OUGD601 | COP3 - End of Module Evaluation

End of Module Evaluation

Overall, within this COP3 Module I believe I have done a reasonable amount of work within both my essay/dissertation and practical . However, I believe I could of done a lot more specifically in my practical work. For example, I was not able to do everything I wanted on time due to lots of trial and errors of making recyclable paper slowed my process down a lot and it was important to get the paper especially accurate as it is the main purpose of my practical work. Next were digital work such as mock-ups, I was unable to complete everything due to timing reasons. In the practical work, instead of the packaging having a label of what ingredients are in the sandwiches, allergies, fat, calories and so on. Were supposed to be on the supermarket shelf labels instead, unfortunately I had no time to do this. In addition, editing photos for my final design and GIF, short animation also slowed me down  due to the technical problems of making the animation work and the time lapse of the packaging transforming into a plant look professional. For example, having subtitles explaining the process or ever a narration and background music for the short advert. If I had more time or if I was more conscious of my time I would refine these to make the practical work of the sustainable sandwich packaging more sleek. 

Whereas, my essay/dissertation was a lot better than I expected. Even though, the question that I originally had was quite broad the one I narrowed down called 'Is Sustainability in food packaging actually sustainable' had a lot of information and research to look into. I was able to do a triangular with the theorist and authors who had similar yet different approaches to sustainability. But through their philosophies that I researched I was able to come up with a new cycle of reverse engineering a packaging product. This is thinking about more the death of the product and what it will become. Then it becomes the birth of the actual products function and then comes to life. The cycle repeats itself so there will not be any wasted unnecessary material nor food waste in the process. 

To recap, I am happy with the amount of work that I produced in this module. I still believe I could make the practical more refined, sleek and more professional looking if I organised myself efficiently. Nevertheless, I believe my essay/dissertation was written out well with the information I collected and finding a new strategy of producing sustainable food packaging that consist of 'Waste equals food' concept. 

OUGD601 | Sustainable Food Packaging Practical - Evaluation

To conclude, the production of the ‘This & That’ sustainable sandwich packaging design was overall successful and achievable.  Nevertheless, there were a lot of trial and errors when making the seeded recyclable paper and making sure that the packaging was not to thick nor thin. For instance, when creating the recycling paper using cartridge paper absorbed too much water. Thus the water would not dry properly and formed well. The recyclable paper would take at least three to four days to completely dry and when the paper dried the paper would break into pieces. Therefore, I needed to change the process of the recyclable papermaking. For example, switching the cartridge paper to a more sturdy and stronger card (egg cartons) and squeezing out the remaining water out of the paper rather than using a sponge. In addition, instead of using water to use mold the paper together, I replaced it with a mixture and PVA glue (eco-friendly glue). This enables the paper and seed to form into the shape of a triangular sandwich container. Hence, the drying process of this certain method dried quickly. The inner design, which labels which sandwich flavor, is which, is a really subtle yet minimalistic design of the continuous typeface. The typeface I used was called Menlo, and then I use the outline tool to outline the typeface. The logo for the ‘This & That’ is effective as the Ampersand inspired makes it look like a sandwich shape. When creating the non-stop motion animation to demonstrate the function of how the sustainable packaging forms into the plant of its purpose are used was challenging. Specifically editing out the background and lighting for the short animation GIF and advert for the website. Furthermore, it was difficult to capture the water being sprayed on the plant-able packaging. It would be more effective if I added subtitles that explain the production of the sustainable packaging in activity. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to add this function in, as well as attaching some instrumental music in the background. 

Additionally, I could not create the labels on the shelves that inform the consumers what ingredients, calories, allergies, fat, sugar levels, nut allergies, gluten, and so on. As I did not have enough time to create them, I wanted to receive the GIF, time lapse, short animation accurately. This is because it is more significant to establish and demonstrate the process of the ‘This & That’ sustainable sandwich packaging effectively show its main purpose of not using unnecessary waste and materials. Thus approaching the cycle of ‘Death, Birth and Life’ packaging design aspect. In the end, the practical side of COP3 was mostly successful and achievable. I believe if I did have more time, I could make the final product of the sandwich and short animation more refined. 

