Celeste Watson’s cyan redesign (Credit: Behance/Celeste Watson)
Celeste Watson redesigned the packaging as a response to the environmental, ethical and financial issues she has with HP’s inkjet ink.
Complex reported on the redesigns by communications designer Celeste Watson, who has produced packaging for HP inkjet cartridges as if they were Chanel perfume. The boxes feature criticisms of the manufacturing methods, testing and composition of the inks on the back, with the remainder of the design a spin on Chanel’s No 5 perfume.
Watson stated that she came up with the idea as “a response to how absurdly priced household printer cartridges are”, adding that “this project aims to resolve the current discrepancy between the price of the product and its packaging”. The website notes that the packaging depicts how it would look if HP told consumers “what was in the printer ink”, as well as how “it had been tested on animals and the effects the ink had on the environment”.
Complex adds that Watson’s design “forces the consumer to consider the cost of such supplies” in terms of “environmental, ethical and financial” impact, and notes that by “refocusing the packaging to keep up with the cost of the liquid inside, the discrepancies are made bare in an ironically ornate fashion”.