Happy National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, everyone! In order to honor this lesser-known holiday that celebrates our favorite packing material, we created a series of cards designed by our very own Visual Communication and Design professor, Dan May, and a handful of our eager-to-assist students. In between the instant gratification that comes with the popping of these air-filled plastic pouches, we also learned that bubble wrap was originally conceived as wallpaper by engineers Marc Chavannes and Alfred Fielding. For inconceivable reasons, the bubbly wallpaper never took off so it was instead used as insulation for greenhouses. It wasn’t until 1961 that it finally earned its place in packaging history when IBM used it to ship their 1401 computer. Ever since, these irresistible globules have helped us pop away our stress and protected our shipments. For that, we salute you, Bubble Wrap!

Next year, we will honor the wrap’s roots by wallpapering the office of an unsuspecting faculty member…