Union & Scale Workplace Furnishings Packaging System | 2020

Designers: Staples Design, Staples, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA
Manufacturer: Staples, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA

The Union & Scale brand competes head-to-head with leading global office furniture and decor companies by offering an on-trend premium product at an accessible price for businesses and direct-to-consumer transactions.

Its product design language advances themes, expressed through collections, that balance a portfolio of work-life solutions with the needs of the businesses that Union & Scale supports, the culture those customers are building, and the growth stage of their company.

The brand considers its packaging system, which supports its integrated supply chain and choreographs its customers’ receipt, unboxing, and first use experience, as a critical first embodiment of the value proposition of Union & Scale products themselves.

Design Strategy
This project involved the development of a packaging system that could scale to support the entirety of the Union & Scale line. The team’s approach was to apply the same holistic process and design rigor that underpins the development of Union & Scale furnishings to its packaging — the first expression of the product experience to follow.

The project began by capturing functional specifications from across the supply chain. Working closely with warehousing specialists in the Distribution Centers and shipping specialists in the Fulfillment Centers the team set design criteria for packages of all sizes that transit our stores and customer locations.

The requirements capture also included deep dives with our cross-functional product development partners to understand prevailing best practices for furniture in this price tier and to identify opportunities for us to push past parity solutions.

Design Development
The packaging strategy reflects four objectives: unwavering structural integrity, exterior labeling optimized to support our channel teams, bold and clear branding throughout the journey, and an unboxing experience unmatched at this price point.

The box exterior, which serves as both shipping container and secondary customer packaging, is built from rugged kraft corrugate. Panels feature the iconic Union & Scale ampersand, full-color adhesive labels that wrap to create facings on adjacent box sides, and arrows to confirm orientation and guide the customer opening sequence.

Interior panels feature a flood of color across all surfaces. Color coordinate with the product collection, its product guide, and other in-box messaging. The system is designed to work flexibly across packaging forms and scale with the line to accommodate new products and collections.

All elements work together to create a supportive and engaging unboxing, assembly, and first use experience that consumers associate with the Union & Scale brand.