Social Issue - WPR 3

I learnt how to use indesign to create my rationale by watching many tutorials. I also studied typeface combinations so present an appealing presentation.
I filtered my research down to include the essential point I am trying to make with my package design.
I have decided to make my appearance model out of blue foam and specify its functionality with 3D and 2D CAD drawings. I will make test models from paper as this is fast and better for the environment.
Blue foam does not allow for me to show the physical functionality of the product. I will compensate for this with an exploded view of the product.

More research conducted on material.

HDPE Properties:

Maximum Temperature	248°F 120°C
Minimum Temperature	-148°F -100°C
Autoclave Capable	No
Melting Point	266°F 130°C
Tensile Strength	4550 psi
Hardness	SD65
UV Resistance	Poor
Color	Translucent
Specific Gravity	0.95

Doing the 3D CAD course this term would help alot. I would also like to learn video 3D CAD to present my ideas in a cutting edge communicative manner.

Bryce Peer Feedback
Look into how the product will be sealed to stop product contents from falling out.

Tutor Feedback
Improve graphic balance, clean up images, add orange.

Time Management

Urgent - Important

• my mock up
• my innovation
• breathing

Not Urgent - Important

• everything else

Urgent - Unimportant

• phone call 

Not Urgent - Unimportant

• updating your status on facebook
• looking at pictures of kittens

Lecture Notes
Rationale - a4 - 20pgs - indesign

Social Issue - WPR2

I have been experimenting with mock up models and designs. I have done some primary research such as calling the manufacturer and asking exactly why half the container only contains air and why the lid is made of PP and the body made of HDPE.
From what I have observed there is no resaon for PP as the lid and HDPE as body hence I am changing the design to all HDPE.
I do not believe that settling is the reason for the container being half full of air as the powder has the same consistency as instant coffe (coffee tins come full).

Current Weight Loss Powder Tub; Net 375g

·         Uses only 60% of its capacity; 942cm3

·         Wastes space due to its circular base

·         Uses HDPE and a PP lid which is more strenuous to the recycling process

·         Boring cylindrical shape

·         Label is also made of different material

Current Dimension

·         Height; 120mm

·         Volume; 942cm3

·         1g of powder = 0.63 cm3

Proposed Design

·         HDPE as the sole exclusive material used for ease of recycling.

·         Hexagonal tesselating base

·         90% of capacity used

·         Lid measures out exactly one serving; no need to put hand into container for ease of access and hygiene

·         Pour out contents instead of using a scoop

·         Clear side panel to monitor progress

·         Sticker progress reporter laser cut also made from HDPE
-    Printed on label

Proposed Dimension Test 1 - Failed

·         Height; 750mm

·         Diameter; 80mm

·         Volume; 416cm3

Base is too wide for height. This test failed on SolidWorks raw mock up.

Proposed Dimension Test 2 -Success

·         Height; 140mm

·         Diameter; 60mm

·         Volume; 436cm3

This was a better fit.

Reflection B - The 11th Hour

"The biosphere is sick, we have a planet that is behaving like an infected organism."

After watching The 11th Hour I am relieved to have found that I am not the only one who finds it strange to line up for hours, outside a store, waiting to purchase a seemingly discounted object, so that eventually I could throw it away and go through the process again, again, again...
This documentary has moved me. I am very interested in the re-designing of manufacturing processes to mimic the procedures and chemical processes of nature. It gives me hope that one day we may be able to live together with nature and re-invent life as we see it now.

Eye openers;

1. 50-55 000 species a year are going extinct because of the human race.
2. The Orb Spider produces a web 5 times stronger than steel.
3. "We are psychologically numb... We cannot see the beauty." James Hillman

Global warming is treated, by some, as a belief, not an actual happening in time. I believe this is because we are living in the change hence we cannot see the change. Whereas it is very easy to see the mistakes of the past. We are oblivious to the coming disaster just as the people before us were oblivious to the black plague and other epidemics that could have been avoided with better 'design of infrastructure of humanity'. We are blinded by the economy. The economy is just a system. It's not a belief, god, religion however we treat it that way. We are blinded by a threat that isn't real. If people reduce their spending, waste and consumerism, the world is not going to end. Major corporations will end.
I feel that the solution to this is that corporations, should begin to promote and employ sustainable practices. The people at the top who rule the world, supposedly, or in other words the CEO's, need to make changes. You need to see beyond the short term profit. I believe the larger the carbon footprint a corporation has, the sustainability strategy should be planned for the number of years it would take to restore the damage. Furthermore bring the business down to a threshold where the amount of damage made is not beyond one year of repair.

