“I did twenty years of branding for the original Polaroid Corporation, the company that actually manufactured and sold instant cameras and analog film, employing 20,000 people. I called it product identity then and I call it that now. I created iconic devices for Polaroid and it's been remembered by people who appreciate some restraint and good taste in the marketplace.”

“This is what we were up against — the saturation of Eastman Kodak yellow in the worldwide photographic marketplace, no place more obvious than in the U.S.A.”

“Earlier, Polaroid management had engaged the services of a design firm which created its packaging for point-of-purchase in a shade of gray that was immediately swallowed up Kodak yellow.”

1958

“The black end-panel of this packaging gained us an edge on Eastman (Kodak) yellow. It caught on years later when other photographic products began to be packaged this way. When I did it, I ran into opposition from some of the middle managers who parroted Ernst Dichter, the motivational guru of the time, who said that black was a morbid color. Dichter was also credited with advising Ford Motor with its introduction of the Edsel. But that's another movie and I digress.”

1968

“I felt we needed the color stripes and a silhouette illustration of the product as well for a prospective to know at a glance what was in the box. Why a black-and-white drawing instead of a photo? Because Polaroid wouldn't pay for printing and stock upgrade needed to accommodate photography.”

1973

“By 1973, management decided to introduce a square format film to sell for less than the rectangular format that had done so well so far. Economy became a factor to be reckoned with as a recession curtailed consumer spending. By that time Polaroid had begun to sell in great quantities in the big box stores, as they began to be called. It was a very rewarding challenge to design the packaging to be used as traffic builders in a form of paper sculpture in stacks. Many in the sales department objected to the less than over-size use of type to identify the product but it's my opinion that design sold the product. Sales managers like to write all over product packaging, which is why — with the exception of Apple products — the marketplace is inundated with visual pollution today.”

2008