PackageRepublic.com: Passion for Packaging Innovation
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Yanko Design (via Slashgear) is running an article on a universal packaging system. For us packaging professionals, the term universal packaging refers to packages that are usable by children as well as by reduced dexterity aging populations.
Ignoring semantics, let’s look at this concept, and see what it holds for us.
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Popsop is running an article on a new, green Coke bottle concept by 18-year old designer Andrew Kim. We were intrigued by the design.
The design sports:
This new recycling aid, separates coffee grinds from aluminum Nespresso casing for easy recyclability. It clearly is trying to address an increasingly positive consumer attitude towards recycling.
Recycling is a lifestyle that is readily adopted by consumers, in many cases, only if it is convenient. The dedicated recycler may not need any encouragement, but today, they are still the minority. The prospective recyclers, instead, need to be lured to the “green” side by a convenient and sexy recycle aid, like this product.
Meliconi, a while back, introduced “Il Toglingombro”, its PET bottle crusher. While it is not a common household item yet, as best as we can gather, the product is still on the market. We expect its increased popularity over the coming years, especially in countries like Italy where bottled water in the home is very common.
We do like the Outpresso crusher, and we would love to assess its usability in the future.
©2010 PackageRepublic.com. All Rights Reserved.
Concepts and Prototypes
Conceptualization happens right after the ideation phase. Innovation professionals, typically consisting of designers (industrial and/or graphic), and model makers, usually go into bootcamp in a dedicated project room. The task on hand is to transform ideas into concepts.
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Most of the screwcaps on the market are resealable. So when you tighten the cap, and leave the package lying on its side, the cap will not leak over an extended period of time.
However, there are a number of openings on packages, flip-caps being one of the most prominent, that are not resealable. They are instead reclosable. When closed, they prevent air exchange over the cap area, as well as protect against dust and the like. However, they are not tight against leaking when they are laid on their sides.
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Fast Company via Gizmodo is reporting that Yves Béhar spent three years designing a new shoebox. That claim certainly grabbed our attention as we are big proponents of swift package design projects that usually don’t take longer than six months. Despite our initial reaction, upon closer inspection, we found a lot to like.
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What’s There To Write About Ideation?
These days, it seems that there are so many people talking about innovation, doing innovation, and selling brainstorming as an innovation process, this topic seems a bit passé.
However, these claims do not mean that ideation is being done right. We have seen our share of people doing it in rather questionable ways. For successful ideation, consider these factors:
The Number of Participants
This is not a numbers game. In fact, contrary to popular belief, it has been shown time and again with empirical evidence that individual brainstorming is actually more productive than group brainstorming.
While we are not suggesting people to brainstorm in their rooms, you need to be aware of the pitfalls of having a high number of people sit in the same room. It is always good to limit the team size to less than 12 people.
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Polarizing Designs vs. the Mundane
It is not exactly breaking news that when car companies design cars, they need to segment their consumers, and produce designs that appeal to those segments.
So, when BMW designs the 3-chassis, it targets younger professionals who want to have a sporty image. Naturally, older consumers and people beyond the original target group also buy the product, because of the original target’s halo effect.
Generally, however, strong design elements incorporated into a design to appeal to the target may create polarizing responses especially from people outside that target group. This type of passionate love or hate is generally missing from mundane designs, being replaced by indifference, and perhaps a heavier weight on product utility.
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There has been a lot of activity on the aluminum front in recent years. Aluminum bottles are starting to show up as packaging for many different products ranging from beer to soft drinks, competing against PET or glass bottles, and aluminum cans.
While aluminum bottles do not offer any significant advantage over glass or PET bottles other than branding potential, they do offer significant advantages over aluminum cans.
Cans, despite having strong tactile elements regarding their opening action, are problematic packages. They have sharp edges around the lip-contact area. They do not reclose. They do not perform well either in drink-from, or in pour-from applications despite the fact that they are commonly used for both.
Nevertheless, they are popular with consumers, mainly due to their higher attractiveness due to their opening crack. Adding a reclosable opening to a can, in theory, should improve an imperfect product. Then again, how would that compare against an aluminum bottle?
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