TENTWO "Shopping Well": package design Qing He z5123897
"Organizing our passion and creation to pursue people's expectation of sustainable life"
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION /1 DESIGN BACKGROUND /2 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT /5 LIMITATION AND CONCLUSION /20 REFERENCE LIST /21
INTRODUCTION
Because of the limitation of resources on earth, “waste” is an urgent problem which hinder sustainable development of society. As food is a basic demand in people’s daily life, food waste is a huge issue within the waste problem. In Australia, because of people’s overbuying behavior and bad eating habits, nearly $10 billion is spent per year on food waste (Cooper 2017). And, food waste occupied 35% households’ bin (NSW Environment Protection Authority 2018), especially from household living in urban areas and cities (Cooper 2017). This report will focus on decreasing household’s overbuying behavior through improve the interaction between supermarket and household by package design. Besides, prototype testing will be included into the report based on the design proposition for further development of the design for the project.
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DESIGN BACKGROUND
According to the survey created by NSW Government in 2009 and completed by 1,200 NSW residents aged 16 and older, $1036 worth of food is throwing away averagely each year, and the main reasons for the waste include people leaving food in the fridge too long and not finishing their meals (RMIT University 2013). These bad phenomena are caused by people’s overbuying behaviour and unplanned eating habits, which as Ros Sambell (2017), a lecturer in public health nutrition at Edith Cowan University, states, are because better living standard and more convenient shopping environment of supermarkets and food shops than before makes people usually do not know how many foods are already in the fridge and pantry. Moreover, excepting people’s eating habits and behaviours, within the context of supermarkets, promotions and sale activities is also the factor leads to overbuying. As Tristram Stuart (2017), an author and campaigner, mentioned, to dispose the surplus products caused by overproduction, supermarket often use excessive promotion to lead household to overbuying. In addition, the overbuying behavior also leads to increasing wasting problems related to food, including waste of resources such as human resources and energy, waste of packages and waste of finance. Hence, to help to push the decreasing of overbuying behavior and waste related to food and then decline the food waste for the achievement of a sustainable development for household, the grand challenge for the project is to modify the relationship between supermarket and household through improve the interaction between them to decrease overbuying behavior and then to decline the waste problem.
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To better investigate the relationship between supermarket and household, Coles is chosen as the focused client for the project, because firstly Coles own bigger data of customers’ information as it is one of the supermarket monsters in Australia; and, Coles’ ‘down, down’ strategy (Keating 2015) leads many kinds of sale promotions to attract people and then could cause overbuying behavior. In addition, according to previous researches, household living in urban areas in Sydney is selected as the end user for the design of the project. Besides, based on the aforementioned information of people’s behavior, the 2016 census data of Sydney State suburbs (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016) (see figure 1), and the probably weekly shopping routine of household collected from a short interview (see figure 2), a persona (see figure 3) is created for a deeper understanding of the end user and a detailed consideration of design direction. Sydney’s (State suburbs) 2016 Census Data
ages 25-40 education
51.8 % 44.9 %
worked full-time
51.2 % 65.7 %
rented dwellings live in flat/apartment
98.9 % 49.3 %
family household couple family without children
65.6 %
household median weekly income
$1,949
Households rent payments 30% of household income
64.6 % Figure 1. Sydney’s (State suburbs) Census Data 3
Figure 2. the information of probably weekly shopping routine from interview
PROFILE
DETAILS - full-time job in Sydney - rent an apartment at urban area, live with partner - busy lifestyle, do not have a good eating habit - go to supermarket 1-3 times a week, but often do unplanned shopping - willing to have a healthier lifestyle
Name: Chris Age: 28
- want to save money and time on weekly shopping - has acceptable attitude for new things Figure 3. persona 4
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
Design Proposition Based on the consideration of client and end user of the project, other possible stakeholders are also considered for individual design object (see figure 4).
Figure 4. stakeholders
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And,following the grand challenge, as each team member considered different design directions for the improvement of the challenge, the design proposition within this report is concentrated on decrease the waste of plastic package in Coles and notice people to gradually decrease overbuying behavior through the improvement of package and bag design. Because, based on previous researches, due to people’s overbuying behavior, waste problems related to food are also existed, such as the waste of packages, for instance, the plastic bag placed at fruit and vegetable area in Coles is in highly required when people carry lots of fruit and vegetables. And, excepting this kind of plastic bag, some kinds of fruits and vegetables are pre-packed by plastic to provide alternative choice for people; but, as Evans (2011a, cited in Schanes & Doberning & Gözet 2018) and Graham-Rowe et al. (2014, cited in Schanes & Doberning & Gözet 2018) state that the package size of the products is one of the main reasons for wasting food because it is often too large for single-lived people or couples, whereas these pre-packed foods are cheaper than not pre-packed foods or smaller packages, the waste of plastic package is a big issue for Coles to improve. In addition, even though by responding the trend of sustainability, Coles has banned the free single-use bags on 30 June 2018 and sell several types of bags to meet customers’ need, however, the quality of some kinds of bags is worse than the old bags and environment groups also warn that worse environmental impact could be caused if customer still throw these bags out (Zhou 2018). Furthermore, although Coles has launched the REDcycle program to encourage customer recycle plastic bags and soft plastic packaging through the recycle bins which are placed at all Coles supermarket (Coles n.d.), the response and positive impact on customer’s side is slightly.
