Ouija Board Box

Design: Eric Collier
Project Type: Concept
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Packaging Contents: Ouija Board
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Cardboard
Printing Process: Digital Printing

The Ouija Board phenomena has fascinated audiences for generations. The design aesthetic has always been refined (in regards to the board), which begs the question- why has the box design always lacked that same ominous, mysterious visual language? I have always cringed at the previous box designs, branded like a children’s toy with fun text and playful imagery. This was the main idea behind my box redesign. The Ouija board is not a toy, so I decided to give it a proper presentation.

The cover of the box is important real estate, because this is what the audience sees on the shelf when roaming an aisle. For the front design, I reused the original illustrations from the board but inverted the colors and enlarged the graphics. Recreating these graphics was a timely process, as no original vectors existed. I have always been in love with these illustrations. They have a woodcut aesthetic, fused with Van Gogh line work. I gave the box a matte finish, avoiding that ‘brand new’ look that often comes with a glossy coating. I felt the matte finish gave the box a reserved presence.

On the back, I used the same text from the original box, but complemented it with a new illustration. I created three hands in the same rhythmically lined style of the graphics on the board. Two of the three hands are placed over the planchette. The low opacity ghost hand hovers over the top of it, implying that a spirit is present and moving the instrument for the players. Staying religious to a three color scheme, I used matte black, white and glowing yellow. The glow of the yellow intensifies when coupled with the white bright white of the board.