OUGD601 | Sustainable Food Packaging Practical - Final Outcome

In the final design of the ‘This & That’ sandwich packaging. Here are some final designs of the whole three kinds of sandwiches ‘Cheese & onion’, ‘Egg & watercress’ and ‘Prawn & mayonnaise’ packaging. The materials within the seeded paper packaging is achievable and eco-friendly for environment. This is displayed by the use of the GIF, short advert and time lapse of the sustainable packaging growing into a plant. It links to the environmental aspects as the paper is biodegradable, recyclable, compostable and re-usable. 

Overall, the final design was successful and have been proven to be eco-friendly to the environment. This pursue cycle of the ‘Death, Birth and Life’ and the purpose of the ‘This & That’ sustainable packaging function. 

The final images of the ‘This & That’ packaging. The pictures of the final design of the ‘This & That’ range can be use for advertisement on websites, TV adverts and supermarket shop windows.  

OUGD601 | COP3: Final Tutorial 5 | 1-2-1 - 'Final Checking on Dissertation and Practical Work'

Final tutorial for CoP 3

This tutorial should concentrate on:

• Checking academic conventions, formatting, and arrangements for submission. 
• Last minute revisions to the Dissertation, particularly improvements made over the Xmas period can be discussed, but the bulk of the content should already have been finalised by this stage. 
• This tutorial is also a great opportunity to discuss how students can best evidence ‘synthesis’ (6A2) between the practical and written sides of the module.

Please bring with you:

• Your dissertation
• Your practical work
• Your synthesis document

Feedback on Tutorial:

• Incorporate within 'synthesis document' the Double Diamond diagram. And explain how my strategy of sustainable packaging works in reverse. Or reverse engineering, design a new double diamond for this. This can become EDUCATIONAL.

1. Materials 
2. Process
3. Brown up
4. Model 
5. Link 
6. New Rules

• As making homemade recyclable paper has been a challenge, does not dry as quickly. The paper also does not bend well to the shape desired. 
• Best to mould the paper into a sandwich triangular shape would be more easier. 
• The best logo for the sustainable sandwich packaging is the Ampersand that looks similar to a sandwich. 
• When coming to photograph the sandwich container - use any bright * colourful backgrounds. 
• For each different type/flavour of sandwich the colour background should change. 
• Chosen slogan for the 'This & that' is "Grow Now, Eat Later". 
• Make shelf labels to established information on nutrients, allergies, etc. 
• Mock - up of tags on shelf could be the shape of the 'This & That' logo. Circular even that could have facts or information on the sandwiches. 
• Make one webpage of the educational sustainable sandwich packaging. Video is up.
• Create a video of the sustainable sandwich packaging of the seeds growing about 30 to 60 secs long. 

OUGD601 | Sustainable Food Packaging Practical - Production

When making the sustainable sandwich packaging, there were many trials and errors. For one example, making the recycle paper. 

Trial and Errors 

• When shredding paper, I only use cartridge paper. It did not form well as the paper kept breaking apart when dried and the drying process took at least three to four days. 
• Next to make the paper thinner apparently need to use a sponge to soak up the excess water. This did not work effectively. 
• Result below: 

Shredding paper

egg carton paper

template used

To make a recyclable seeded paper - packaging cover 

• Firstly is to shred the paper or if the paper is slightly thicker it best to rid it into some pieces of paper.
•  Once that is done, pour at least two to three cups of water in the paper and bowl, until the paper subsides. 
• Leave this for several hours until it get soft. 
• When several hours have passed, pour the excess water out of the bowl. 
• Next blend or mash up the paper, until it turns into pulp. 
• When the pulp is done, squeeze out the excess water inside the pulp. Then add the seeds (chia seeds) into the mixture. 
• To make the pulp and seeds stay together. Mix together PVA glue and water and put it in the mixture of the pulp. 
• Once that is thoroughly mixed together, it should become a smooth paste. 
• Then get the desired template of the shape that the paper pulp will form into. For instance a triangular sandwich shape. Cover the template shape with cling film so the pulp will not stick to it. 
• Let it dry for the next day or dry quicker with the hair dryer. 
• Images will be below for the construction of the packaging.

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OUGD601 | Packaging Research - 'WHAT IS DESIGN AND WHY IT MATTERS' by Mat Hunter - web

thecreativeindustries, What Is Design and Why it Matters, by Mat Hunter (2015). Available at: http://www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/uk-creative-overview/news-and-views/view-what-is-design-and-why-it-matters (Accessed: 10th January 2018). 