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Design Ideas Thus, following the design proposition, the research of examples of package design from other designers (see figure 5) are did as the reference for own design practices. Then, based on previous researches and some examples, several design ideas (see figure 6-8) are developed following the key considerations, including the consideration of different sizes of plastic bag, the consideration of sustainability of the bag, and the consideration of decreasing food waste in fridge.
Figure 5. chosen design examples 7
Figure 6. the consideration of different sizes of plastic bag 8
Figure 7. the consideration of sustainability of the bag 9
Figure 8. the consideration of decreasng food waste in fridge 10
Specific Persona Moreover, to get a deeper investigation of the design ideas, it is considered to create a set of prototypes and test them with the user of the project. So, firstly, some detailed information of the character of household which collected through the short interview (see figure 9) are added into the original persona (see figure 10) for this design proposition to better understand the interaction between supermarket and household. RECORDS OF INTERVIEW
- 25. tenant in Sydney
- 26. house owner in Sydney
- 28. tenant in Sydney
- busy lifestyle, go to supermarket once a week normally
- busy lifestyle, go to supermarket three times a week
- busy lifestyle, go to supermarket twice a week
- bring resuable bag when shopping because the fee will be charged if using supermarket’s shopping bag
- bring resuable bag when shopping because the fee will be charged if using supermarket’s shopping bag
- do not like inconvenient things
- pay attention on sale promotion and the price
- pay attention on the freshness of fruits and vegetables
- use plastic packaging bag depend on - use plastic packaging bag because the amount, size, and categories of supermarket’s shopping bag charges fruits and vegetables fee. Also depends on the situation of food to choose using the plastic bag - not like plastic bag because of its poor quality and the material - reuse plastic bag as garbage bag - interested in new things if bring benefits to life
- like to try new things Figure 9. records of interview 11
- individual demand decides shopping purpose - pay attention on promotion activities - not pay attention on the material of shopping bags
PROFILE
SPECIFIC CHARACTER
DETAILS - full-time job in Sydney
- like to use reusable shopping bag because supermarket’s bag charge - rent an apartment at urban area, live with partner fees - busy lifestyle, do not have a good eating habit - go to supermarket 1-3 times a week, but often do unplanned shopping Name: Chris Age: 28
- willing to have a healthier lifestyle - want to save money and time on weekly shopping - has acceptable attitude for new things
Figure 10. specific persona
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- focus on the price and quality of food - like convenient and simple things
Hypotheses and Prototypes According to the persona, a little observation of usable materials for the design is did (see figure 11).
cotton
cardboard reusable fabric hemp rope
recycled cardboard
plastic
twine Figure 11. observation of usable materials
And, several hypotheses are produced for prototype testing (see figure 12-17): 1. 2. 3. 4.
Plastic bag which could carry different kinds of fruits and vegetables once a time is better Bags with different sizes is more convenient for people Fabric reusable bag is stronger and could be used for a longer time than plastic bag Visually notification is a good way to remind people eat surplus food
Then, following the sketches of design ideas and hypotheses, a set of prototypes is made and test with the interviewer. Also, the feedbacks are gathered for further consideration and development of the design for the project. 13
Hypothesis one The first design idea focuses on the consideration of different sizes of plastic bag by changing the length of original bag to make it becomes longer. Customer can firstly put one kind of fruit into the bag and use the sealing machine to seal the part with this fruit, and then the second kind of fruit can be continuously put into the bag and the sealing machine can be used to seal the part as well. So, the bag is used to carry different kinds of fruit and vegetables once a time.
Figure 12. prototype 1
FEEDBACK POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
- save materials
- cannot reuse
- can carry different kinds of food
- might be hard to take out the bag without a tool
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Hypothesis two Continue with the consideration, the second idea is to offer different sizrd of plastic bag to satisfy different demands. For example, if customer only want several apples or one broccoli, the small size or medium size bag could be chosen to carry them.
Figure 13. prototype 2
FEEDBACK POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
- good appreance
- no instructions notice the length of the bag
- convenient to use
- no suggestions of the size of bag for people 15
Hypothesis three Based on the consideration of sustainability of the bag, the reusable material such as fabric is chosen for the idea. Customer can fill the bag with fruit and vegetables and fasten it using the rope which is fixed on the bag; also, the rope could become to a handle for customer to carry the bag. And, the bag can be reuse again and again.
