Rivet & Sway’s first-of-its-kind Home Try-On program provides women with up to five eyewear sample options to choose from, conveniently shipped via the U.S. Postal Service in a “visually stunning, fashion-forward presentation,” according to the company.
Until January 2013, Rivet & Sway’s Home Try-On box featured space for three frames in a 24-pt Kraft chipboard box, with individual frame boxes inside. “We love getting feedback from customers,” says company Art Director & Lead Designer Kathleen Ullman, “and one request we heard often was that the more frames they can try on, the better. Because we want the experience to be as easy as possible, [with the new package] we stayed within the restraints of the USPS and limited it to five frames, so that they could still be returned from any U.S. Postal mailbox.
“Another goal was to reduce the weight and cost of the system. By changing the paper stock, we were able to reduce costs significantly, and it gave us more control over the design.”
The new package comprises an offset-printed dark-grey, self-sealing secondary box with a subtle, hexagon-pattern graphic in gold foil that wraps around the top of the box and offers a defined space for the shipping label. Made of a sheet of laminated board stock, the shipper is coated in a Soft Touch Aqueous finish that helps protect from smudges and adds a luxurious feel.
Inside the shipper are five eyewear boxes that help maintain the structure of the outer package and protect the frames during shipping. The five individual boxes are also made from laminated board stock and are offset-printed in a light grey color outside, a dark grey on the inside. A Soft Touch finish also coats the boxes, which are edged in gold foil.
“We feel strongly about making the experience as pleasant as possible—perhaps even like opening an unexpected gift,” says Ullman. “It’s our opportunity to engage and inspire our customers, so we added special touches and details to make the experience more enjoyable.”
Among these touches, each frame box has copy on the bottom suggesting different occasions and personalities to encourage women to try new styles. A quote on the inside of the shipper has been changed from, “Focus on what you want and you’ll see evidence of it everywhere,” to “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Says Ullman, “This exemplifies how we feel about fashion and the fun every woman can and should have with their frames.”
In contrast with the brown-Kraft inside panel of the former package, the new shipper offers a crisp white background with a feminine, coral-colored floral image. Both the outer shipper and inner frame boxes were printed by Emerald City Graphics.
Within the shipper is an envelope with instructions, the packing slip, and the return label, which is pasted over the original shipping label for return to Rivet & Sway.
In addition to the new Home Try-On package, Rivet & Sway also introduced new packaging for its final-product prescription shipping box, which holds a hard-cover case, the glasses, and a cleaning cloth with the same floral pattern as the Home Try-On box. The outside shipper repeats the hexagon pattern, while inside, the glass case is adorned with a small ribbon that reads, “Hello, lovely.” As a finishing touch, the package is topped with a personalized note from the company CEO, along with tips on how to make minor adjustments to the frames to ensure a proper fit.
Following launch of the new packaging, Ullman reports that response has been “great,” saying that many woman are taking pictures of the boxes and the inside quote and sharing on Instagram and Twitter. “They seem to be having fun and enjoying the process,” she says, “which was our main goal all along.”
