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The Total Package: The Evolution and Secret Meanings of Boxes, Bottles, Cans and Tubes
By the author of Populuxe. This text explains how manufacturers play with the consumer's mind in an attempt to sell day-to-day products such as soap and breakfast cereal, each product sitting on a supermarket shelf having been carefully designed to promote instant desirability.
289 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Thomas Hine
14 books5 followersThomas Hine is a writer on history, culture and design. He is the author of five books, and he contributes frequently to magazines, including The Magazine Antiques, Philadelphia Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Martha Stewart Living, Architectural Record and others. He is a senior contributing writer to Home Miami and Home Fort Lauderdale.
He has been praised in the New Yorker by John Updike for his "mischievously alert sensibility, and was recently cited by House & Garden as "America's sharpest design critic." Populuxe--a word he coined as the title of his first book to describe the styles and enthusiasms of post-World War II America, has entered the language and is now included in the American Heritage and Random House dictionaries.
From 1973 until 1996, he was the architecture and design critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1977 and 1978, he was a Ford Foundation fellow, traveling in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union and elsewhere to study the impact of rapid political change on architecture and planning.
Recently, he was guest curator of Promises of Paradise, a groundbreaking exhibition on the design of post World War II South Florida. He also was an adviser to the Orange County Museum Art on its 2007-2009 touring exhibition Birth of the Cool and wrote an essay for its highly-praised, award-winning catalogue. Earlier, he was guest curator for the Denver Art Museum touring exhibition US Design: 1975-2000. He also wrote one of the essays in its catalogue. He worked with the National Building Museum on On the Job, a 2001 exhibition and catalogue about offices, and with the Fairmount Park Art Association on its New Landmarks exhibition and catalogue, which explored a new approach to public art. In 1989, he was an advisor to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, on its exhibition, Landmarks for Modern Living, about the post World War II Case Study House program, and he contributed an essay to its prize-winning catalogue.
Other books to which he has contributed chapters include Volare(1999) and Material Man (2000),both created by the Fashion Engineering Unit of Florence Italy, and Life: A Century of Change (2000).
He has taught courses at both the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. He has lectured at Yale, Syracuse, Drexel, and Michigan State Universities; museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Worcester Art Museum; and to professional and trade associations including the American Institute of Architects and the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association.
He was born in suburban Boston, grew up in Connecticut, and graduated from Yale. He has lived in Philadelphia since 1970.
He has been praised in the New Yorker by John Updike for his "mischievously alert sensibility, and was recently cited by House & Garden as "America's sharpest design critic." Populuxe--a word he coined as the title of his first book to describe the styles and enthusiasms of post-World War II America, has entered the language and is now included in the American Heritage and Random House dictionaries.
From 1973 until 1996, he was the architecture and design critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer. In 1977 and 1978, he was a Ford Foundation fellow, traveling in Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union and elsewhere to study the impact of rapid political change on architecture and planning.
Recently, he was guest curator of Promises of Paradise, a groundbreaking exhibition on the design of post World War II South Florida. He also was an adviser to the Orange County Museum Art on its 2007-2009 touring exhibition Birth of the Cool and wrote an essay for its highly-praised, award-winning catalogue. Earlier, he was guest curator for the Denver Art Museum touring exhibition US Design: 1975-2000. He also wrote one of the essays in its catalogue. He worked with the National Building Museum on On the Job, a 2001 exhibition and catalogue about offices, and with the Fairmount Park Art Association on its New Landmarks exhibition and catalogue, which explored a new approach to public art. In 1989, he was an advisor to the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, on its exhibition, Landmarks for Modern Living, about the post World War II Case Study House program, and he contributed an essay to its prize-winning catalogue.
Other books to which he has contributed chapters include Volare(1999) and Material Man (2000),both created by the Fashion Engineering Unit of Florence Italy, and Life: A Century of Change (2000).
He has taught courses at both the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University. He has lectured at Yale, Syracuse, Drexel, and Michigan State Universities; museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and the Worcester Art Museum; and to professional and trade associations including the American Institute of Architects and the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association.
