Lesson Task – SCAMPER and Rice Packaging

The task at hand:

You have to design packaging for rice. The packaging has to be different from what is out there in the market. Apply each one of the SCAMPER techniques and do a write‑up on your findings. Then choose the option that you think would work best and do a sketch of what the packaging would look like.

Research

According to my research, many rice packages have the traditional hemp sack, shape and/or texture (or at least mimicks this texture), and most of the others have a square packaging or shapes associated with coffee packaging with some exceptions. See Images below. Now as for preservation of the rice, it is important that it is easy to keep dry, and to stack. The bags could also be recyclable. I also observed that some implement handles or even a screw cap to the packaging for easier carrying and pouring, respectively.

So what should my design implement and look like?

Substitute

I would very much like to substitute the traditional opening-at-the-top solution, which I myself find rather unpractical, as you would either have to lift and pour with low precision, or open it wide enough to scoop rice (once again with varying precision). What would I substitute it with? Perhaps an opening on the side, or the bottom?

Combine

Now what if I were to combine not a handle, but another form of carrying it – like the geometric shaped rice packaging above with a thin string enveloping it, with a mechanism to pour the rice from the side? In the end i ended up with a discreet handle.

Adapt

Who would I want to reach? Do I want a more exclusive feel to the packaging, or a more modern/neutral feel and shape befitting a larger family. I decided I would try to reach couples or single people around 25 to 35 with a more exclusive feel, possibly with a square packaging, combined with suitable colors, font and/or slogan.

Modify

The size of the packaging should not be too big as it’s aimed towards couples or single people, and easy to portion out correclty. I choose to have windows to see how much rice there is, coupled with how much you would need for different numbers of portions (like a milk carton, but with three windows)

Put to another use

The packaging/bag should be recyclable or reusable, if you use a more solid container for the rice and use recyclable packaging for the refill for example.

Eliminate

What if I eliminate the handle part, if I have a more square packaging? This would actually be benefitial on a smaller packaging as it would not be heavy and the handle part would take up more space than necessary. However, I chose to have a handle that requires the least amount of space (height-wise) as possible.

Reverse/ Rearrange

Now what if the opening of the package was underneath? This would most likely require the package to be on top of a table or lifted up (like a wine carton) which is not very practical depending on the size and would probably clog easily. In the end i scrapped this idea, and went with the aforementioned opening on the side.

Design

Typography: on the middle, due to the proximity of the black lines, they are perceived as one element. This character means rice in Japanese, when written like: 米. I chose to implement Japanese as the packaging of rice that has an expensive feel to it often implements Asian elements of some sort.

Other: the red line draws attention the middle, Laing the rest seem quite spacious, it also creates a continuation of the stem in the Japanese character.

Sketches and final result

I first sketched it with pencil on paper and then coloured it in Infinite Painter on my iPad.