Paths of Light DVD Box

Designers: Francisco Elias & Nelson Fernandes
Client: Nelson Fernandes aka Zina Caramelo
Photography by Nelson Fernandes
Digital imaging by Francisco Elias
Type Of Work: Commercial Work
Country: Portugal

The best way to hold the short animation Paths of Light by Zina Caramelo was to ensure that the DVD had a beautiful case to match. The packaging actually looks like it was plucked from the woods and moulded to form a DVD. On the outside, various lines are visible, almost appearing as small trees growing up the side of the case. The wooden exterior also helps to give it an extremely naturalistic look. Paths of Light is an extreme update from the cases many saw for CDs in the 1990s, which usually consisted of basic plastic with a paper package to explain the contents inside.

Challenge:
The medium used was a single wooden plank on which he reinvented/unrolled all his visual and poetic discourse, using multiple techniques. This life cycle resulted in a box, whose construction involved two distinct stages: a mechanical one and a manual one. The first stage – the mechanical one – involved cutting and laser printing operations (1 hour and 30 minutes) to produce 6 different pieces. The last stage – the manual one – involved the exploration of collage techniques using those 6 pieces, a drying period and a sandpaper finishing to create the final version. Each box is unique.

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