Nicole - Research & Concepts

I want to create something a little different from the packaging that is currently available on the market so that it will have 'shelf-shout' and look more of a gift than a standard beer bottle carrier.  Of course I need to keep it a simple 'pop-up' design that the retailers can quickly assemble and which also has a second use to tick the sustainable, cradle to cradle design objective.


I have researched eco-packaging to understand the considerations that should be taken into account when designing such as: using materials efficiently, designing for re-use, designing for re-cycling/composting and selecting materials without toxic substances.


I would like the packaging to be re-usable and recyclable, and if possible biodegradable, and I have been thinking of suitable re-usable ideas such as games, beer mats and recipes.


I also like the idea of 'Wye's Words' and the proverbs they have created - they could work well on the packaging and attract the customers attention.


My research into inks lead me to looking for a suitable water/vegetable ink printer which has revealed there are some out there but as yet I am to find one that will print on to boxes and if they are not local then it may be better to consider using a local standard printer and printing less so that the 'miles' are kept to a minimum.


As we are looking to create branding that appeals to women on the shelf and men when it gets home I have looked at some companies that are targeting their product and branding at women to understand what they have done differently and why they think it appeals.  There seems to be two schools of thought here, one is that there is a gap in the market for a product targeted at women and the second is that a product created and targeted at women is patronising.  The articles who consider creating female friendly brands patronising suggest that re-branding and marketing a current product to target both males and females would see the increase in sales the companies are looking for.


And of course I have perused the alcoholic beverages isles at the supermarkets to see what else is on offer and evaluate designs and 'shelf-shout'.  The images below show the ales on sale in Sainsbury's.  They are in standard packaging which is primarily cream or blue with images relating to the brand and/or images of the bottle.  I think a 'gift' boxed beer will definitely stand out amongst them.

I have looked into other types of packaging from a range of products to see if there is a typical style packaging/colour combination that works well.  Premium drinks such as champagne, some spirits and quality chocolates tend to be in darker coloured packaging which according to the Centre for Brand Analysis is considered 'cool' along with cream coloured packaging with darker typography/images.  As we are trying to appeal to the younger generation as well as the current older customer then this combination of black and cream will probably be the basis of my design. 


Other companies who's packaging won the 'Coolbrands' award.

Here is Chief executive of the Centre for Brand Analysis and "CoolBrand" council chairman Stephen Cheliotis for his six rules of cool.

1. Style is everything

From the door handles to the website and the tags on the clothes to marketing events: If people are to be persuaded a brand is the height of cool, the devil is in the detail, says Cheliotis."It's not just about making your clothes look good," he insists. "Absolutely everything associated with the brand has to exude style -- from the packaging to the company website, to the type-face on the inside label."

2. Never try too hard

No one likes a busybody and, says Cheliotis, even the word "cool" suggests a certain relaxed approach. "The original idea of being cool is being laid back, not running around like a headless chicken trying desperately hard to please everyone." This, he says, is true for people and fashion brands alike. So, if it feels like a brand is trying way too hard to impress -- chasing every trend going, for example -- then it probably won't.

3. Stay true to the brand

It's not cool to fake it. In other words, if a company began life selling pretty knitwear, it should think very carefully before venturing into, say, leather jackets. "You must always remain true to your roots," instructs Cheliotis. "Shoppers want something authentic and it's obvious when you're out of your comfort zone."

Designer Alexander McQueen may have recently passed away, he adds, but it doesn't mean that his eponymous label should be tempted to change its style. "As long as it (the label) sticks to his original vision it will probably stay on the list."

4) Keep evolving

This might sound at odds with the previous rule but, according to Cheliotis, it's certainly not. "One of the reasons we keep seeing the same brands on the list, like Nike and Rolex, is because they're always innovative, but at the same time they retain their core identity."

5) Don't be promiscuous

Some fashion houses squander their hard fought cool rep by plastering a company logo on everything that moves. In Cheliotis' view, bootmaker Dr. Martens have been guilty in recent years of such profligacy.

"They were known for making really sturdy, simple and good quality footwear. Now they've plastered their name on everything, it's cheapened the brand and undermined their core product."

6) Be humble

A stark word of warning for self-satisfied designers everywhere. "Successful brands don't fixate over being cool, instead they just do their own their own thing, stick to their founding principles and follow what they think is right," says Cheliotis. In other words, if you think you're cool, you probably won't be for much longer.

It will be interesting to start making up some of the packaging to see how complex it is, how much material each design takes, whether they can be fully flat-packed, are carry-able etc


My designs:

Nicole - Post Legges and Wye Valley Visit

26th October


Our visit to Legges Delicatessen and Wye Valley Brewery was very interesting.


It was good to see one of the environments the gift pack would be sold in and understand the craft/processes behind the beers creation.


