Design better packaging

Well, that cannot be new - or?

Not entirely of course , but we have just managed to launch the first injection moulded packaging made of recycled post consumer polypropylene. The customer Aquados has a whole range of products which promise a greener household, and now they can even add a green packaging to it as well.

The packaging was awarded the 20th Dupont packaging award at the Interpack 2008 packaging fair in Düsseldorf.

A great thing about the packaging is that the use of recycled PP reduces the carbon footprint in the material phase by 20%.
A few things remain to be done though… The raw material stinks during production and the material is not clean enough to get approved for food contact. But that is to come I believe.

In the course of increasing demands for product safety and long shelf life there has recently been a strong tendency to package foods in packaging with a membrane seal.
This example is just to get the picture:

The convenience of these products are rather low and especially the membrane foil can be a very annoying experience:
- The membrane can be very hard to get a grip on, especially with reduced finger strength
- it may be sealed so hard that it is impossible to remove without tools
- and finally, if made of aluminium, it easily detorts

I my company we have been working quite some time on a solution which will get around these issues and. The aim was to offer all the convenience of an injection moulded packaging with snap-on lid combined with the safety of a sealed packaging. And now it is finally there to use. 
The patented method of sealing the lid directly to the pot reduces the need for an extra sealing foil and hence reduces complexity for both the user and the filler.
Inside the lid has a snap function which will give the user a clear feedback once the packaging is reclosed. Hope you  like it!

SuperSeal received the iF Packaging award 2008 at Interpack 2008, Düsseldorf

Sometimes a little design change can make a big difference.
I think everybody has tried being damned by the irritation and trouble of opening a toothbrush-packaging. In collaboration with the the Norwegian designcompany KODE, the JORDAN toothbrush company shows how simple it is to consider the user-topic: easy to open.

It seems so simple and obvious when it is there. This little blue flip that is easy to see and handle. No big invention. It is just a question of making a routine out of integrating this topic.
And when you know that, you can have a toothbrush with a packaging - quick and easy to open.

I think you will always go for it. Let us hope that many more companies will focus on integrating small functional changes with BIG effects?

I think it is the time for “Design for All”.

Get the full story here:

http://www.norskdesign.no/designdagen/fagligfrokost/arkivfagligfrokost/kodedesigncasejordant.pdf

http://bedrift.aftenposten.no/webfiles/NorskDesignrad.pdf

http://www.universell-utforming.miljo.no/file_upload/kyoto_berg_final_2.pdf

http://www.tu.no/industri/article103852.ece

 http://www.norskdesign.no/designdagen/fagligfrokost/arkivfagligfrokost/dbaFile15293.html

MGA Entertainment, the company that manufactures Bratz dolls, has sympathy for the customers who buy them. “We are in the process of a running change in the packaging that is certain to make the ‘ties, twists, and tape’ problem so much easier to handle,” says Reagan Holmes, the company’s public-relations coordinator. She wouldn’t divulge exactly how the company planned to revamp its packaging. (source: www.consumerreports.org)

This statement was published when MGA got the little precious “Oyster Award” in March 2007 for their bad packaging. No doubt they had to do something. A simple googling shows 193.000 hits on “bratz packaging”. A lot of it contains frustrasted user experience with the product and the company.

My 8 year old daughter was thrilled to find some new Bratz stuff under the Christmas tree, and I quickly noticed the flashy tag on the pack: “New and improved packaging”. It seems that the packaging designers only have limited the number of strings, tapes, glues etc. slightly. The packaging is still completely impossible to open – even for specialists!
The designers have not really considered the design project itself: create an attractive packaging that can be opened without getting injured!

So, this article really breaks my idea of keeping a good spirit on this blog. Sorry!
I just get so sad, when I meet awful stuff like this. It must come to an end!

HAPPY NEW YEAR - My best wishes to all of you.
I hope 2008 will show a lot of good design making.
Please feel free to share your findings.

Focusing on recyclable packagings, moulded paper is a very interesting material. Some people find it cheap and ugly, but there are certainly possibilities to use it more delicate and exclusive. Think of a packaging for jewelleries, glassware or organic toiletarticles. The material will certainly brand the product very effectively. Here is one sample from the Swedish SilviPak. Not all recyclable – yet. But it’s an interesting attempt. 