HOW DO DESIGNERS DESIGN?
Every designer has a slightly different approach and different design specialisms also have their own ways of working, but there are some general activities common to all designers. At the Design Council we like to illustrate this with a ‘Double Diamond’ model.

Divided into four distinct phases, Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver, it maps how the design process passes from points where thinking and possibilities are as broad as possible to situations where they are deliberately narrowed down and focused precisely on distinct objectives.

DISCOVER

• The first quarter of the double diamond model covers the start of the project. Designers try to look at the world in a fresh way, noticing new things and seeking inspiration. They gather insights, developing an opinion about what they see, deciding what is new and interesting, and what will inspire new ideas. Specific methods include: Market research, User research, Managing and planning and Design research groups.

DEFINE

• The second quarter represents the definition stage, in which designers try to make sense of all the possibilities identified in the ‘Discover’ phase. Which matters most? Which should we act on first? The goal here is to develop a clear creative brief that frames the fundamental design challenge to the organisation. Key methods during the Define stage are: Project development, Project management and Project sign-off.

DEVELOP

• The third quarter marks a period of development where solutions are created, prototyped, tested and iterated. This process of trial and error helps designers to improve and refine their ideas. Key activities and objectives during the Develop stage are: brainstorming , prototyping, multi-disciplinary working, visual management, development methods and testing.

DELIVER

• The final quarter of the double diamond model is the delivery stage, where the resulting product or service is finalised and launched. The key activities and objectives during this stage are: Final testing, approval and launch and Targets, evaluation and feedback loops.
• The creative process is complicated, making it difficult to capture simply but this sort of explanation can at least help make it appear a little less mysterious.

OUGD601 | Packaging Research - 'Curtis, packaging that does not cost the earth' - web

Curtis, packaging that does not cost the earth (1938). Available at: http://www.curtispackaging.co.uk. (Accessed: 9th January 2018). 


Environment Policy

We are committed to conducting our business operations in an environmentally responsible manner and recognise the need to continually improve our operations, reduce any adverse e­ffects to the environment and to strive to achieve an economic balance between environmental management and business activities.

• To identify and use materials/processes which reduce the risk of pollution.
• To promote natural resource conservation by encouraging efficient use of energy, minimum use of raw materials, and use of recycled materials where practical.
• Take a proactive approach to environmental management.
• To minimize discharges, emissions, waste and their e­ffects on the environment while maximizing recycling.
• To set annual environmental objectives and targets against which to measure improvements in environmental performance.
• To ensure compliance with environmental legislation, regulations and other requirements.
• To document procedures and continuously monitor progress in environmental performance through regular measurement, review and audit, utilizing a management system compliant with ISO 14001.
• To encourage our suppliers and contractors to maintain sound environmental practices.
• To ensure that all employees are made aware of environmental issues on site through a programme of training relevant to their roles.
• To provide information on our environmental policy to interested parties.

Environment - Materials & Production

	Conventional materials	Curtis alternative
Carton Board	According to the United Nations, half of the world's forests have already been altered, degraded, destroyed or converted into other land uses. Much of the remaining forests today suffer from illegal exploitation and poor management. FSC was established as a response to these concerns over global deforestation.	FSC Board ensures protection of the forests, the environment, people and the wildlife that depend upon them. It also gives options for maximising the use of post-consumer recycled paper.
Inks and Varnishes	UV (ultraviolet) inks and coatings: Oil and chemical based using large amounts of energy in the printing process. Difficult to recycle.	Vegetable/soya based inks. Water based coatings are soluble, cleaner and easily recycled.
Printing Plates	Metal plates need three separate chemical based treatments for developing, fixing and storage. These toxic chemicals affect the atmosphere and are difficult to dispose of.	Chemical Free plate making "Processes less plates" are completely chemical free with plates laser etched. After printing the plates are recycled.
Waste and Offcuts	Landfilled or moved in bulk requiring numerous vehicle journeys and road miles.	Every single item is stored, compacted and recycled. Our waste management system provides full details on the ultimate destination and recycling process. We have installed an in-house collector compactor converting offcuts reday for pulping. This alone has cut colletion journeys by 80%.