The people at Wye Valley Brewery are clearly passionate about their products and I hope I can translate that message onto the packaging for the potential customer.


Our task is to create a gift pack of beers and condiments.  Jenny from Wye suggested that a combination of three might be the preferable choice.  The range of beers available are in the image below:

Here are the Legges condiments we can choose from

Wye's have a preference for sourcing their products locally and I think that this should include the packaging.  They get their hops from a farm about 7 miles away and then sell the bi-products left over from the brewing process back to the farmers as grain for cattle, pig feed and compost.  


Hops growing: 

Dried hops hanging from a beam:

Their customers have an interest in local issues and local food, and choose Wye Valley beer over other brands because it is brewed locally and they enjoy both  the flavour and the feel good factor that buying locally produced products brings.  50% of alcohol now bought is bought to drink at home from supermarkets and off-licences, and bottled beer is a growing market.  


A pub selling good quality beer can be identified by the 'cask marque of quality' which is often displayed outside to advertise the quality of the ales available.


There are NO additives or preservatives in Wye Valley beer and therefore it have a shelf life - this is around 9 months for the bottled beer.  The sugars found in the beer are derived from the fermented barley.  The beer is a rich source of vitamin B and antioxidants.  It is bottled in dark glass bottles as the light will affect quality of the beer.


Herefordshire is the largest hop grower in the country and brewers are passionate about their hops as they provides not only the flavour for the beer but also the aroma.


Jenny mentioned that pairing beer with food is becoming a more popular thing for restaurants and pubs to do - just like wine would be suggested with a meal.


It is important that the beer is stored upright as it contains live yeast which is what provides the permeation however it leaves a sediment at the bottom of the bottle, should this be poured into the glass then the drink would taste gritty.  It is the yeast and the permeation that create bottle conditioned beer and Wye Valley want to educate the customers on this point so that they select Wye's beer over their competitors beer.


Similar products are: Badgers, Fullers, Wells & Youngs, Bathams, Woods, Hook Nortons, Hobsons and Punty.


Jenny thought that the idea of a secondary use of the packaging was very interesting.  She suggested that the gift packs would probably bought by females as they tend to do the weekly shop and suggested that we might consider creating packaging that a female thinks a man would like!

END

Nicole - A bit about inks, paper and printing

INK


Ink is made from combining pigments, binders (which help the pigment adhere to the paper and a vehicle that is used to hold and carry the pigment.  Vegetable oil (eg. cottonseed, linseed, or soy), petroleum and water all can be used a a vehicle in different kinds of ink.  The benefits of soy based inks have been very much exaggerated (the content of soy is only about 14%, the remaining 86% is still oil) however, vegetable inks in general do tend to release fewer VOC's (the fumes emitted from solvents) than petroleum based inks and are also easier to de-ink during paper recycling.  Water based inks are the best for the environment as they emit no VOC's and are easier to clean up.


PRINTING


Digital printing is usually considered environmentally preferable for jobs requiring fewer than 2,000 copies.  Digital printers use inks that don't use any alcohol or emit VOC's.  There is also no messy clean up required and the ink cartridges can be recycled.


Things to look for when choosing a printer are that they have FCC certification and ISO 14000 certification.  It's worth nothing that a printer may use FCS-certified paper without being certified themselves.


PAPER


Most environmental organisations and independent studies have concluded that there are clear benefits to recycling paper.  Every sheet of paper that is reclaimed keeps material out of landfills and I will now be making a mental note about how many of the items I receive through the post use recycled paper and base some of my future purchasing decisions on that information.


Note: recycled paper content can be made up of either of the following: 


Pre-consumer waste: - scraps and ends from the manufacturing process, as well as test sheets and over-runs from printers.  Pre-consumer waste is reported to make up 20% of the reclaimed content used in paper today.


Post-consumer waste: - material that has reached the consumer, been used, and is then collected to make new product.


TREE-FREE PAPER


Tree-free paper is made using fibres from non-tree sources.  There are two types:


ORGANIC TREE-FREE PAPER which uses material derived from plant sources such as residues from agricultural crops, or plants frown specifically for paper-making such as hemp, bamboo and kenaf.
NON-ORGANIC TREE-FREE PAPER which is usually made of plastic polymers or minerals.
However, when the full life-cycle of individual products are analysed  their environmental benefits are not always as impressive as they may first seem as although ' technically' recyclable, without special recycling facilities the items printed on synthetic (non-organic) papers will most likely end up in landfills.
To date the best options in tree-free papers are  those that are made from agricultural waste that would otherwise be thrown away or burned.

END

Nicole - What is Sustainable Design?

DEFINITION: SUSTAINABLE -  adjective


'Pertaining to a system that maintains its own viability by using techniques that allow for continual  reuse'.


