Downloading a Virus to make a Cardboard Deck Box

The moral of the story is… don't get carried away during research. Always read the pop-ups before clicking "allow" on ANYTHING. and just don't do it on unfamiliar websites. Silly me. 

So I was trying to figure out a way to turn cereal boxes in convenient deck boxes for Magic the Gathering (and other card games) but none of the templates I found were what I wanted. And believe me when I say I really LOOKED. Every site that showed up with a deck box template I clicked on. (Not my best move-hence the title). But I did figure out what design I wanted, and set to work drawing up templates. 

From the whole process I have found a six-ish step process for making most things:

Step One: Describe the Vision

My ideal outcome was "A deck box I can make out of cereal boxes that has an attached lid that shuts and stays shut to assist in the storage and transfer of cards." 

The more specific you can get with what you want, the easier it can be to work towards a result. The result is clear, you just have to forge the path there. If you've ever googled "book with blue cover" in hopes of remembering the title "Wonder" it may work, but "The Fault in Our Stars" and "The Great Gatsby" will also show up. Now if you look up "book with blue cover and one eyeball", the cover of "Wonder" is the first image result. Just as asking a more specific question helps produce more specific results in a browser search, so will a project's guiding question assist in creating the result you want. (This same question technique is used in AP Art classes when planning a portfolio idea.)

Step Two: Research Existing Options

I went in a deep dive when looking for deck box designs, even clicking rapidly enough to download a virus on my computer (be careful when browsing like this, my computer is fine, but yours may not be so lucky). I printed out a few designs I found, but ultimately didn't find exactly what I was looking for…

Step Three: Refine and Brainstorm 

…so I brainstormed ways to make it work. I had seen plastic deck boxes with the round-ish folding box lid thing design I ended up going with, so I drew out a few rough designs on paper, and then…

Step Four: Prototype, Prototype, Prototype

…prototyped! I made one how I knew to make it and then I looked at it. The first few were just off (mainly because I hadn't measured right… but I learned more than measurements). I'm sure I altered the design a half dozen times before settling on one and making the “final” templates.

Step Five: Show It Off, Gather Feedback

I found out after I made a few boxes from the templates I'd hand-cut… that I could print the designs on cereal boxes. This revelation was immensely exciting, and really opened new possibilities with how I could design and market boxes in the future. Now, I know I can print for other projects as well! So many new ideas are being presented thanks to the challenge overcome in one project (this challenge being my lack of precision painting skills to execute the desired designs of friends). 

Step Six: Never Settle For Mediocrity

Always be willing to improve a design. This isn't to say necessarily spend your whole life devoted to improving one project… sometimes good enough is good enough for that moment. But there is always room for improvement. I was able to recognize my templates I had worked (really) hard on were not the best option. Printing was far better. And if I had access to automated cutting, it would have increased production quality even further. (I don't yet… but one day!)

They work! I think…

I haven't consciously tried to apply the steps to my current cardboard crate projects, but now that I'm writing this I can confirm I did 1, 2, 3 and am currently in the midst of 4/5, making a few versions and improving my production of the different versions to use my time more efficiently. 

If you want to make a cereal box cardboard deck box using my templates, I've attached them, but if you don't like the design, 

just start at step 3.