We decided on the specific audience (new UGA students) and our distribution tactic (receive books when they receive student IDs). I knew that an outer layer of packaging would be necessary to make our guide standout against the amount of deliverables that new students receive when they arrive at UGA.

I began my material exploration with the goal of maintaining the playful and vibrant appearance of our cover. I didn’t want the design to just repeat the interior, instead I wanted the material to reemphasize our concept and tone.

I began exploring slightly sheer papers such as velum but wasn’t content with their opacities. I then moved on to a heavy weight tracing paper and knew that it was right. The tracing paper played into the chance-based concept we had developed, through its transformative qualities. When the book lays flat in its packaging the paper raises and makes the cover illegible. It is only when viewers take control, and interacts with the book, that the title is revealed.

Like the games, I wanted to make this packaging easy to use and visually simple, so I turned to stickers to keep the book enclosed. A plain sticker felt off brand for this guide, so I created a slightly teasing message to introduce our “older sibling” tone from the get go. The sticker’s phrase “go ahead look” is completed on the first page of the guide where a small “made you look” appears.

My packaging choice helps to set the tone of our guide and adds to our foundational concept. The foggy packaging puts the element of chance into the hands of the audience and the sticker/opening page lets the audience know that this guide is meant to be playful and familiar.