He was born in suburban Boston, grew up in Connecticut, and graduated from Yale. He has lived in Philadelphia since 1970.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 10, 2007
I found this book at a bargain book warehouse, and it seems fitting that it came from there. I completely loved it—and read it within a week--but, I had two people make fun of me for buying it. I suppose that it seems fairly random, but I think it’s an intriguing look into modern consumer culture.
As a connoisseur of marketing, Hines knew how to immediately draw me in. Here are the questions posed on the back of the cover: (1) Why do makers of laundry detergent try to remind shoppers of Sylvester Stallone?, (2) Why are vodka bottles more distinctive in shape and design than whiskey bottles?, and (3) Which color is most often associated with cheapness? I’m always fascinated by books that seem to add significance to mundane aspects of modern culture (like trips to the grocery store!), so I knew I had to have it for $2.50.
I loved it, but I understand that it might fall into a niche category that not everyone would enjoy.
As a connoisseur of marketing, Hines knew how to immediately draw me in. Here are the questions posed on the back of the cover: (1) Why do makers of laundry detergent try to remind shoppers of Sylvester Stallone?, (2) Why are vodka bottles more distinctive in shape and design than whiskey bottles?, and (3) Which color is most often associated with cheapness? I’m always fascinated by books that seem to add significance to mundane aspects of modern culture (like trips to the grocery store!), so I knew I had to have it for $2.50.
I loved it, but I understand that it might fall into a niche category that not everyone would enjoy.
July 31, 2011
An analysis of the history of product packaging from its very beginnings in antiquity, to the rapid developments that have been occuring in the last century. While much of the book focuses on the practical and marketing aspects, the latter part of the book addresses the more modern considerations of resource depletion, re-use, and the production repercussions of pollution and global climate change. It was odd realizing how much has changed in this field during my lifetime — I didn't realize that many of those things I saw on the store shelves as a little kid were novel and had not always been there. This book came to my list from the "Notes" section of Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink.
December 12, 2010
There was some good stuff in this book. I was a little bored, but it was probably my patience level; and I've read so much on this sort of subject matter I may have become jaded. Anyway, good stuff; I'll probably keep the book around.
October 16, 2018
From page one this book proves itself to be a mindless stream of cute crafted sentences that lead nowhere. Obviously the shelves in a supermarket. Even with no owner intervention, the employees filling up the shelves will have a tendency to order things up as in putting the heavy items like bottled water packs closer to the storage entry and small, easy to hide packages like chewing gum closer to the register where there is somebody who can watch. And that is the good part. Just wait till you reach the part where one reads about the precursor of the packaging, which turns out to be a package, even if it does not look like the current steel can of beer.
January 3, 2019
Книга - попытка понять, чем является упаковка в нашем мире.
Основные темы - история, дизайн, упаковка как средство коммуникации и упаковка в экосистеме.
Всё дано обзорно, остро не хватает деталей по каждой из тем, но книга заканчивается огромной библиографией, которую можно исследовать дальше.
Основные темы - история, дизайн, упаковка как средство коммуникации и упаковка в экосистеме.
Всё дано обзорно, остро не хватает деталей по каждой из тем, но книга заканчивается огромной библиографией, которую можно исследовать дальше.
December 19, 2007
I straightened up the bookshelves the other weekend & pulled this out for a re-read.
It comes pretty close to living up to the subtitle, although the first two chapters are kind of repetitive and generic. Once Hine starts in with the history of packages and packaging, the pace picks up. He briefly discusses the development of pottery and glass containers as the precursor to packages - he believes that there must be elements of identification and advertising to make a container a package.
Patent medicines and cosmetics were some of the earliest packaged items, as urbanization and literacy provided impetus for manufactured foods and personal care goods. Canning and paperboard boxes were the next major innovation, as was color printing. Hines' picks for early successful packages include Quaker Oats and Uneeda Biscuits. He also delves into the post-war (I and II) effects on packaging and distribution, and ends the book with a chapter called "Empties" - how trash disposal affects package design & vice versa.
The focus of this book is primarily on the USA, though Hine does reference other cultures in terms of color choices & in particular, the Japanese attitude towards wrapping and presentation in package design. The photo section in the middle could have been more extensive - the further reading section & index add to the usefulness of this book as a resources.
