The 360 Paper Water Bottle is a sustainable vision of the future. Problem-Solving Through Responsible Design by Brandimage, a global design and brand strategy firm.
Responsible Design is a philosophy that equates innovation with responsibility to people and the planet while being mindful of the environmental impact.
Responsible Design is about:
- being Accountable. The environment that we ALL share has been affected by people and industry, and we need to acknowledge and be accountable to help reverse the damage for our next generation. The environmental situation is extremely complex and highly integrated and can only be solved if we recognize the problem and initiate action now.
- becoming Smart. Informing consumers about the merits of better choices will empower people to bring about change without sacrificing the things they need. Companies need to take the “high road” and utilize alternative thinking to provide people with what they need rather than producing irresponsible parity. Being smart today is win-win-win for consumers, companies and the planet.
- establishing new Gold Standards. The impetus for creating positive and social change in the products and services we buy and the lifestyles we lead will require shifting generations-old paradigms. We need a continual flow of Responsible Design examples to illustrate our changing principles and to set the bar higher for upgrading standards.
- teaching Responsible Design. Our collective effort is not the destination of our journey; it’s the path to a broader understanding. We need to show our next generation that responsible consumerism—and the development of thriving new business—can coexist with human needs. Our legacy will be to instill the spirit of striving for and demanding Responsible Design for the betterment of all.
Responsible Design and the Shifting Landscape of Brands
Practicing Responsible Design leads to the deeper understanding of a brand within the physical context of the world, its category and the human beings who will use it. The result is a seismic shift that completely redefines the consumer interaction and creates a new visual, physical and emotional experience within a balance of environmental considerations.
The results of Responsible Design can become an invaluable asset and increase the owned brand equity. Brandimage is leading the way in problem solving through innovating Responsible Design for clients throughout the world.
In today’s economically challenged marketplaces, a brand needs to succeed against a myriad of aggressive competitors in a world of ever-increasing ecological responsibilities. Companies are investing in problem solving through responsible design and branding initiatives that are brought to life with tangible output in the form of new durable products, structural packages and physical environments.
Visionary deliverables can dramatically redefine a brand’s ultimate value to people, provide strong positioning against competitors and support noticeably more positive impact on the environment. A new, fundamental shift is taking place at the base level of innovation and invention that dramatically redefines the physical and tangible touch-points of brands.
Why We Created the 360 Paper Water Bottle
Audaciously, we don’t always wait for clients to tell us there is a problem to be solved. The 360 Paper Water Bottle program came about from simply observing what is going on in our world. We pair these observations with a collective, deep understanding of consumers, technical and manufacturing parameters and environmentally conscientious design principles.
For instance, it’s no secret that blow-molded plastic bottles are filling landfills, but according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR), 2.7 million tons of plastic PET bottles hit US shelves in 2006. Of that 2.7 million tons, four fifths went into landfills. Plastic bottle usage is only increasing with time. In 2005, 7.5 billion gallons of water were on US shelves. That is 21 times the amount of water on US shelves in 1976. The numbers are mind-numbing and certainly large enough to be considering impactful change.
The name “360” is indicative of the holistic meaning of the program. Instead of just styling polymer in a new way, we wanted to travel 360 degrees and restart the thinking and the total criteria of containing water from beginning to end. Also, 360 stands for the spectrum of tools and disciplines needed to undertake such a program, and the geometric output of 360 degrees creates a circle that’s illustrative of our planet.
360 Paper Water Bottle: Design Details
The design addresses water containment in all respects. We have challenged the “norms” of production, shipping, filling, visible material, shelf impression, labeling, multi-packing, structural integrity, opening and resealing of the closure, and ultimately what is being disposed. The package utilizes sustainable sheet stock of bamboo, palm leaves, etc. that is pressed into 2 halves to encapsulate a micro-thin PLA film that provides liquid/O2 barrier. The pressed material provides the form, graphical substrate and/or embellishment surface and structural integrity. It is shipped inverted and “pops open” upon filling through a conventional fill-portal at the base. The barrier material also acts as the means to fuse the 2 halves together. The top is torn off to access the liquid. To reseal, the removed component peels apart to expose a sanitary plug-fit side, and the remaining part gets tethered to the finger loop to eliminate litter. It changes the total experience of drinking water; from the way the container looks, feels and functions to the way it ends its usage.
The 360 Paper Water Bottle is a single-serve container, but the windfall of how it is made enables the self-bundling of multiple containments to negate the use of separate “6-pack” carriers. The use of an all-natural structural board with vertical ends drastically reduces the material used in palletizing and shipping, and enables self-merchandising.
What’s Next?
We have undertaken this program without the support of a manufacturing and/or materials supplier partner and instead concentrated on the opportunity at hand from a consumer design and brand standpoint. We intend to find the 360 Paper Water Bottle a branded home. We have had a tremendous amount of response from all over the world. These included some of the world’s largest corporations representing some of the world’s most powerful brands. We are initiating the process of screening potential partners and ascertaining the particulars of a relationship.
From a pure branding perspective, the honesty of the container material needs to remain intact. Otherwise, we are making it become something it is not: unnatural. How we apply graphical brand communications needs to coincide with the properties of sheet stock bamboo, etc. as per embossing, the direct printing of soy/water-based dies and inks and/or the application of applied labels. The functional intent of the design needs to follow through with the visual applied graphics. It is a totally integrated and holistic paradigm-shift in the form of a package.
Brandimage, one of the largest international design agencies in the world, is revamping the innovation process through Responsible Design. With a 360-degree perspective, we dig exceedingly deep to establish a new, fortified foundation for the brand that is responsible in defense of its base principals of strategy, usage and differentiation. We redefine the consumer experience across all senses of interaction. We create the opportunity to invest in and own a new manufacturing process. Most importantly, we are doing our part to add a measure of delight to what is considered a mundane or ordinary consumer interaction.
We are giving life to brands, and producing responsible results for the betterment of people, business and our planet.
www.brand-image.com
About Brandimage – Desgrippes & Laga
Brandimage – Desgrippes & Laga, one of the world’s largest international design firms, was formed from the combination of Desgrippes Gobé, a global design firm, and laga, a leading American design and innovation agency. With a team of 300 experts across every essential market in the world, Brandimage – Desgrippes & Laga offers fully integrated services designed to deliver meaningful brand experience for consumers. Our stellar, award-winning capabilities range from brand strategy and consumer insight, to brand identity, industrial design, packaging design, graphics, innovation, interactive, retail experience and architecture – and beyond. The company was specifically created to leverage the potential of design as the best way to give life to brands.
For additional information or to arrange an interview with Mr. Warner, please contact:
Julie Mullins
Marketing Manager/Editor
Brandimage – Desgrippes & Laga
644 Eden Park Drive
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
tel: 513.961.6225 fax: 513.281.3611
[email protected]
