If you're buying a small amount of nails at a hardware store in the U.S., they come in paperboard boxes; in Europe, apparently they're sold in plastic packaging. Thus Anna Lena Idel and Thomas Kucyk, both product design students at Germany's Muenster School of Design, created this for their packaging design class:
"SNAIL is a plastic-free alternative to conventional nail packaging. In search of a more manageable nail packaging, SNAIL was developed with a view to smaller projects, especially for do-it-yourselfers.
"The separate line-up of the nails enables individual nails to be removed with one hand. The integrated belt suspension also ensures that your hands are free. In addition, SNAIL nails can be dosed quickly thanks to a simple perforation and SNAIL always provides an overview of the remaining number of nails. If SNAIL is not used, it can be closed again.
"SNAIL is a mono-material packaging. The increased grammage of the cardboard of 300 g / m² ensures the stability of the packaging. Its natural brown color and the leathery surface structure complete the fulfilling DIY experience that SNAIL stands for."
I think it makes perfect sense for the DIY'er, who's maybe going up a ladder to hang a few pictures. Nice work Idel and Kucyk!
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Product Design Student Work: Anna Lena Idel & Thomas Kucyk's SNAIL Packaging
100% agree with Ben. This is self-serving, greenwashed, package design porn.
I'm curious who this is geared towards. How is this better or less packaging then a cardboard or paper box that most nails come in anyways? I'm all for innovation in the construction and DIY world, but this seems like it is solving an issue that does not exist. What person is going to undo their belt to put on a roll of nails. Just get a waste pouch or a toolbelt and it can hold all of the tools and nails you could ever need and it will last you a lifetime and could be passed down for several generations. Also if you are concerned about packaging, go to a contract supplier instead of a big box store and buy nails or screw by weight and use reusable containers.
Whatever happened to the old-school, rotating bin with various fasteners and nails that you scoop into a sturdy paper bag and purchase by the pound?
I think this is a fun exploration of a different packaging direction. However, I do agree that this concept likely uses more material to hold 50 nails than a simple cardboard box. And, the needs of the actual builder was not taken into consideration. The product would likely be annoying to use.