As a general reader with some interest, but no background in advertising or design, I enjoyed this book on the history & sociology of packaged goods.
It comes pretty close to living up to the subtitle, although the first two chapters are kind of repetitive and generic. Once Hine starts in with the history of packages and packaging, the pace picks up. He briefly discusses the development of pottery and glass containers as the precursor to packages - he believes that there must be elements of identification and advertising to make a container a package.
Patent medicines and cosmetics were some of the earliest packaged items, as urbanization and literacy provided impetus for manufactured foods and personal care goods. Canning and paperboard boxes were the next major innovation, as was color printing. Hines' picks for early successful packages include Quaker Oats and Uneeda Biscuits. He also delves into the post-war (I and II) effects on packaging and distribution, and ends the book with a chapter called "Empties" - how trash disposal affects package design & vice versa.
The focus of this book is primarily on the USA, though Hine does reference other cultures in terms of color choices & in particular, the Japanese attitude towards wrapping and presentation in package design. The photo section in the middle could have been more extensive - the further reading section & index add to the usefulness of this book as a resources.
As a general reader with some interest, but no background in advertising or design, I enjoyed this book on the history & sociology of packaged goods.
October 16, 2008
I appreciate what he's done, although I've found a lot of the information in other sources, it is nice to see it all at once.
It's the first place I'd send someone interested in packaging, although I think that he would have been better off keeping his mind on the physical object. The sections on "political packaging" and "packaged experiences" are really just examples of branding. I wouldn't conflate the two - branding is one function of packaging, but they aren't identical.
That being said - I wish wish wish he'd cited his references!
It's the first place I'd send someone interested in packaging, although I think that he would have been better off keeping his mind on the physical object. The sections on "political packaging" and "packaged experiences" are really just examples of branding. I wouldn't conflate the two - branding is one function of packaging, but they aren't identical.
That being said - I wish wish wish he'd cited his references!
January 9, 2011
A wonderful older book filled with history and interesting ideas about shopping,the environment and design. It's really changed the way I think about those old Listerine bottles with the paper wrapping we used to get and all the other packaging I can see around my own home. It's an easy read once you get pass the first few pages and it has a great ending. I found the book by accident several years ago and just got around to opening it up and I'm glad I did. Nice pictures too. Good to read after the buying season during these difficult economic times.
July 12, 2009
As someone interested in material and popular culture, I loved this book. I certainly hope that it's used as a textbook in packaging design programs. Thomas Hine is a talented writer, and I'd read his book on Populuxe culture so was keen to read more by him. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history, design and meaning of the material trappings of our daily lives.
March 19, 2013
A bit dry and mildly informative look at the history of packages. It did confirm why the iPod always had shitty remotes, so people could see it as you looked around for music (although the book was written at least ten years before the first iPod, when Marlboro redesigned their cigarette package, the idea was to make it intentionally difficult to open so people could see it).
July 9, 2011
An interesting and valuable book, to the consumer and the design student. However, woefully out of date. Perhaps there is/should be an updated edition?
December 29, 2019
A little bit too much water, but ok in total with a lot of interesting and highlighted stories about history of packaging based on US market.
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August 6, 2018Говорят, что самая лучшая обертка у бананов, но вот вам, какой бы замечательный продукт вы не создали, упаковка обязательно потребуется. Нынешнее изобилие форм и материалов для нее относительно недавняя роскошь. Очень часто изобретателям и предпринимателям приходилось подстраиваться под имевшиеся форматы, представлявшие собой технологические «бутылочные горлышки» производства. К слову, сперва бутылочное стекло не могло выдерживать шипучих напитков. Бум шампанского и пива случился лишь после прорыва в его изготовлении. Тюбики, придуманные для красок, позаимствовали аптекари, консервы спонсировал Наполеон, аэрозольными баллончиками изначально американские солдаты боролись с москитами в Тихом океане, а короткая длина современных песен – результат ограниченности виниловых носителей. Упаковка одновременно и незаметна, и всемогуща.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews