Anyway - back to the project. Over the semester everyone is designing (or redesigning) a product. We've been encouraged to keep it simple, since it's easy to get lost in too many details. Something little, like a pencil, is a very complex product that can be really involving to look at every part of it's life. Cradle-to-grave, or in our case, attempting cradle-to-cradle. Designing a product with sustainability in mind, rather than something to be thrown away after it's claimed usefulness is exhausted.
My project, suggested by Wendy, is looking at store-bought spices. The packaging is my main focus, but every step is important to consider. Different spices, for example may have to be packaged differently. Is it better to have a single package design, or multiple specific to different spices. Today I visited Hoffman Hills in search of inspiration from nature. How are things stored in nature? What are some examples of packages? These are photos I took:
Pod formations clustered together on one stalk
Little packets of seeds on a wheat stalk
So much variety, dead but alive
Buds on a willow branch
Yes! Exactly what I wanted to see, I was thinking about milk pods in my head as a starting point, and I found some!
Already used, brittle but keeping it's shape..
I was leaving but had to stop an photograph these.
So much to think about. Bulk spices are a great thing in theory, but most people seem to prefer buying spices in containers. Maybe lots of small amounts in tiny biodegradable packages? One use spice? Maybe using a pod design for selling spice in, flexible but one use. Marketed as 'refills'. Then selling containers alongside, which is ideally a one-time purchase. Similar to glass. But then I begin to think about where spices come from. They are essentially dried plants or seeds.
I also thought about labeling. In nature you don't see writing or labels anywhere. Everything is recognizable by visual features, textures, or color. It would be so appealing to create special containers for each spice, drawing inspiration from its origins - the plant is came from. Identifying purely without words.
