situated securely at the box's center and displayed in true streetwear style—held in place by a custom YouTube red seat belt. The seat belt served two purposes: it kept the bear in place during transit and allowed the opportunity to make a bold design statement. We introduced a foam piece inside the box that cushioned the bear's back half while the seat belt kept it secure from the front. This allowed for the bear to be proudly on display upon opening the layers of the box, making for a dramatic reveal.
PACKAGING PROTOTYPE
CUSTOM DISPLAY FRAMEAs a signature, showstopping piece of the unboxing experience, we designed a custom four-sided acrylic frame unique to each YouTuber. The frame prominently displays each creator’s YouTube channel name on one side and their personal 2023 stats and achievements on the opposite side. The graphics were laser-etched directly onto the acrylic frame.
The frame recognized the creator and artist’s accomplishments and served as a keepsake display case to heroically showcase their BE@RBRICK AUDIO. This frame gives off a hologram effect that perfectly complements the transparency of the bear. To not compromise the audio experience, we designed a frame with an open front and back.
IN THE WILD!