YouTube In the Groove
Gifting gone retro to celebrate YouTube’s top creators
Packaging Design | 3D Visualization | Production
In 2022, YouTube epically expressed its gratitude by venturing into vinyl to celebrate their top creators. With a personalized record player and custom album cover designed to highlight major achievements, each of the top 1200+ creators were celebrated in an unforgettable way.
Our challenge: to design a bold and unmistakably retro packaging experience that made a big impact and dialed up the nostalgia of this standout gift.
Partners: Advoc8 (Experience Design) & YouTube
The Story
To authentically evoke the nostalgia of the gift, we ventured back to the heyday of records—think the groovy 70s. Our inspiration stemmed from the classic concept of a record collection, drawing from an era when people stashed their albums in crates or showcased them proudly for all to admire.
Moodboard
The Process
We were greatly inspired by the funky colors and the groovy patterns that informed much of the 70s. Through graphic exploration, bold color and a macro use of pattern, became a statement part of the design language.
For the box structure, we explored a range of concepts inspired by record crates. We considered ways to display and store records, with the goal of ensuring the unboxing experience was engaging, layered and explorative.
Once removed, the custom album cover can be proudly displayed. This was made possible through the use of magnets that satisfyingly snapped the album in place on the lid of the box.
Store your faves
With sustainability as a pillar of this project, we explored ways of giving the packaging a second life to position the box as a keepsake item rather than something to be used once and thrown away. After the YouTuber’s custom album is removed and proudly displayed on the lid of the box, revealed underneath are slots for additional storage to hold their most prized record collection.
The Results
The reaction to both the gift and unboxing experience was phenomenal, generating immense social engagement and amplifying positive sentiment toward the YouTube brand.
2.3K Social Mentions
764M Potential Impressions
63M Video Views
57% Net Positive Sentiment