The importance of packaging should never be underestimated. Without it, this empty metal tin would be just that: an anonymous utilitarian item to be hidden away, useful perhaps but soon forgotten. But with the simple, striking use of great colour and a smart, classic typeface, Seletti's Pantone tin demands not just to be seen but to be admired, and certainly not put away in a cupboard.
It is, of course, a witty adaptation of the Pantone chart, the standardised system for the selection and accurate communication of colour that's never far from the fingertips of the professional designer. Available in seven shades, each with its corresponding number displayed in the familiar Pantone font (Neue Helvetica, font fans), its impeccably stylish form is equally matched by a thoughtful practicality; the dimensions of the tin are exactly the size of A4 paper.
Cleverly, it's also an object that improves as part of a collection, stacked or lined up with its own perfectly colour-matched kin or next to a complementing cousin - in red, pink, orange, yellow, green or light grey. In conclusion, the purchase of a single tin is almost impossible.
On these occasions it's worth bearing in mind the words of William Morris, the pioneer of the British Arts and Craft movement, who advised the Victorian middle classes to "have nothing in your house that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful". He too, I suspect, would have bought all seven.
The Pantone tin by Seletti costs Dh75 from Bloomingdale's, Dubai Mall, 04 350 5333