The Swedish manufacturer Rottneros has now initiated a Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of the Silvipak.

I thought it might be a good idea to engage other people directly in the blogging here… So please welcome Karin Schou Andersen, founder of her own design studio and long time packaging afficionato.
Welcome Karin - looking forward to reading your stuff.

The Innocent people are frontrunners – not only with their extraordinary products, but also with their innovative packaging concept.
Innocent has taken up the challenge of bringing sustainable packaging to the market. After trying out some of the new materials on the market such as PLA (Poly Lactic Acid - based on modified corn), Innocent concluded that it is not quite their material. “Whilst the bottle is made from renewable resources, it doesn’t use any waste materials, and commercial composting is not yet a mainstream option in the UK. We have also received feedback from plastics recyclers that PLA bottles can add costs into their recycling operations and in some cases prevent recycling of conventional plastics.”
Innocent now goes for a bottle made of 100% recycled material which “… means that next year Innocent will be saving over one thousand tonnes of C02 which is great news for the planet. Yippee.”
They have also tried the hard work to calculate the total Carbon Footprint which will soon be demanded from each and every product supplier.
In the easy-understanding world of Innocent communication a CO2 calculation would look something like this:

From India we are now emphasized to put our innovation process online. I personally prefer to meet in person during a brainstorming phase but later on it could maybe be an idea to vote and comment on the ideas?
Check for yourself at Idea Wicket http://www.ideawicket.com/index.

The link was spotted at Innovation Watch nr. 6.21 who gave it these comments: http://www.innovationwatch.com/iwnewsletter.2007-0621.htm
“An open innovation portal based in New Delhi, India. Submit ideas, product designs, industrial designs, process improvement techniques, service innovations, and business solutions. Mark content as ‘public’ (visible to all) or ‘private’ (accessible only to the people you choose). Suggest corporations that could benefit from the idea. Share ideas and innovations with friends. Comment on and rank innovations. Network with other site members“.

Back on the Anuga Food Fair trails it was a great relief to spot the student exhibition from Køln International School of Design .
They showed great optimism and quite a few new angles to the term “functional food” compared to the very traditional food sector in general.  

How about this baby-bottle, which is claimed to be the best alternative to breast feeding. The soft packaging consists of two chambers, one filled with pure water, the other with high grade Enfamil formula. To use it you have to massage it and after about 30 seconds the chambers will mix and the product warms up to reach body temperature – all without electricity.

Mymi, designed by Kathrin Kluckner

This Gaia yoghurt regulates hormone imbalances and increases chances of getting pregnant. The packaging is nicely shaped and I like it a lot. However I believe that the packaging signals more a product for pregnant women rather than a product for women who want to get pregnant!
If you had troubles getting pregnant, would you then really want to have your fridge filled with these very beatifull products?
But a cool design which could easily be adopted to a super product for pregnant women!

Gaia, designed by isabel@kisd.de 

A visit at the Anuga food fair in Cologne did not show much new packaging design this year. Some new trends could be reported in terms of food habits, but when it comes to the packaging you had to pay extreme attention to locate the news!
As a matter of fact I only spotted one truly new packaging design in all of the halls. One
Never the less it is a great story so here it comes

The company Kozanis Krocus Products introduced a new range of products based on saffron from the beautiful crocus flower. Unfortunately I only have this rather poor shot from their website, should someone out there get a better picture please let me know.
The saffron only flowers for about 3 weeks during autumn and in that period the hillsides around Kozanis coloured in purple during daytime are very crowded. About 150.000 crocus flowers are required for 500gr. of the final product. So harvesting is very labour intensive.
Only the flower’s dried stigmas are used and taken through a cautious handling during the following months. To really emphasize the delicacy of the product the company has taken the story all the way to the packaging design. Here you are offered a true feeling of luxury. The product is embraced in high gloss transparency and yet protected in its original colours. The packaging is easy to understand and use and offers great attention to the product.
The company even showed a very delicate stand and their products were very nicely presented. Just by reading the impressive story of harvesting you would want to spend these 3 weeks at the Kozani hill-sides. They also offer a herbal tea selection with saffron.