BLUE BOX CHANGE WILL MAKE COMPANIES FOOT PACKAGING BILL

CBC News - Toronto - Blue box change will see companies foot entire bill]

Toronto is trying to set up a law making manufacturers pay for the entire bill for packaging costs. Right now we currently pay for half the bill, Toronto is hopping that will give the manufacturers an incentive to use less packaging to save money. This could ultimately end by the companies footing the bill to the consumers and therefor making us pay double the tax. Blue bin taxes would be kept and used for something else therefore making us pay more taxes. If the manufacturers are still forced to pay the bill, this could create a backbone for my thesis.

Revolution Final Video

After spending a bit of time learning After Effects I was able to apply it to my Type 4 video. This class was overall a great experience. It would be nice if we spent more time doing motion graphics within a program such as After Effects, but the majority of the class probably would not want to do that.

Biodegradable Packaging Thesis Proposal 3

Overview//Introduction
Currently today there is a lot of media directed at global warming and keeping the planet clean. Everyone is trying to go green, major corporations are changing or just using the going green statement to up there sales. There are companies all over the internet that talk about biodegradable packaging and how it can and is currently being done. New ideas about it are more talked about, it has become popular to become green. This has all inspired me to come up with a solution to the problem.

Abstract
After doing extensive research on hemp and bamboo I hope to come up with a way to package foods in a safe way. The material can change based on what I find out over the next eight months of research. The goal is to produce a set of packaging all around for all types of foods which will be biodegradable but at the same time will not contaminate or place the food in an unsafe environment for the consumer.

Research Question
Creating a new style of packaging for grocery store/consumer goods using biodegradable materials

Research Problem
I choose this topic because it is a method which will eliminate waste from consumer house holds. By changing the material this could also help reduce waste created in the production. I choose this topic because it is something that hasn’t been completely done yet, there is a movement towards it but it has not been fully done. This is based on my research so far. My goals are to change the ways of consumer waste, I would like to help eliminate part of the problem. My goal is to use something like hemp or bamboo and turn it into packaging for foods. I would also like to look into meats, dairy products etc.

Audience
The audience for this thesis is for homeowners, housewives, students and everyone else who does the grocery shopping for themselves or for who ever they are living with. This thesis is directed at individuals who do grocery shopping. They are the individuals that will be targeted because they are the ones who make the choices as to what product they are going to buy.

Realization
In order to make this project concrete I am going to have to make sure the material works with one or a few types of foods. If I can do that then there is no reason why this project will not work. If the food can be safely packaged according to food Canada and also be biodegradable then it will work. I would like to find out what foods bamboo could package safely. I would like to use bamboo or hemp to package meats, dairy products, dried goods, wheat products and water. My deliverables for this thesis will be some sort of packaging, branding will also be involved.

Learning Outcomes
Doing extensive research will help benefit me because I have never done it before. By learning about biodegradable materials this will allow me to do some scientific research, which will then obviously allow me to learn about some new materials and how they work. I will also learn a lot about producing work and doing it all for one brand. Branding, packaging and web design will all most likely be a part of this project. This will all strengthen my portfolio. Having one large project in my portfolio will defiantly give me something to talk about in the future with clients.

Reducing Packaging Thesis Proposal 2

Overview//Introduction
While working in a grocery store for two years, two to three times a week I would take off and endless amount of plastic wrap holding together a huge skid of boxes full of product for the grocery store. There would be ten to fifteen of these skids all ready for me and my co workers to take apart. After taking away all the plastic wrap we would have to open all the boxes and take out the product. The amount of cardboard and plastic wrap that we would have at the end was unbelievable and that doesn’t even include the packaging that the consumer gets when they buy the product. After thinking about it I decided this would be a great area for me to focus on for my thesis. Trying to reduce the over al amount of waste the consumer gets to take home and possibly before the grocery store gets it from the distributor would be very beneficial.

Abstract
There is a major amount of waste coming from grocery store goods within everyone’s household. Packaging is overdone for example a box of cereal; the box is used to wrap around the bag of cereal, within the bag sometimes there may be a toy, which is also wrapped in plastic. The goal of this project is to develop a new type of packaging for grocery store goods that will use minimal to zero packaging, therefor for my thesis I could take away as much of this packaging as possible. Obviously it still has to keep the food preserved and clean.

