Project 3: Caroma

Australian Design Awards: Tembo Trunks

 Pros:
- Collapsible, thus making it portable and spatially efficient 
- Non-electrical, therefore music can be played for longer and in more areas
- Virtually indestructible (waterproof, shockproof, dust-proof)
- Amplifies sound to 3x that of normal earphones
- Durable and lightweight 

Cons:
- Doesn't seem stable. There is no stand to stop it from rolling away
- Very large, would be better if they were smaller when in use
- Could come in more appealing shapes

Improvements:

Project 2: Posters

Project 2: Rationale

Brief C: Six Can Beverage Pack Rationale

Product, Target Market and Retailer
The product chosen for my six can beverage pack is pre-mixed bourbon and cola alcoholic drinks. The target market is aimed at males aged between 18 and 30 years of age. This demographic tend to enjoy going out with friends to parties, clubs, pubs or sporting events. They tend to have a low-medium level income, due to the fact they are generally still studying or are in their early years of their careers. The retailer of the product would mainly be bottle shops, especially chain stores such as the Little Bottler, Dan Murphy’s, LiquorLand, First Choice Liquor etc.

Design Solution
Primary research that was conducted pointed out some flaws with the current six can beverage pack design. The most common fault that was mentioned was the fact that once one can was removed, the stability of the other cans were compromised, as they would move around and potentially fall out. A solution to fix this problem was the major focus of the design. The final design solution was to create a portable, easy dispensing unit that allowed users to store drinks securely when they were not being used.

The approach to the design was to not entirely cover the cans with packaging, which is what modern six packs currently do. The innovative design would only cover 75% of the can. A unique support system was incorporated to keep cans in place and stabilise them, even if one can was taken away for use. The McDonald’s style take-away tray supports the cans so that they remain rigid inside the six packs and don’t fall out after one has been removed. This seemed to be the most efficient way to address the problem stated previously, while still using a minimal amount of material and only using one flat sheet of Amcor Carrier Board during the manufacturing process.

Further research concluded that consumers in the target market wanted a more portable unit that was easier to carry. Modern six packs have two holes on the top for the insertion of fingers. I found that having a handle was more ergonomically correct as well as more pleasurable. Consumers stated that they would like a handle as it feels more secure and stronger whilst carrying the six packs. It was found that consumers in the target market often carried six packs from place to place (i.e. from the bottle shop to their destination). It seemed an obvious advantage to incorporate a handle, as consumers in the target market like going out with friends to parties, clubs, pubs or sporting events (all of which may involve carrying alcoholic drinks to and between destinations).

Box shape/Construction
The shape of the box is very rectangular, with minimal curves and soft edges. This was an intended feature as the rectangular design represents masculinity. The broadness of the box has associated imagery of broad shoulders, which is a typical physical aspect of males. This helps to resonate with the target market, making the product appeal to their masculinity and strength. The box shape can also be used for storage purposes. Its rectangular shape makes it easier to stack on top of each other and to place on palettes and crates. This makes transportation of the product easier as new methods of transportation don’t have to be created or altered.

The product can be made from one single flat sheet of Amcor Carrier Board 500um. This then saves on material and production costs as the company doesn’t need to purchase as many sheets to produce the six pack container. The Amcor Carrier Board comes in a sheet size of 760mm x 1020mm, meaning that three six packs can be made from a single sheet, which is more economically viable for the company. The construction of six packs uses no fasteners or glue. No other external material is used to support or join the package, it is entirely supported and constructed by folding, cutting and slotting the Amcor Carrier Board, thus making it more environmentally friendly as there are fewer materials no harmful glues or adhesives are used.

The cuts used to support the cans were purposely alternated to keep intact the structural integrity of the package. I first trialled having the patterns identical, but after repeated use the cuts began to tear and the package lost its structural integrity, thus no longer performing its function of stabilising the cans. By having the alternative patterns, the package was less susceptible to tears, especially near folds or edges.

Logo
The logo I chose was based on a lion’s head. Generally a lion represents masculinity and strength, which is aimed to attract and resonate with the target market (18-30 year old males). A lion can also be associated with royalty, which helps to give the brand an image of a more upper-class and quality beverage. This is important as I found that consumers in the target market tend to steer away from brands that they perceive to be ‘cheap’ or of a lesser quality. The lion’s head was based on a tribal design, further emphasising the strength and masculinity that resonates with my target market. For these reasons, I believed having the lions head was an appropriate choice for the logo of the brand.

