Bright Thinking (Student Work)

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Derrick Lin

Global

Designed by Nick Reid, a graduate from Loughborough University, England with a BA (Hons) in Graphic Communication.

BRIEF
The brief was to design a contemporary light bulb pack promoting the new energy efficient LED lighting for the main DIY retailers in the UK and possibly Europe, the package must fulfil the four main needs of the consumer; transport, storage, usage and disposal.

RESPONSE
The response to this brief was to create a package that would eliminate the use of plastics within bulb packaging as they are manufactured using non-renewable sources such as oil and natural gas and also to reflect the selling point of the LED bulbs which is a better impact on the environment. The intended audience for this product is tradesmen and diy shoppers, mainly males aged between 18-50 who want to locate the item they are after easily and efficiently. I began by researching FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved Kraft board which I gained from my visit to BensonGroup, one of the UK’s largest packaging manufacturers and discovered
it was the perfect material for bulb packaging as it is 100% recyclable and made from 100% unbleached virgin fibres. I then chose to elimate the various different individual nets for multi-packs of the bulbs such as packs of 2 and 4 and created an enitrely unique design which allows the retailer to seperate the pack using clever perforations to create 6 variations from the one net design.

The further I developed ideas of how to make the packaging better for the environment, the more I was able to change the design to make it very sustainable and eco-friendly, I researched into the use of soy inks as an alternative to the conventional inks which led to the development of simple, bold graphics which were designed to be printed in one colour to reduce costing. The graphics on the design use a clever system which allows the consumer to identify the product based on its mood and brightness, bulbs that are cool white are displayed blue and bulbs that are warm white are displayed red and the information on the front of the product show lumens not watts which is the unit that brightness is measured in. I feel the distinctive packaging and graphics contrast from existing bulb packaging today which is considered to be boring and plain and the unique factor of a glue-less package would be very appealing to manufacturers as well as the whole sustainable nature of the product, I believe this could lead to further green movement into other companies who use harmful packaging.

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  1. Very interesting concept. I like the perforated, gluesess packaging, and the way that the pieces easily can be arranged for display. Good design on the packaging, tells exactly what it is, and is appealing to the eye. I'm not sure, though, now much easier and cost effective would it be to produce the packaging, compared to regular, carton boxes.
    Good job, thanks for posting!

  2. Thanks for the positive feedback guys, I really appreciate it.
    In response to your questions it is indeed a folding carton Kraft Board provided by the BensonGroup. I also worked out the costing for the product and for each individual bulb 33% less board is used because of the unique design and it would also eliminate the need for different nets to be created for each type and quantity of bulb on the market.

  3. I worked 8 years in GE LIGHTING division in charge of lighting package and I can sadly say it wont work, the product safety its compromised and there is nothinhg to support the bulb, also all CFL bulbs are made in China….ALL OF THEM, only they can make them and to transport them from China to USA its a pain without getting them hurt! Think about it….its an interesting solution however if you could just fix this issue believe me you could commercialize it so easy!

  4. Good packaging concept for the fragile stuffs. it makes for something more secured and quality stable. Just a simple fold of carton made them safe. Great job!

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Derrick Lin

Global