Illustrated Package Design - Drafts Board

Now my design is at a more advanced stage I have begun to create some of the imagery in illustrator. Beginning this I drew up the drafts board and tokens that will be inside the box.
Making half the squares black and leaving the other squares un-coloured (Cardboard colour for this prototype) will distinguish the two players easily and would save ink with the printing, which would then save the company further money.

Prototype Improvements - Tabs

From testing my prototype i realised that the current tabs used are not strong enough to hold the top of the box together.

With their current simple square design they have a habit of sliding out of the slot. Looking at this issue I returned to looking at other tab designs that would work better for my packaging.

As I wanted someway for the tabs to hook inside the slots to avoid them slipping out, this seemed a suitable solution. Using this style of tab allows it to hook inside the slot and at the very least provides much better support than a flat square tab. This style of tab will be worked with to make it suitable for my design and should improve the quality and strength of the lid of the package.

Prototype Improvements - Twine Sides

Feedback received from the group and Jennie showed that it was a good idea but wasn't entirely plausible with the amount used. Now knowing this i worked on a few more ways I could still use it but make it more appropriate for this brief and more useable in industry. I will also collect a brown twine for the final package to give the more natural/rustic look, CAT had some good bundles made from hemp of this but unfortunately this idea wasn't at this stage for me to know to grab some. I will collect some from Homebase to give it the closest possible look that I would like the final package to have.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=880790&Trail=searchtext%3ETWINE

Idea Number 1

This first design does the original weaving pattern but reduces the amount of twine used by half and halves the amount of weaves done. This makes it must faster to put together, is still strong enough to support the bottles and cuts the material usage making it cheaper.

Idea Number 2

Looking at the previous idea I wondered if i could progress on it further, I think i have accomplished this. This uses even less twine and less weaves, when tested with the bottles it was capable of supporting the weight of the bottles and still keeping the integrity of the box intact. This can be done in literally seconds making it far more plausible for industry use, it meets Jennie's feedback for making it more useable for WVB and helps it meet the brief. 

This idea will be taken forward.

More Advanced Prototype

Following the design in the previous post I created a prototype for it.

This new design has had a large reduction in the amount of cardboard making it much greener, had an alteration to the locking system which now uses tabs and slots and now incorporates twine.

I have also shown the potential design layout of text/logo's to receive feedback on how it is and how it can be improved.

Potential Improvements from Feedback

After having my new prototype looked over by my learning team I began to see some simple improvements that I could do that would strengthen and make the packaging better.

Firstly the point of would it be safe in transit and when being held. It was measured to fit the bottles together snugly which would avoid them clanging against each other, this was tested yesterday with all three bottles in together, they fit and don't clang off each other. For the carrying issue though I realised that I had not given enough material for the handle, its capable of holding the bottles but with strain that looks like it will give way. For the final the handle will be looked at.

For the drafts pieces I had them pop-out able along the bottom of the box but it was discussed that this would damage the strength of the box, they will be moved to an upper area of the box on the final.

People would like the small illustration of the front to be more visible/larger and potentially extend to the back of the box. This is something I will consider for the final.

The text was the last potential improvement from my group. At the moment people think it doesn't suit the look of the box enough and that a more rustic typeface may work better. This is something I will definitely look into and may implement into the final design.

After having Jennie have a look over my design I got quite positive feedback about it. The bit of feedback I did receive was to do with the twine holding the sides together. While it does look really nice it will require time to put together and a company will not hire someone to just do that. To fix this issue the solution of reducing the amount of twine used, reducing the amount of cross-overs by half would make putting it together much faster, still prevent bottles falling out and still holding the packaging together. This will definitely be worked on for the final design and it will make it much more useable in the industry.

Alterations to Original Design

With my original design (early POC) it was functional and did its purpose but it had a major flaw.
From feedback I realized that my package was using too much cardboard and was edging away from being green. Knowing this I went back to my original design and looked at how I could improve it and reduce the amount of cardboard while keeping it functional.


This is a drafted net of my new design

The first thing I did was to remove the sides and tabs, the purpose of these were to stop the contents falling out and holding the lid together.
To replace this holes are dotted down each side that can then have twine stringed through them to form a mesh. It will be done so it is easy to take off when needed but can support the bottles if they lean against them.

Next was the issue of how the lid was going to hold together. To fix this I shrunk the size of the handle on both sides and extended out tabs on one side. These tabs then go into slots on the opposite side and hold the box together.

I have also made a few small alterations to the sizing of the package, when I create my prototype I found that the bottles had difficulty fitting. With some alterations the bottles should now fit snugly in and be held tightly to avoid them clashing together.

For the second uses of the packaging it can do a few things.

• It can be re-used to transport more bottles or other object.
• The inside of the box will have a drafts board printed onto it and there will be tokens that can be popped out and used for it.
• Behind each bottle will be a food and beer combination recipe which is specific to whichever product it is behind.

This new design now uses a good portion less cardboard, uses tabs effectively and is still just as strong as the original.

This is how I wish the final box in terms of design to look at this moment in time, this may change as the project progresses -

Centre for Alternate Technology Visit

Going to the CAT was quite beneficial, it gave me a better insight into what some people are doing to become more green and how they are trying to make people more aware.
 
Its really good to see a place like this being as self sufficient as it can without government funding, their doing this through dedication for what they believe must be done with making people aware of whats happening to the planet around them. 

I collected a bunch of pictures from around CAT, some showing some of their own work and information areas, they began making me think of what I learnt in information graphic design back in year 2.   

Blog Task Questions

Q Materials lightness, suitability for purpose, minimalising of materials use and 'clever or smart' usages of materials were all considerations discussed at CAT with Jo. With your present designs for the WVB package mixed with the research that you've done to date and some of Jo's discussions suggest 3 ways in which you might minimise your materials use with your package.

• My current package design does use a bit much cardboard, even though I have given most of it a purpose. Firstly to minimise it I will go back to my design, look at how the package holds itself together and the products in place and remove/simplify sections that don't have as much purpose, such as the sides to the box, if the package can hold the bottles firmly in place then they would not be needed.
• Secondly I may alter/add more second uses for the package that uses less space but still keeps the package being used after it has transported the products. If I alter the design of the package this may force me to change my second use, designing shall continue.
• Finally with my current design I had planned to use some colour on it, but I am now considering leaving it the colour of the cardboard, this reduces the amount of ink to just logo's and small sections of text making it a lot more green.

Q CAT is in part about educating people about how to live more sustainably. After seeing a wide range of displays on practical methods to lower dependence on a high carbon lifestyle [and bearing in mind where you chose to stand in the 'line' between tech solutions and/or a simpler life] - what two things might you yourself do to lessen your own carbon footprint in the future?

• Replacing some windows that are not keeping in any heat and are letting the warmth of the whole house go down, which then requires more power to be wasted by keeping it heated.
• Having the heating on less, it currently gets used a bit much and as the insulation is quite good it doesn't need to be left on too long.

Q Describe 1 example of information display that you saw while at CAT: What it was, how it was presented graphically and in what context [i.e. covered area, out in the open, specialist display etc]. Could the display you saw be improved and how do you think this could be  achieved?

• One information display that I saw was the board outside the solar dome that discussed the Zero Carbon Britain 2030 target. It is presented on a long board that follows a linear step by step guide of how you can help towards their goal for zero carbon britain.
  I think this could be improved by if possible reducing the amount of text that is on the board, the large arrows split it up well but seeing that amount of writing in small text really puts me off reading it.