DITW 02: Skeuomorphic Sriracha
Image taken after getting an order from HelloFresh
Design in the World is a series of interesting moments and reflections on how design has an impact on making the world easier or harder to navigate.
Skeuomorphic Sriracha
Was ordering some food online, likely noodles or something that went well with what’s spicy. They sent along some beautiful packets or sriracha (a favorite condiment). The packages were delightful. In a world where condiment packaging has converged onto a single convention- rectangular, rippable, squeezable, disposable- these little things were differentiated by being in the same design as their physical counterpart. They were skeuomorphic- they took something that exists and is used by people in the material world and applied it to the design of something new. The aesthetics, the red bottle with white writing and iconic green cap, included all of the little details that made it recognizable as a bottle of sriracha sauce- leveraging brand recognition. The best part however, was that to open it, you ripped off the green cap, similar to how one would use a bottle of sriracha to get to the good stuff (well, ok- for a physical bottle you twist, but you get the idea). So in that sense, even the interactions were similar.
As designers we have the opportunity to create things that are familiar to our customers or end users. When we create things like these that are familiar, they become more approachable. Sure, they probably could have used a regular rectangular packet of sriracha (arguably equally if not more familiar), but they didn’t. They chose to make something different- a different, yet familiar- micro-experience (using a condiment package) that contributed to the macro-experience (ordering and consuming a meal) of engaging with a product and service. They probably could have saved money going with the traditional route, but they chose to make something custom, and I think those small design decisions make a big difference for their brand and product experience.
From an innovation experience, using the SIT framework, we could call this an example of division. A larger sriracha bottle was divided into a collection of many, many, small sriracha bottles. For sriracha this opened up a new value stream. Custom designed small sriracha packets are a new way for them to make revenue off of their existing product, with minimal changes to their basic formula. It’s a new package around the same product, distributed differently (through a service). Overall, a cool little example of something that’s both viable from a business perspective, and delightful and usable from an end user’s perspective.