Redesigning the 21st Century
Progressive brands will use design as a means to communicate with wider demographics and a new audience.
The Pandemic has had a noticeable impact on consumers’ relationship with their brands and a new paradigm is required to engage audiences with actions and messages that get to the heart. Because in 2021, we just want to feel good again.
As students experiment with how to adapt to 21st-century elements and shed out-of-date practices. These are incremental efforts that play out this Spring, Communication Design - Sustainable Packaging program. As the theory of redesign begins with a problem… the problem might be specific systemic or subjective. With a new sense of what we want and talking about redesigning entire systems and not just their individual and tangible components and manifestations, students now speculate longer-lasting sustainable practices for the future.
He loves me…He loves me not
Chocolate was seen as a healthier alternative to alcohol, which was deemed a negative influence on society. It has since become a popular food product that millions enjoy every day, thanks to its unique, rich, and sweet taste and many health benefits. However, as many new realities dawn on the health front, it is still the heart that makes the decision …Communication Designers Nikunj Rajesh Bafna and Vidisha Tripathi are willing to take a risk and try something new with a speculative and innovative packaging solution for the Indian market with ‘HUM TUM’ a limited edition Cadbury’s offering aimed at a new audience who crave companionship.
Cadbury is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International.
‘HUMTUM’ colloquial meaning in Hindi translates to ‘Us ’ and adds a unique interactive experience where a speculative dual pack not only lends to the concept of sharing but the value-added Origamic nostalgia uses leftover packaging material for construction and keepsake.
Relationships have a new start as a new foundation on how we want to share and experience life that emerges in the new world, as secluded by many lockdowns we crave the intimacy of real relationships.
A change-up is also a way for a brand to garner some attention, which can inspire, refresh and keep with substantive change. A good design should serve a specific purpose and be an opportunity maximized.
Reprogramming our hearts or our relationships…We are designed to keep growing and regenerating and expanding to more of life.
The Midnight Owl
How we participate in the new world is critical as we work across different timelines. As we change our working patterns to accommodate the new new, brands need to cater to our new consumption patterns.
While Coffee is our staple on most transatlantic ‘Zoom’ calls, we must consider the disadvantages of the current cans as well as the way coffee is consumed. While coffee grounds can be reused in many creative ways, the harm they can otherwise cause to the environment is staggering.
Communication Designer Sailee Sanaye speculates a unique solution for our hot summer nights. A Cold Coffee packaging repurposed entirely out of coffee grounds keeping the sustainable factor forefront as we realize that redesign this year has some heritage brands debuting a new look aimed at building relevancy in the minds of millennials and most importantly Gen Z.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses. COVID-19 lockdowns caused Starbucks to suffer a general 10% sales decrease, and a 50% decrease in China where quarantine measures were especially strict. Over time, every brand needs a refresh, even if it’s to catch up with prevailing trends to remain contemporary. Brands that don’t want to, wither away and die. They need to interject relevance, build relationships and contribute to the global conversation on sustainability.
An Indian summer
Before we came to a grinding halt, hustle culture ruled a non-stop hyper-productivity and no ‘me time seemed to be a way of life back then. Self-love and self-acceptance are a new reality! Thrust into a new normal, lockdown reprogrammed many parts of our lives including how we spend our time under the sun… (In the brief moments that lockdown lets us!)
A new start, a new day is dawning as consumers are emerging from a decade of peak burnout — politically, socially, and economically. In some ways, the pandemic is the tip of the iceberg. What emerges is a holistic, natural approach to brands with a fresh, intriguing and vibrant brand identity, incorporating illustrations and patterns that tell a story through design.
Communication Designer Dhriti Shah appeals to a millennial audience with illustrations that have an abstract, fresh look. Lakme is one of the top Indian cosmetic brands owned by Hindustan Unilever. Problem: Most of their packaging is plastic-based including their ‘Sun Expert’ sunscreen tubes made out of PVC (Polyvinyl chloride).
PVC is the world’s third most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer. Solution: Sugarcane Tubes/ Bottles (bio-plastic, 100% recyclable)
Keeping the same holding properties as PE tubes, the Bio-Plastic Sugarcane tube is considered suitable for use as primary packaging for Personal Care, Cosmetic and Pharmaceuticals products. Advantages of choosing Sugarcane Tubes instead of the traditional tubes: The raw material for the sugarcane tube, green polyethene, is derived from a 100% renewable resource — sugarcane, instead of fossil-based materials. The carbon footprint is 50% better than the traditional tubes because sugarcane absorbs CO2 from the air as it grows. This sugarcane tube is 100% recyclable.
The new ‘sunscreen edition for Lakme’ is not just a ‘Summer Fling’ but a commitment towards sustainability. The purpose of this packaging is also to encourage customers to take the first step towards building a zero-waste community by simply returning their empty sunscreen tubes and containers to the nearest beauty store for recycling. With a 20% discount being an incentive, LAKME’ as a brand will get not just a returning customer but a conscious customer.
Design conversations require more of how we show up in the world, describing in objective ways where there are expectations and choices and integrity of how we want to live our lives. There is no momentous before-and-after unveiling, just a continuous process of researching, trying and replacing ideas. This, after all, is how designers work: in an ongoing system of study, hunches, prototypes, tests and do-overs. The inevitability of re-redesign is expanding our consciousness…
All of it has a purpose in an evolved state of consciousness and learning through relationships and being compassionate… we own our truth and what resonates in our hearts.
A new tomorrow begins today where brands can make a difference with the dawn of a new conscious designer.
Students have engaged in various speculative design based solution in an academic space. Disclaimer: All creatives are hypothetical classroom projects. All rights reserved — 2 0 21
Creative Mentor:
Program Director Communication Design: Prof. Utkarsha Malkar
UTKARSHA M. | Author | Design Thinker | Creator - A desire to understand the world and to improve it always remains at the core. Design is a managed process and my quest for knowledge is subject to an inquiry of the apparent, the imagined and the recalled. As I speculate and design, my liberty of self-expression is in direct correlation to my existence and knowledge. https://www.utkarshaofficial.com/