"The environment is going to survive. We're the ones who may not survive, well we may survive in a world we might not particularly want to live in."

It seems that changes will not be at the rate they need to be until we are at a crisis point where the effects of global warming affect our day to day activities. There have been legislation's and campaigns, actions have been taken, however they are not enough of have been discontinued due to political and societal factors.

Social Issue WPR 1

I have decided my packaging concept to address the social issue of Obesity. Below is the group mindmap we did in week 1. I have found that tub weight loss powders are all transported in the exact same tub which is very uneconomical and has a HUGE re-design opportunity. I would design a sustainable design which minimizes waste and also helps people to lose weight by increasing their motivation levels.

Obesity and Weight Loss

Australia is today ranked as one of the fattest nations in the developed world. The prevalence of obesity in Australia has more than doubled in the past 20 years.

Obesity in Australia

• Fourteen million Australians are overweight or obese.
• More than five million Australians are obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m² ).
• If weight gain continues at current levels, by 2025, close to 80% of all Australian adults and a third of all children will be overweight or obese.
• Obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading cause of premature death and illness in Australia.
• Obesity has become the single biggest threat to public health in Australia.
• On the basis of present trends we can predict that by the time they reach the age of 20 our kids will have a shorter life expectancy than earlier generations simply because of obesity.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians are 1.9 times as likely as non-indigenous Australians to be obese.

References

http://www.modi.monash.edu.au/obesity-facts-figures/obesity-in-australia

 

Peer Evaluation

Ana

Storage compartment is good in terms of ease of access and pleasure of use. Diverse range of concepts allows for ease of change to final design.

Paris 

Drink bottle caters for blind people as well as the macro market. Nice shape and also solves the issue of avoiding dehydration and maintaining body hydration level.

Feedback from Simon

Arbitrary response to build problem solving skills. Form needs to change more  to solve social issue of motivation of weight loss. Graphics not enough and not as important. This is the challenge.

Lessons Learnt

Reflection A - Giving Packaging A New Life & How It's Made: Packaging

Watching these videos has reinforced my belief that recycling is essential to reaching sustainability. To maintain sustainability, resources need to be replenished at a higher rate than that of expenditure. And expenditure can be slowed down through recycling. Most of the end products of the 'Giving Packaging A New Life' however were down-cycled products. The aluminum cans and PET plastic were truly 're'cycled as they served the purpose they were first intended for however, the composite plastic trays were down-cycled for miscellaneous purposes. Unfortunately we still only recycle two thirds of the plastic we produce. I hope to make a change with the products I design, to create a greener future.

I believe it is part of the responsibility of an Industrial Designer employ stewardship, green materials, and minimize composites. Personally if I were to have multiple materials in a product, which is quite inevitable in most briefs, then I would make it easy to disassemble for future recycling and convenience purposes. It is undeniable that society and companies have aknowledged and acted towards a greener future, especially after the carbon tax has been introduced.Companies are now trying to minimize their carbon footprint through greater efforts in using recycled, sustainable materials and taking a serious approach to recycling. I hope to see this effort continue so that in the long run we may see sustainability as a treasured necessity rather than a choice. I plan to be a part of this change.

I believe that a designer needs to monitor the life-cycle of each material she/he plans to use as it is the designers responsibility to have the product easily and accessibly recycled. When I say that, I mean that the consumer should intuitively understand how to responsibly dispose of the product when it expires. That is a challenge, probably because we have failed to address this issue for so long. For example, a laptop; it feels very strange throwing an old laptop into your red bin as it used to hold so much value. You cannot easily recycle a laptop for materials, however you can use the components inside, hence why companies have started to take back their products when the consumer wishes to upgrade. How do we as designers communicate to the user, through design, the correct way of disposing an expired product? It is at the discretion of the product.