Research Question
Reducing packaging of grocery store goods to a minimum, goal to minimum or zero packaging

Research Problem
There is a definate need for change in this area of consumer goods, an example that proves it is what happened to Toronto during the garbage strike? There was garbage everywhere, a neighborhood filled an entire ice arena within a few weeks. My goals are to reduce the packaging by seventy five percent, I am setting the bar high but I believe it is possible. Another goal I have is to figure out a way to convince the distributors to deliver the product with less plastic wrap etc. That would probably require me to design a whole new system and a new grocery store.

Audience
The audience for this thesis is for homeowners, housewives, students and everyone else who does the grocery shopping for themselves or for whoever they are living with. This thesis is directed at individuals who do grocery shopping. They are the individuals that will be targeted because they are the ones who make the choices as to what product they are going to buy.

Realization
By studying the food Canada website I will obtain information about what is allowed and what is not allowed for packaging foods in Canada. Also I have been looking at a book which discusses the different types of materials that food can be packaged in. With this kind of information I should be able to create packaging for foods in a safe way. Some of the forms that it may take include, packaging, branding, posters... etc. I would like to think about that at the end of all my research; therefore I can keep an open mind and think of something new.

Learning Outcomes
Learning how to do research will benefit me in my future as a graphic designer. By doing this I will learn how to do an extensive study for eight months. I have never focused on a single topic for such a long period of time. Wishing I could have had more time on other assignments makes me very interested on the outcome of this thesis project. I will be producing a lot of work which will help me all around. This topic can include a lot of different outcomes which will all benefit me as a graphic designer. This will defiantly help my portfolio, I will have a project which will include extensive research possibly branding, packaging, posters, motion graphics etc. The possibilities seem endless at this point but overall I believe this project will greatly increase the strength of my portfolio.

“Return” Program Thesis Proposal 1

Overview//Introduction
I choose this topic as my thesis because it would be a great way to run a grocery store. There have been similar things done in the UK and in Japan. They are not quite the same because they don’t focus on all grocery store goods. They have select items that require you to bring your own containers. They focus on fruit and dried goods, we have systems like this in Canada such as the Bulk Barn. Global warming and other crises related to waste and co2 emissions are all in the popular media right now. This is a project that could help if it were to be successful. An issue that also came up recently that proved we needed a change was the Toronto garbage strike, garbage was piling up all over the city. Spadina Ave. was absolutely atrocious.

Abstract
By studying the return program which the LCBO/Beer Store I will be able to apply it to a grocery store. If the return rate is high enough for per say a glass container that contains meat, then the customer will return it. Designing a new shopping cart would be involved, because the current one may not work with the new designs of the containers. Also some sort of device will need to be created for the costumer to be able transport their food with ease.

Research Question
Designing packaging, which can adopt the “return” program within a grocery store.

Research Problem
I chose this topic because there is a need to reduce the amount of waste we create. After thinking for a while about how much waste comes from a household. I decided to categories it to see where the majority of the waste comes from within a household. My observation directed me towards food, the amount of packaging that food requires is unbelievable. The amount of plastic bags that are still being used by grocery shoppers every day is a serious issue. Another huge issue that is current is the amount of plastic bottles used for water; once again this could also be targeted in my thesis. My goals are to design a grocery store that would use reusable containers, and to create a new system for carrying the reusable containers other then bags.

Audience
The audience for this thesis is for homeowners, housewives, students and everyone else who does the grocery shopping for them self or for whoever they are living with. This thesis is directed at individuals who do grocery shopping. They are the individuals that will be targeted because they are the ones who make the choices as to what product they are going to buy; and they will decide if they will return the re usable container.

Realization
After a lot of ethnographic research is done, I will have a concrete idea of what the deliverables might be; and how I will solve the problems that has been created. Some of the deliverables I can for see may include Packaging, Branding, Web Design, posters, pamphlets, brochures etc. I can see a lot of necessary production for this project to work. If there is time I could go to lengths to design a new shopping cart and also an object to help carry the re usable containers. This means I will possibly be getting into some
Industrial Design.

Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes of this project will most likely change, but at this point I can see myself producing some packaging. I will be designing a new system and I will end up branding a new grocery store. Branding and packaging will increase my experience as a designer. If I am lucky I might get to work with an industrial designer which would be a learning experience. All of these things will help my portfolio, having a large assignment in there will create more diversity.

