The Black Box project is a personal, creative project I’ve been running mostly undocumented for the past three years.
At its core, the project is about treating the opening experience as part of the gift itself. Multiple presents are placed inside a single decorative box, enhanced with hidden functionality that turns the act of opening into a guided, deliberate experience.
2020 – 2024
The Black Box project began when I wanted to give several smaller presents to my then girlfriend as a single, cohesive gift. That immediately introduced a practical problem: how to package multiple items without losing structure or intent.
A spray-painted moving box, finished in black and wrapped in gold paper, became the starting point. Because the box had a fixed opening direction, it naturally encouraged sequencing and presentation rather than random discovery.
The presents were ordered deliberately. Each flap of the box was marked with a red paper heart and a number, defining the sequence in which gifts should be opened. The numbers were assigned in descending order based on anticipation rather than size or cost, and the items inside were labeled to match.
The concept was received very well, and I continued iterating on it for later birthdays and holidays.
2020
For my girlfriend’s 20th birthday, the box was extended with lighting. At this stage, the system depended entirely on mains power, introducing a hard dependency on nearby power outlets.
This and subsequent boxes were painted using black acrylic paint to avoid the noxious gasses from spray paint.
2022
Christmas 2022 reused the same lighting setup and power dependency. This time, the lights were arranged to spell out the recipient’s name, shifting the focus further toward personalization and experience.
2023
My daughter was born in September this year, and documentation was limited. Aside from a video where the boxes are briefly visible in the top-right corner, little was recorded.
However, this year marked an important technical shift: the removal of the hard dependency on mains power. This was achieved by mechanically blocking the AA batteries in a battery-powered light chain using a plastic piece tied to the box lid, enabling power only when the box was opened.
2024
In 2024, the scope expanded significantly. A total of eleven boxes were created, covering the entire extended family.
A key constraint this year was portability. Most of the family would be gathering at a cabin, which meant the boxes needed to be robust, compact, and easy to transport.
Ambition also increased. Each box included a sound module with a recorded greeting from our daughter, along with eight autonomous helicopter toys designed to deploy when triggered.
The triggering mechanism used string-based activation and custom mounting, including modified aluminum cans that could theoretically be launched during activation.
During testing, some flakiness was observed. However, because failure was non-critical to the experience, partial success still delivered a playful and engaging outcome.