The easiest way to describe sustainability is as the balanced use of natural, social and economic capital for the continued health of the plant and future generations.


As designers we can adopt sustainable practices at a variety of levels depending our individual situations.


The terms 'Green' and 'Eco-friendly' really refer to the environment whereas 'sustainability' also considers the social and economic implications of material, designs and production processes.


When creating sustainable work designers should ask themselves:

1. Is this the best method to communicate the message?
2. What is the impact of making this piece?
3. How can we lessen the impact if we print the piece?

Designers should follow these five sustainable principles to create a solution:

1. Respect and care for the community
2. Improve the quality of life
3. Conserve Earth's vitality and diversity
4. Minimize the depletion of non renewable resources
5. Change personal attitudes and practices to keep with the planet's carrying capacity

These principles, in turn, should encourage designers to make the following, more conscious, design decisions:

1. Design for re-use/longevity
2. Design cyclically, not linearly
3. Choose recycled/nontoxic materials
4. Minimise waste
5. Minimise ink coverage
6. Choose local vendors that use renewable energy and employ socially equitable and environmentally friendly business practices.
7. Educate consumers about the lifecycle issues through messaging/marketing
8. Encourage others to design sustainably

CERTIFICATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTAL LABELING

These are some logos we should be aware of:

SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY

Sustainable forestry is a management system that works to maintain a full range of economic societal and environmental values.  It provides a way of using non-timber forest products to meet people's ever-increasing need for lumber, paper and other products, without degrading forest ecosystems.  Sustainable forestry is a process by which companies adopt more responsible practices: They increase protection of soils, waterways and wildlife, and they treat workers and neighbouring communities fairly.  Sustainable forestry ensures hat forestlands retain their economic value for the long term.  Choosing paper from sustainably managed forests that are independently certified  is the best way for designers to support the environmental and social systems that are found in these healthy forests.

The FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) is the most respected and widely recognised international certification body.  Over the past 13 years, more than ninety million hectares in more than eighty-two countries have been certified according to the FSC standards.

CRADLE TO CRADLE

Where products are designed so that after their useful lives are over they can provide 'nourishment' for something new.

END

Nicole - Beer Packaging

Some initial packaging research

There are so many inspiring packaging designs out there.  I do however, want to create something a little different to the 'norm' that will have shelf shout and look more like a gift than just a branded cardboard bottle carrier.

Nicole - The Story of Stuff

The following 20 minute video is faced paced but interesting to listen to:

The presenter is a lady who has become passionate about her subject and the more I learn about Green Design the more I think I could develop a passion for it too.  What's good about this video is that it's informative but easy to understand and digest.  She sums it up early on by pointing out that the materials economy is a linear system and we cannot run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely.  We are running out of resources fast, especially in the USA who use a much larger percentage of resources compared to the population percentage.  


We need to change our throw away mindset and change the system to one which isn't going to destroy our way of life and our world.


Shocking facts include:

• 75% of the global fisheries are fished at or beyond their capacity.
• 80% of the world's original forests are gone.
• In the Amazon alone we are loosing 2000 trees a minutes - that's equivalent to seven football pitches a minute.
• Over 100,000 synthetic chemicals are used in commerce today.
• Only a handful of those have been tested for health impacts and none have been tested for synergistic health impacts (how they react with other chemicals).
• If we put toxins into production we will get toxins out into our lives.
• Breast milk is the most contaminated food in the food chain.
• The US releases over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year.
• 99% of the goods we buy are in the bin within six months of purchasing them.
• The average american consumes twice as much as they did 20 years ago.
• Planned obsolescence is now part of the manufacturing process - in other words the manufacturers design goods to stop working within a set period of time - so that we have to keep buying 'stuff'.
• Perceived obsolescence works by manufacturers changing the appearance of things so that it is obvious what is new and what is not - we then feel the need to update ' stuff'.
• People in the US are targeted with over 3000 adverts a day.
• Polls show that happiness is declining.  It peaked in 1950 - about the time that the consumption mania exploded.  We have less leisure time and that time is then spent on watching TV and shopping which is not really making us happy.
• Each american makes 4.5 lbs of rubbish a day (double what they made 30 years ago).
• Rubbish either gets dumped in landfill or burned and then dumped in landfill.  Both of which pollute the air, water and land.

Scary hey?

END

Nicole - Green Design Blog

Green design is a new subject area for me but already I'm hooked!  I love the idea of cradle to cradle packaging products - who doesn't like to be able to get something extra with their purchase.  


When it comes to recycling/reusing packaging there is still so much that can be done.  My family of four fill an enormous green wheelie bin with packaging, not that I want all of that to be reusable in my home but why do we need it on the product we bought in the first place.  We have become obsessed by the appearance of something.  If customers had the choice of buying exactly the same product but one being in an overly printed box with an inner bag or alternatively the same product in just a recyclable bag that they could put the product into a reusable container when they got home I bet the majority would choose the over printed box - including me up until now.  We need to be re-educated.  This should be something that is discussed in schools from a young age and promoted in supermarkets etc so that we slowly get used to selecting brands with less packaging and packaging that is recyclable.


