Packaging manufacturing and new life

The series of videos show a broad range of manufacturing and recycling methods of packaging. The videos feature a variety of daily use packaging and are often taken for granted by us as consumers.  From paper tetra packs to aluminium cans and so on, all show to be very sophisticated and elaborate processes to ensure quality. Apart from quality, all of these processes in both the manufacturing and recycling involved a great deal of planning. These plans aim to provide the best possible outcomes under the more desired time frames where efficiency is most desired. Knowing this reflects directly back to packaging design.

Packaging design is the forefront which shapes and effects all subsequent manufacturing, consumption and recycling. As mentioned previously the goal for any manufacturer is efficiency and quality, where the complexity of the task is largely dependent on the design itself. Understanding the importance in making manufacturing simpler is good however it is in understanding the balance between good product (creating the relations and experiences with end consumer interaction) and manufacturing and recycling efficiency which really determines a good design. Meaning each and every step of the products life cycle is equally important and should be understood by designers. In any case no design should make manufacturing and recycling processes difficult.

The videos features a variety of a materials selected fit for its purpose, with modern technology and the many possible manufacturing processes demonstrated really opens many opportunities for more efficient designs and possible introduction of alternate materials to certain packs when it suits (i.e. more affordance or recyclability etc).

Recycling plants as shown have become more efficient and sophisticated than ever before. This is a positive improvement as the modern industrial world has come to a realisation of wastage in the past. Now finding better and more effective ways to re-salvage used materials and sort them to suit their subsequent processes. A greater use of more recyclable materials is used nowadays to produce and carry on an ongoing cradle to cradle product life cycle.

All the above are inevitable factors to consider especially in packaging design as these products are fast moving and are part of everyone’s lives in the developed world. As mentioned before many of these products are just taken for granted by consumers (i.e. plastic bags are just used and disposed at an unnecessary rate and amount. Intrinsic to a better and more efficient world relies on cooperation of consumers’ understanding and concept of recycling and consumption patterns at the same time as good design and substitution of correct or more suitable materials.