Total Package

Hine, as he demonstrated in "Populuxe" which is a bit of a classic at this point, has a good feel for an uncommon general topic. What he kind of lacks is intense depth and profound insight, and I don't think he sees that as his job, and thank-you to him. He generally conveys (and well) his delight in the interesting details about a subject. Placed alongside a lot of the overwrought and highly judgemental contemporary books on cultural subjects, Hine's efforts might seem featherweight. Then again, beside some French-critical-theory-driven Inquisition of Minutiae (Lisa Mahar's troglodytic, "American Signs," trundles into view in my mind's eye) Hobbes's "Leviathan" has an almost "Dick and Jane" delicacy. So, if you're doing research into your college paper proving why Western Consumer Culture stinks this be a bad book for you. If you're like me and enjoy good books on subjects like this you'll probably be glad you spent the bucks. I just wish Hine would stop feeling obliged to work in (as he does here toward the end, and even at the tail of "Populuxe") a gratuitous bit of social relevancy. It drops the upbeat tone of the book a notch--that's why four instead of five stars.

My community college graphic design students read this book for a class, so I've read it six or seven times now. Every year I look forward to it. It is a wonderful way to get my (mostly) American students to think about their role in an economy they've rarely questioned. They learn about how products have been adorned and contained over the centuries and they also learn why great cities thrived with the advancements in packaging, why suburbs keep growing and why cars and groceries are an intertwined pair. There plenty of insights here for the consumer who wonders why there are so many kinds of toothpaste and why there will always be a battle between Coke and Pepsi. You eat a lot of tuna? Did you know it was canned for the first time because a cannery ran out of sardines? Did you know that canning itself was developed for Napoleon's military campaigns? You know yellow makes products look cheap? You do, but you didn't know you did. For designers it is an indispensible history that will help you locate your place in the world of business and the American economy.Thomas Hine discusses how research dominates design and how brand managers can wipe out your precious work with a single "Natural!" violator.

I fell in love with Thomas Hine's The Total Package: The Secret History and Hidden Meanings of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Other Persuasive Container from page 1 for this book pulls you into a world that on the one hand is so familiar to you, but on the other hand yet also so unknown, namely the world of package - design and the world of stores. In his book, Mr. Hine writes about the development of things that I had never even given a thought like the invention of the shopping cart and how it should not take up too much space or the design of the grocery store as a maze, but the book also tells so much more like what colors on the packages say about the products and so on. Mr. Hine even argues that "packaging is what we are" for "packaging mirrors its expected customers, and thus it provides an unfamiliar and provocative perspective about who we are and what we want." Well, I consider this book to be a true eye-opener and I experience just walking down the aisles in a store as a truly unique experience now for I came to realize that there is a whole theory behind everything I see around me or every aspect of the store.

A wonderfully interesting book about the history of product packaging. Very thorough and engaging -- I had no idea how important the paper bag was! Rich with insights about consumer behavior in marketplaces and the geographic evolution of the American shopping experience. I go it from the library and wound up buying it as a reference book for years to come!

Hine, a New York Times writer, displays his considerable analytical gifts and admirably readable style in this "secret history and hidden meanings of boxes, bottles, cans, and other persuasive containers". Examining in depth some of our most familiar commercial icons, he reveals why the Spearmint Gum wrapper doesn't change but the Kleenex box does, what all that small print on the Budweiser can is about, and why the Tide box colors survive despite changes in style. He notes, significantly, that the art and science of the packager is so skillful as to bypass the intellect and deliver the message to the subconscious even in awareness of the techniques employed. A fascinating look at a pervasive element of contemporary culture; highly recommended. (The "score" rating is an unwelcome feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)