Important Sources

1. Gordon L. Robertson. “Food Packaging Principles and Practice Second Edition”. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group. 2006. 1-9

Annotated Bibliography
This source discuses how food packaging can be done in a safe way. First the author goes over the history of food packaging and then moves on into greater detail into how it is done. It discusses how and what causes food to be contaminated and how it can be prevented. The author goes into greater detail about different materials that are used.

Review
Robertson source is perfect for my thesis because he gives a brief but good description of the history of packaging. This relates to my thesis because in order to move forward I need to understand the changes and what errors that were previously made. He goes into detail about how to properly preserve food, this is going to be important for my thesis to be successful. Without this knowledge I will be unable to package food properly.

2. Nirmal Selvamony, Nirmaldasan, Rayson K. Alex. “Essay in Ecovriticism”. Probhat Kumar Sharm: Osle-India, Chennai, and Sarup & Sons. 1st Edition – 2007. 233-239

Annotated Bibliography
This source talks about garbage in the age of consumerism, Selvamony goes through the effects and how the process works. The author talks about all the different types of waste that are created and how they are disposed off. He gets into detail on how the garbage keeps piling up and then moves on to how we could solve this issue.

Review
Selvamony is a great help to understanding the issues we have currently with waste. This relates to my thesis because he goes through all the details in the different types of waste created. This source is useful because it supports my thesis, he talks about how much waste is created by America.

3. James T. Byrd. “Food Preserving Package and Method of Closure” March 1970.

Annotated Bibliography
This source is basically an information list of how to package different types of consumer products properly. Some examples include, Valve for vented package, Food process, Flexible package for granulized solids and liquids, Plastic bag with integral venting structure, Ovenable package for bacon, Microwavable package incorporating controlled venting, Ovenable package for bacon, Tablet case and Microwave food package.

Review
This source is extremely important because it is a list of information about a bunch of items and then it explains how you package them in a safe way. If I can understand what the purpose is for all the packaging and how it preserves food I may be able to find an alternate method. By knowing what is needed, I will also no what is not needed so I can eliminate it. I can use this information to help me when designing a “Return” system for a grocery store, it can help me identify which materials will be successful for which foods and which materials will not be.

4. Corolina Berkin, Marylyn Carrigan, Isabelle Szmigin. “Empowerment, waste and new consumption communities”. The University of Brimingham 2005. 32-38

Annotated Bibliography
This source is a paper on a study that Corolina did in the UK, she used ethnographic research to study how people react and deal with there waste. It is all based on her observations rather then what people say they do.

Review
This source is extremely beneficial to my thesis because she has done some observational ethnographic research to see what individuals do with there waste rather then what they say they do. Knowing weather or not people do actually recycle their waste is important. If someone wont recycle then how am I going to convince them to return an object which is used to carry their food in. Once again the answer to that will probably be all in the return rate.

5. Shirley L. Barber. “Life Cycle of a Consumer Product”. 2002

Annotated Bibliography
This source goes through the entire cycle of consumer products; starting from when the materials are extracted from the earth to it being put into a landfill.

Review
This source goes through the entire consumer waste cycle, I can study it and hopefully figure out where a fair point is to control how much packaging is used to ship the product. A high percentage of the waste is created before the product even gets to the grocery store.

6. Donald L. Sparks. Advances in Agronomy Volume 74. Academic Press 2001. 100 - 103

Annotated Bibliography
Sparks goes through the whole process of bamboo, he starts by discussing how it is grown and the history of it. He talks about how it is currently being used and how it is used in the past in Asia. Bamboo has been used all through Asia’s history and proves to be useful. He discusses the different types of bamboo and what it can be used for etc.

Review
Bamboo is a biodegradable material which is very strong and has many uses, this source is helpful because it explains what bamboo can be used for.

7. Rowan Robinson. The Great book of Hemp: The complete guide to the environmental, comercial and medicinal uses of the worlds most extraodinary plant. Park Street Press. 45 - 50

Annotated Bibliography
Robinson gives the reader the history of hemp, what its current and historical uses are and what they could be in the future.

Review
Most of this book is useful for my thesis because it has all the uses of Hemp in it. Hemp seems to be able to be made into anything, in Australia they have made hemp plastic. Research into hemp is important because it could influence the final outcome of my project, it could be based on hemp.

8. “Ontario launches wine and liquor bottle return system.” Nupge 1995 - 2010 .

Annotated Bibliography
This source talks about the LCBO and Beer Store bottle return system, it talks about there plans and how returning the bottles makes a difference.