Brand name
‘Pride Bourbon’ was chosen as the brand name as it coincided with the logo of a lion’s head. Pride in this case relates to the name given to a group of lions. Pride was chosen as it can be associated with the target market (18-30 year old males that enjoy spending time with their friends). It symbolises a family mentality which can be associated with the target market who often spend time with those close to them, similar to a pride of lions.

Font
Gothic E was chosen as the font to be used for the name of the package. It was chosen as it represents royalty, as the font was used in medieval times and during the Renaissance period. The choice of font helps to promote the product as of a high quality, which is what the target market wants from a bourbon and cola beverage. The font is also a Serif type font (has tails) which represents masculinity. 

Colour
The base colour of the package is a wild violet. This was selected as it previously represented royalty and those of an upper class status. Although the target market is not generally labelled as upper class, the purple was used to promote the beverage as more of a quality product. As stated previously, consumers in the target market generally tended to steer clear of products they seemed were ‘cheap’ or of a lesser quality.

The gold used for the font was chosen for similar reasons, as it associates itself with royalty and therefore helps consumers to perceive it as a higher quality product.

After Use
The design for the six pack is not intended to solely be a disposable item, yet rather a functional and practical storage device that can be reused by the customer. The nature of the design such as its unique way of storing the beverages means it can be reused to store other standard 375mL drink cans. The carry pack design was a feature to help promote its reusability with customers, thus giving it a ‘second life’ and becoming less of an environmental and financial burden. However the six pack can be recycled if consumers do not wish to reuse the product. Amcor Carrier Board is made from carton board which itself is made from recycled inputs, meaning that it can be easily recycled.

Project 1: Posters

Project 1: Rationale

Fruit bowls nowadays seem to be very simple and common. They can be made from numerous materials, take endless forms and come in a variety of colours. The fruit bowl I designed as part of this project (aptly named the ‘floral bowl’) was designed for a particular target market in mind, students aged 18-25 with a not so large disposable income. The core concept was to create a product that not only worked, but was also relatively cheap and could be used as a centrepiece or a topic of discussion around the home.

The first challenge was to choose an appropriate material. Given the limited options, my choice was not as hard. Polypropylene to me was obviously the most suitable choice. Polypropylene is an inexpensive plastic. This makes it an ideal choice for any mass produced product as it costs the company less to purchase the material. These savings can then be passed down to the consumers, making it an ideal product for my target market.

Fatigue is the weakening of material subjected to prolonged or repeated stress. Polypropylene has good resistance to fatigue, which makes it a useful material for bowls. The repeated stress from the weight of the fruits won’t affect a polypropylene bowl as much as other materials.

Polypropylene won’t melt in the dishwasher or microwave. This means the bowl can be cleaned normally like other kitchen items and utensils. This can potentially save the consumer money as they don’t have to purchase other products to maintain the hygiene of the bowl.

Polypropylene is resistant to many solvents, bases and acids and this resistance minimises leaching of chemicals into food products. This characteristic of polypropylene makes it a suitable material for food storage products, such as bowls as there is minimal contamination by bacteria.

The next step was to consolidate my design. I wanted my bowl to represent a floral design as it helped to promote the natural and earthly feelings associated with fruits. I experimented with many flower-like designs. Finally after much deliberating and numerous test models, I came up with my final design which was one sheet that could be folded to manipulate the shape of a flower. Another advantage of having it as one sheet was that it had the potential to become a flat-packed item, which saves on transport and storage costs.  However a compromise of it being flat-packed was the shape of the net. For my design to work efficiently I had to remove the base. Although there is no actual base, the tabs that go through the slots can act as a base and help support any fruit that rests on it. 

Polypropylene is a very flexible material. Its form can be manipulated in a variety of ways using numerous methods. Polypropylene has no memory, meaning that once it has been bent, it generally returns to its original flat state. These two properties were combined and became beneficial to my fruit bowl design. By manipulating its form and understanding its lack of memory, I used the structure of the bowl to help cushion the fruit, hence reducing the chances of bruising and wastage.

To keep with the earthly and natural theme, I choose to use a translucent lime green for my final design colour. This was chosen to represent the nature of my inspiration, which was a flower, something natural which could be juxtaposed to my final product, which was a man-made object. Green was also chosen as it was a cool and inviting colour, which I believe suited the function of a fruit bowl. The colour green is also associated with nature as most foliage and leaves are that colour. In essence my choice of colour was based around making the product feel inviting and having an earthly aspect to it, as its function is to hold and store fruits. Ideally the bowl could be marketed in a variety of colours; especially due to the fact polypropylene comes in numerous colours.