Samsung & Dezeen

Samsung and design magazine Dezeen launched a contest, Out of the Box, challenging entrants to design different items for the home that can be created out of cardboard boxes. The global contest is driven by Samsung’s Eco-Packaging, which it uses to ship three of its TVs, and that’s designed to be repurposed. Each box is marked with a dot matrix and QR code that direct customers on how to transform the box into a TV console, a small coffee table, a cat house, or a magazine rack. Contest participants must design items that anyone can easily make out of cardboard boxes and everyday, household tools. Dezeen and Samsung are accepting submissions until the end of May.

Unlike most of the innovations we’ve featured over the past few weeks, this contest wasn’t born out of the COVID crisis. But the current situation makes it extra-relevant. According to Samsung and Dezeen, in the US alone, around 90 billion cardboard boxes are thrown away after one use - a figure that’s sure to increase. Consumers are fueling a surge in online shopping (Amazon, for one, had to ramp up hiring to meet the demand), and more deliveries means more cardboard boxes to repurpose!

So consumers who bring the winning home designs to life are not only making their homes more functional (extra-necessary now, as we self-isolate). They could also save money by leveraging the growing pile of cardboard boxes instead of buying items; useful for consumers being impacted financially by the epidemic. Think about what your customer needs right now, and what you could help them create to fulfill those needs. How could consumers repurpose a common resource that would otherwise go to waste?  

Stay healthy,

The TrendWatching content team


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