Review
This source relates to my thesis because it explains that LCBO’s goal was to keep eighty million bottles out of the landfills a year in Canada. It discuses the process by which the bottles go through and apparently its not that much better for the environment but at least it wont end up in a landfill. The article claims that we need a system that guarantees the bottles to be used more then one time. At the beer store beer bottles are re used fifteen to twenty times each. This is important to my thesis because learning about the return system would allow me to re create it for a grocery store.

9. Joseph Alba; John Lynch; Barton Weitz; Chris Janiszewski. Interactive Home Shopping: consumer, retailer and manufacturer Incentives to participate in electronic market places. ABI/INFORM. jul 1997; 61, 3. pg. 38

Annotated Bibliography
This source talks about online shopping, its advantages and disadvantages for both the consumer, retailers and manufacturers. They talk about how when you shopping online you can compare prices a lot easier etc.

review
This source is useful for my thesis because after reading that grocery shopping is stressful for some individuals. Grocery shopping online could be something that is going to happen in the future, this makes it something that I should further research. Online shopping allows people to compare prices and also purchase without the pressure of a sales person. This source is useful for my thesis because it could alter my deliverables.

BEST THESIS IDEA SO FAR, AFTER CLASS PRESENTATION

Designing packaging which can adapt to a "return" program at a grocery store.

So after presenting my 3 ideas to the class it seems as though the other 2 ideas are over done at OCAD. Therefore I have decided to work with the return system, this still leaves a lot of room for making decisions on what my final idea will be next semester.

Do It Yourself Bamboo

Bamboo can be taken apart as you can see in this image and used to build whatever you want. Image is taken from (Do it yourself Bamboo) linked to this blog. Exploration on how to use/build with this material may prove to be useful for packaging food. Bamboo does not have a bad reputation like hemp. Regardless I will continue to explore both materials. On the website bamboo is used to build kitchens. Bamboo has the ability to grow extremely fast like grass, this makes it extremely reliable.

Thesis Proposal 3 "RESTURN" SYSTEM

ABSTRACT
By studying the return program which the LCBO/Beer Store I will be able to apply it to a grocery store. If the return rate is high enough for per say a glass container that contains meat, then the customer will return it. Designing a new shopping cart would be involved, because the current one may not work with the new designs of the containers. Also some sort of device will need to be created for the costumer to be able transport their food with ease.

RESEARCH QUESTION
Designing packaging, which can adopt the “return” program within a grocery store.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
I chose this topic because there is a need to reduce the amount of waste we create. After thinking for a while about how much waste comes from a household, I decided to categories it to see where the majority of the waste comes from within my household. My observation directed me towards food. The amount of plastic bags that are used by grocery shoppers every day is a serious issue. I believe this could also be targeted in my thesis. Another huge issue that is current is the amount of plastic bottles used for water; once again this could also be targeted in my thesis.

AUDIENCE
The audience for this thesis is for homeowners, housewives, students and everyone else who do the grocery shopping for them self or for their family. This thesis is directed at individuals who do grocery shopping. They are the individuals that will be targeted because they are the ones who make the choices as to which product they are going to buy. Therefore I must convince them to buy my product, while it is sitting amongst many other products. This makes them my target audience.

REALIZATION
After a lot of ethnographic research is done, I will have a concrete idea of what the deliverables maybe, or how I will solve the problem that has been created. Some of the deliverables I can for see may include Packaging, Branding, Web Design, posters, pamphlets, brochures etc. I can see a lot of necessary production for this project to work. If there is time I could go to lengths to design a new shopping cart, which means I will possibly be getting into some Industrial Design.

3 Thesis Ideas

1. Reducing packaging of grocery store goods to a minimum, goal to be minimum or zero.
2. Creating a new style of packaging for consumer goods using biodegradable materials.
3. Designing packaging which can adapt to a "return" program at a grocery store.

New Sources of energy

Very cool new sources of energy.

MindMap

Helping to come up with other thesis ideas or further my current idea

Revolution Video 2

The goal of this assignment was to take the word Revolution and use expressive typography to show what this word means to you. I had a lot of fun doing this project because it gave me an opportunity to learn Flash again. Because of this I would like to learn After Effects over the summer and then maybe i can use it for my thesis.

Revolution Video 1

Interesting Packaging Ideas

Food Packaging ideas, idea comes from what the hospitals use to package organs.