The New Black pencil set designed by Tabitha White for Fred & Friends contains a number of humorous sayings indicating a variety of things that have become popular, especially at the expense of previously popular concepts. This product is especially relevant given the buzz around and popularity of the Netflix original series 'Orange is the New Black.'
The pencils are completely black, including the graphite, erasers, ferrule, wood and paint, save for the white slogans. Some implicate other pop culture trends, such as Twitter: '140 characters or less is the new black.' Others make clever linguistic references such as 'being in the red' or 'el nuevo negro,' the Spanish translation of the phrase.
These ironic pencils come in a set of 12 inside a header bag.
Ironic Black Pencils
Hilarious Pencil Sets from Fred & Friends are the New Black
Trend Themes
1. Humorous Stationery - The rise of humorous stationery products designed to poke fun at established trends and cultural phenomenon presents opportunities for designers and manufacturers of office supplies to create more innovative and engaging products.
2. All-black Products - There is potential for disruptive innovation in the creation of all-black products that use ironic or humorous slogans to tap into the popular trend for minimalist and monochromatic products.
3. Pop Culture References - Products that reference current pop cultural trends and memes to create playful and humorous products have potential for disruption in the stationery and desk supplies industries.
Industry Implications
1. Office Supplies - Office supplies manufacturers and designers have the opportunity to create more innovative and engaging products in the stationery industry by capitalizing on the rise of humorous and playful products designed to poke fun at established cultural trends.
2. Gifts and Novelty Products - In the gifts and novelty products industry, there is potential for disruptive innovation in the creation of products that tap into popular cultural trends, memes and irony as a way to create unique and engagement products.
3. Graphic Design - There is potential for disruptive innovation in graphic design by creating minimalistic, all-black designs that use humorous and ironic slogans to create a unique aesthetic for a variety of products including stationery, home decor, and fashion.