Paper is perceived as a commodity – especially when it comes to packaging paper. The industry hands out free paper sample books to the main target audience – the world top designer, brand owners and premium printers. Causing close to no public interest.

For Fedrigoni we initiated a special stunt to prove that their paper isn´t boring at all. We put the legendary Leica X2 in a box that was both, a sample book and the packaging. But in it there wasn't any Leica X2. We created a limited edition by committing a design sacrilege: we convinced Leica to replace it’s iconic leather banderole by it’s packaging material.

This simple idea turned a luxury B2C brand into an ambassador of a low interest B2B product.

To make this happen, the paper had to survive weeks of uncompromising quality tests in a Leicas factory. It not just had to survive 400 cycles of abrasion, withstands temperatures from -40 to + 70°C and resists liquids like Aceton – it had to meet Leica requirements in haptic, grip and aesthetics.

The documentation Video reached 49.000 views on YouTube and 51.000 on Behance, which is more than 15 times as much as all previous Fedrigoni videos combined. It created such a huge buzz amongst the design minded target, more than the first 20 Google search pages for “Fedrigoni Leica” come up with results from around the globe. And the March 2014 issue of NOVUM even used Fedrigoni as it’s cover paper, refering to the idea and article inside.

We put the paper through all of Leicas uncompromising quality tests: It had to survive 400 cycles of heavy abrasion, extreme temperatures and aggressive liquids like Aceton. It persisted officially, so second skin became first skin. Can packaging get any better?

This symbiotic mashup turned product design into the most compelling communication design.

The uplifting effect of the packaging added so much value to the iconic Leica Camera, people willingly paid twice the price of a regular Leica X2. That just demonstrates how the target audiences perception and action towards Fedrigoni changed immediately.

A simple idea turned a luxury brand into an ambassador of a low interest product: The 25 limited Masterpieces were sold immediately for 3.900 EUR each, that’s more than twice the price of a regular X2. Designers, printers and brand owners are queuing for Fedrigoni’s paper roadshow. 48,000 views on YouTube and 50,000 views on “behance” demonstrate the contagiousness. It created such a huge buzz amongst the design minded target, that March 2014 issue of NOVUM even used Fedrigoni as it’s cover paper. This tweet by typography legend Eric Spiekermann sums it up: “Great work! Where can I buy this paper?”