Manufacturers need to be encouraged by the government that eco-friendly packaging is the way to go as it vastly reduces the amount of resources used (oil, water, paper etc) and therefore our overall CO2 emissions, which is what we are all being encouraged to do isn't it? The two films we have watched on the subject of emissions and oil have been quite disturbing.  Again, this information was new to me and I have to ask why?  If it really is of such great concern why is it not something everyone is aware of - whether they choose to believe it or not?


The Japanese packaging we looked at is really quite beautiful.  Why not package something with natural products so that it looks beautiful whilst storing it over a period of time?.  Of course this would be a very expensive practise and would no doubt deplete the natural resources quickly, but I think it does demonstrate that goods can be packaged in less but still be transported and stored satisfactorily.


21 October


It was interesting to read into sustainability and 'green' ink, paper and printers.  I hadn't realised that my printing at home was quite so environmentally friendly.


It was also good to discover what I should be looking out for when choosing a 'green' printer for my work so as not to have the wool pulled over my eyes.


I will certainly be looking to purchase recycled items more often and will be keeping my eyes open for organic non-tree papers too.


We have a huge mountain to climb but if everyone does their bit things can only get better rather than worse.

Nicole - Task 3 - Recyclable & Reusable Shoe Box

The 'Smart Storage' shoe box




My idea was to create a reusable shoe box from recyclable materials.  


I have used recycled plastic for the 'box' and fastener, a recycled card insert, natural cotton for the seams and vegetable inks for the printing.


The 'smart storage' would hopefully encourage brand loyalty as it can be used for storage of the shoes (or alternatively socks, beauty, toiletries, accessories, bits & bobs etc) and each 'smart storage' attaches to another allowing a length of storage to be created.


It can also be used when travelling to keep shoes away from clothing - especially if they get wet or dirty after sports activities.


The clear plastic is easy to clean and allows the customer to see which shoes they have with them at a glance.


It could even have a plastic handle attached so that no additional bag is required to carry the shoes home.




Sketch pad work


These are my sketches of the 'Smart Storage' idea.

Additional ideas


This is a simple re-foldable box that will allow the customer to use it as a keepsake box or a drawer tidy.  After taking out the shoes the customer would unfold the box, bend all of the folds the other way and then re-fold so that the branding and style/sizing information is inside the box, leaving them with an attractive storage box.

I made a prototype of this box as it was a very simple design.

The pictures below show the box as it would be supplied and then when turned inside-out to reveal blank surfaces.

Image 1 - Original box with branding on the outside

Image 2 - The lid has now been turned inside-out so the branding is now inside

Image 3 - The base has now been turned inside out (as there would probably be sizing/style information printed  on the outside)

Image 4 - The new box without the printing - although the branding remains inside so that the customer doesn't forget where they got the box from.

END

Nicole - Task 3 - Recyclable Packaging Research

Packaging research

This is a video about a pizza box that can be used a plates and is easy to reduce in size and therefore recycle.  I know it's not a shoe box - but it's still a box that's recyclable with an alternative use!

This is such a simple idea to make a shoe box transportable without the need for additional bags.

What a great idea - a recyclable shoe box and a pair of socks and a reusable shoe bag!

Another ingenious product from Puma.  Ideally we don't want to keep producing plastic bags, but there always seems to be a need for one and this is a fantastic biodegradable alternative to what is currently available - why on earth isn't this common knowledge and widely available? 






The link below is an article released by the BBC regarding recycled boxes used by leading food manufacturers


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12663183

I wonder why they haven't swapped over to vegetable inks as according to the abstract from 2007 in the following link, they have been around, tried and tested for quite some time.

Vegetable Ink

Under Armour shoes have created a shoe box that has a see through top so consumers can look at the shoes. When the shoes are taken off the box bottom, consumers will find a point of purchase display that will try to make the sale to them. 

The ‘Blazer Pentium 1.0’ shoe design is certainly a deviant art-lover’s delight!  Designed by Gabriel Dishaw, these trainers are part of his ‘shoe series’ and come with an equally attractive carry case. 

A fun shoe box for toddlers’ Converse shoes. Converse like to think it helps improve children’s motor skills by allowing the child to lace-up the box - a good idea I guess. When 5 boxes are collected they can be placed together to form the Converse star so this is hoping for consumer loyalty.

Nike limited edition football boot boxes - the first one closes to an arrow shape.  Looks good but not sure it's very green!

Puma's clever little bag is half box - half bag.  The box is recyclable and the bag is reusable. 

END