Think inside the box!

Yes you heard me correctly. In the 1980s a forward-thinking Japanese farmer forced watermelons to grow into a square shape by inserting the melons into square, tempered glass cases while the fruit was still growing on the vine.

In this case, thinking about the inside of a box allowed for an innovative result: a square watermelon that takes up less room in the fridge and doesn’t roll around awkwardly on the shelf.

Since then other companies have seized on the idea making the growing of square watermelons more cost effective, as well as expanding the practice to other products like cucumbers and tomatoes.

Although I’m not sure the world absolutely needed a square watermelon, its benefits definitely appeal to me. I admire the ingenuity of these farmers. The farmer used some outside-the-box problem solving that caused others to wonder why they hadn’t thought of it first.

Graphic design is really all about finding visual solutions to communication problems. When those solutions are sparked by out-of-the box inspiration the results are memorable. I’ll not soon forget this photo of a square watermelon. And for those sceptics, this isn’t Photoshop magic at work.

If you’re interested you can read the BBC news article published in June 2001. You’ll enjoy it even more after tackling the chore of slicing up a large round watermelon.