learning reaport - extract

Benefits of Using Marine Plywood for the paint pot

-       Waterproof

-       Light

-       Durable

-       Cost effective

-       Can come in 6mm thick ­­­­­

-       Resistant to splitting and warping

-       Can come from FSC certified resources

-       Good strength to weight ratio

The problem is that Marine Plywood is only waterproof to some extent so will need to be lined on the inside to protect the joints. The other important factor is that this material is recommended to be reused and not recycled this mean that a secondary use will need to be encouraged.

It seem natural when thinking about Plywood that the container would be square instead of round, this would lead to several advantages.

-       - Easy to pour – from corner

-       - The handle going diagonal over the container would make it easier to carry, without knocking your leg

-       - Easy to stack

-       - Less wasted space

-       - Saves transport costs

The product being this shape, made from this material would make it stand out from the competition. 

Once I decided and made my final container I then had to find a solution for transporting the products. For this I wanted to limited to packaging as much as possible, the benefit to using a box shape is that it lends itself to stacking, it is easier to secure, ideal for pallet use and makes the most of the space available. It means therefore you can get a more on a lorry load and minimise wasted space, which leads to saving on fuel, time and CO2 emissions.

Due to product being made out of Plywood it already has an inherent strength, which allowed me to use minimal packaging for transport purposes. The materials for this part of my design included eco string, cardboard and mushroom packaging. What work with these materials is that all of it is capable of being recycled. The mushroom packaging is also biodegradable and can be using in the customer’s garden.

For this product I have also designed an insert packaging. When a customer purchases the paint pot it will have the insert in it, which can be resealed to keep the paint fresh. The insert will be the same as the refill packaging to encourage customer to buy the refill packaging when possible. Because people are creatures of habit t is likely that they will retain the container to buy a refill, so the outer container can be used again. It is also likely that the refill will cost less, this creates an added incentive to buy the refills only.   

For this aspect of the design I wanted to use the material Tetra Pak, the breakdown of this material is shown on the right.

Benefits of Tetra Pak

-       Sturdy

-       Can stand on its own

-       Lightweight

-       Adaptable

-       Seal in liquid 

-       The Aluminium protects the contents

The main paint pot has many secondary uses. I didn’t want to limit it application by giving a set secondary use but rather encourage customer to find more practical uses for the container. This may inspire them to think about alternative ways of using this product and others.

I would suggest inserting a leaflet into the transport container showing many of the secondary uses that could be achieved with a little imagination, such as a plant pot, bird box, or storage.