I led the design for Barilla Snowfall, introducing Barilla’s snowflake-shaped pasta through a premium holiday-inspired unboxing experience. This project combined innovative design, attention to detail, and collaborative problem-solving to create a premium, giftable experience that celebrated the holiday season and Barilla’s new pasta. Due to trust I established from previous successful product launches, the client had an increased desire to invest in a high quality print experience. I used this opportunity to propose and execute high-end keepsakes–a custom snow globe and knit sweater–in addition to a surprise-and-delight unboxing experience. These elements highlighted the new pasta shapes, emphasized the importance of tradition, and promoted togetherness during the holidays, while driving product visibility and sales.

I designed the snow globe interior using Adobe Firefly. I collaborated with vendors to incorporate unique, elevated details for a memorable unboxing experience, including custom box construction, a ribbon closure to feel giftable and create “friction” during unboxing (incorporating an action to slow down an experience increases memorability), spot UV snowflake details for a tactile and premium feel, and a detachable, rechargeable lit pedestal that illuminates the snow globe upon opening. To align with eco-conscious practices, the box was designed without logos on its exterior (save for the attached envelope), making it reusable as a gift box.

The sweater was completely custom, down to the design, fit, and fabrication. To ensure quality production of the sweater, we worked closely with the factory to oversee details such as style, thread color, tag feasibility, and design placement. Careful consideration was given to avoid seams intersecting the snowflake pasta shapes and to ensure the knit’s thickness provided proper legibility of the illustrative pattern.

I addressed challenges with production timelines and communication issues by working with project management to schedule recurring meetings to ensure work was completed in a timely manner, process challenges were communicated early, and the full team had increased visibility. I also requested to have meetings with vendors to communicate directly. 

Post-production photography was not included in the budget, so in my personal time I photographed the box and contents and supplemented with AI-generated imagery using Midjourney and Magnific.

Design Direction: Emma Dowling. Design: Emma Dowling and Izzi Mordini. Art Direction: Tory Trahey. Copywriting: Jules Herrick.

• The campaign has garnered 4.8 billion impressions and has scored features in AdAge: The Top 12 Food and Beverage Holiday Campaigns, Martha Stewart Living: Barilla's New Limited Edition Pasta Shape Will Make Your Winter Dishes Extra Cozy (and Even More Delicious), Design Taxi: Barilla rolls out festive 'Snowfall' pasta with 3 assorted snowflake shapes, and more.