Figure 14. prototype 3
FEEDBACK POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
- good material
- the way of sealing the bag is a little complicated
- easy and convenient to carry
- hands will feel uncomfortable when the bag is heavy
- the use of rope is convenient
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Following the previous idea, this idea changes length and width of the reusable bag. Besides, the creative and innovative consideration can be seen on the placement of the ropes and the way of carrying bag. Once the bag is filled with fruit or vegetables, customer can tie up two ropes (on the top and the bottom) together to create a handle to help to carry the bag. And, from previous sketch of this idea, it shows that three different sizes are considered to add in this design to satisfy different demands.
Figure 15. prototype 4
FEEDBACK POSITIVE - interesting way - there has alternative sizes of the bag - good material
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NEGATIVE - the way of tying the knot is a little complicated - need many bags if buy different kinds of food - it will be hard to carry many bags if buy different kinds of food - the bag might get dirty when put into the fridge - cannot see what is inside if not open the bag
The third idea under the consideration of sustainability of the bag concentrates on the change of the appearance of the bag. By combing hemp and fabric, the appearance of the bag is more stylish and fashionable.
Figure 16. prototype 5
FEEDBACK POSITIVE - good material for the bottom part - reusable 18
NEGATIVE - the structure is not good as the stalk of fruits like apple might hang on the top part of the bag - hard to take foods out - the appearance is a little complicated
Hypothesis four According to the consideration of decreasing food waste in fridge, the idea references the colour changing label which is from the research of design examples and combines with the food box. Customer can carry the box when go to supermarket, and once the box is filled with foods, it can be directly put into the fridge. Then, the colour changing label will gradually change colours to notice the freshness of foods and remind customer to eat them before they exceed the expired date.
Figure 17. prototype 6 FEEDBACK POSITIVE - colour changing label is good - good appearance
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NEGATIVE - the handle is a little thin - problem of using weighing scale with the box - low availability of space if buy a small quantity of food - it is space-consuming in the fridge - transparent part on the surface is a little small - the label directly on the transparent part is a little bit influence the vision
LIMITATION AND CONCLUSION
Food waste as a big issue in the world has caused negative impacts on global economy and environment. In Australia, household occupied large amounts into food waste because of the overbuying behavior and unplanned eating habits. Thus, to help to decrease the food waste and waste problems related to food, the design proposition for the project is through package design to improve the interaction between supermarket and household. So, a set of prototypes of package design are created and test with the user to get a deeper investigation for further development of the ideas. However, the consideration of materials is limited in prototypes. Hence, according to the feedbacks, further development of the ideas of package design for the project would be concentrated on the investigation of different kinds of reusable materials, the improvement of appearance, the way of interaction and also the consideration of supermarket’s cost.
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REFERENCE LIST 1. Cooper, L 2017, ‘Australians Throw Away Nearly $10 Billion In Food Waste Each Year’, HuffPost, 24 October, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/10/24/ australians-throw-away-nearly-10-billion-in-food-waste-each-year_a_23253505/ 2. NSW Environment Protection Authority 2018, Organics Infrastructure Fund, NSW EPA, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/working-together/grants/organics-infrastructure-fund 3. RMIT University 2013, ‘Do Australians waste $8 billion worth of edible food each year?’, ABC News, 15 October, accessed 18 September 2018, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-10-08/ food-waste-value-australia/4993930 4. Wynne, E 2017, ‘Australians spend less on food but waste more of it than we did in the 1970s’, ABC News, 19 June, accessed 18 September 2018, http://www.abc.net.au/news/201706-19/war-on-waste-australians-waste-food-because-its-cheap/8624728 5. Stuart, T 2017, ‘Supermarket should be cutting food waste, not relying on charities’, The Guardians, 3 February, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2017/feb/03/supermarkets-food-waste-charities-tesco-sainsburys-fairshare 6. Keating, E 2015, Supermarket Monsters: Seven insights into how Coles and Woolworths came to dominate Australian groceries, Private Media, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www. smartcompany.com.au/growth/supermarket-monsters-seven-insights-into-how-coles-and-woolworths-came-to-dominate-australian-groceries/ 7. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016, 2016 Census QuickStats: Sydney state suburbs, Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed 18 September 2018, http://quickstats.censusdata.abs. gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC10467 8. Tasker, B 2018, ‘Spermarket giants set up war on plastic, waste’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 June, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/ supermarket-giants-step-up-war-on-plastic-20180604-p4zjbn.html 21
9. Zhou, N 2018, ‘Coles and Woolworths’ plastic bag ban and the choices that remain’, The Guardian, 6 June, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/06/coles-and-woolworths-plastic-bag-ban-and-the-choices-that-remain 10. Schanes, K, Dobernig, K, Gözet, B 2018, ‘Food waste matters - A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications’, Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 185, pp. 978-991, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/ pii/S0959652618303366?via%3Dihub 11. Coles n.d., Environment, Coles Supermarkets Australia, accessed 18 September 2018, https://www.coles.com.au/corporate-responsibility/sustainability/environment
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TENTWO design team. All rights reserved.