Prototyping packaging for my new notebooks

I have a new product to add to my stationery range; a notebook. Go buy one on my Etsy shop.

I chose to do a notebook because it is an item that has a very practical use, it is not a throw-away object but is recyclable at the end of its useful life.

I wanted the same to apply to any packaging that accompanies this notebook.

I want the product to arrive at the customer in its best condition, and I need to provide information about the product that is helpful in the customer understanding what they are buying, but what I didn't want was packaging that is removed from the product and then goes straight in the bin.

In the design of products there is a large amount of effort that goes into developing the purpose, look and feel of the item that will be sold to customers. The same needs to be done for the product’s packaging. The design of the packaging doesn't just need to cover brand recognition, butddd also shows pertinent information which could be a legal requirement for a product. Added to this some products needs packaging that protects the product during transport and while on display; whether this is to extend the life of the product, or to protect the condition of the product so it is still useable once the customer has purchased the item.

Designing packaging; what it does and how it looks, how it transports is extremely important to businesses, but sometimes, it could be said that not enough thought goes into the after-life of this packaging. What happens to the packaging once the product is removed from it? More often than not the packaging is immediately discarded. Its job is done.

Are companies who manufacture products taking enough responsibility for not just the products they develop but also the packaging they ship with their products?

Over the last few years, some companies have been looking to reduce some of their packing to reduce transport costs, but historically most companies have passed on the responsibility of disposing of their packing to the end-customer who, more often than not, has to throw the packing away, either through landfill or through green bin recycling.

However, do manufacturers of consumer products need to do more to help their customers reuse or return that packaging? What if the life of the packing could be extended past just being packaging, what if it could have a second life?

At Jen Firth Designs I have been exploring how my packaging can be reused once it has stopped being packaging.

I have designed some card wraps made from cardboard instead of using cellos/plastic to hold together the card/s and envelope/s and in addition the card wraps could be reused as a way to stand up the postcard, as the postcards don't stand up on their own. If you open up one of the card wraps you will see instructions on how to make this into a stand, and there are also videos on this website showing you how to do this.

I use heavy-duty card envelopes to send out products to you and obviously these can be reused as envelopes to send things on to others, but I have also explored how these could be made into something else. So far I have designed a finger puppet theatre and a tiny doll’s house. Go have a look at our blog : How to use our packaging

So with the release of my new notebook I was looking at how I could develop packaging that would help protect the notebook but which would also display the price and other details about the product along with my logo, and at the same time encourage customers to reuse the packaging rather than throwing it away.

Initially I had wanted to make a wrap for my notebooks like the card wrap that I use with the postcards, with the intention that the wrap could be reused as a bookmark.

Card Wrap being used to wrap our pack of 10 postcards

But instantly I hit a problem. The width of the A5 notebook meant that the wrap needed to be bigger than A4 to wrap around - so I needed to find a solution that would work with my existing A4 supplies.

The second idea was to make a smaller tag that would fit over the corner of the notebook that would keep the pages of the notebook together and reduce the opportunity for pages to get dog-eared while on display, but that could still be reused as a bookmark in the notebook: “turn me into a bookmark”.

When I am prototyping I start with some paper, a pair of scissors or my craft knife, some glue and some masking tape and start making the shapes that correspond to my initial (brain-storming) sketches.

What is created at this stage I then imported into Affinity Designer where I make a digital version. This .svg version can then be imported to my Cricut machine where I can set up the shape to be cut out. This test shape can then be used to refine the design or go back to the drawing board and start again. After the design is finalised my Cricut machine can cut multiple copies of the design.

In this case I did a number of iterations of the original sketch. I moved from having a closed corner to an open corner as I felt that this would save on materials so I could cut out more per page, settling on this design

Added to this I have made a sticker to go on the back with "bookmark" as this tag will have the secondary use as a bookmark.

Use this book wrap as a bookmark

I love that my products give me scope to exercise that part of my brain that loves problem solving. I love that I can take some card or paper and turn it into something useful, but that is also conscientious when it comes to the environment; packing that doesn't need to be thrown into the bin.