No Bull Cause x Into Carry
As part of my Capstone project for my Associate Degree in Graphic Design, I had to come up with packaging design. This could be a box or something more complicated. My project was the No Bull Cause, packaging was something I was trying to avoid. So how can I meet the criteria of assessment but also withhold No Bull’s zero waste philosophy?
I teamed up with ZeroTag and Into Carry to come up with a solution that could integrate into my degree and solve a real world problem.
I wanted to design a product that allowed refilling milk from places like The Udder Way and Schultz to integrate into customers lives easier. I designed a bag to hold the Schultz re-fillable glass bottles as I noted that they did not have a handle like a traditional plastic milk bottle. This was a pain point for people who wanted to adopt milk on tap.
I worked with ZeroTag CEO, Joseph Yap, who commissioned me to design him a product.
I settled on using Into Carry as my manufacturing inspiration. I wanted to design a bag that would meet the 3D requirements for my degree. This meant designing the bag as if it were a net, a 2D shape that could be constructed into a 3D one. The final design was made of precision cut milk cartons and a recycled plastic sheet, held together with press studs and edge ribbing.
Brief
Design and produce a sustainable, cost effective product that promotes the uptake of milk refill.
Prototypes
I began by creating scale prototypes using paper, then going to flexible plastic. I showed the design prototype to founder of Into Carry, Luke Phillips. He told me where I could improve and what changes had to be made if I wanted to produce it the Into Carry way. I implemented these changes, removing the lid and creating a much more natural looking design. I called this version “The Corner cutter” as I literally cut the corners off the scale paper model. By removing material, it made the bag easier to make and more sustainable as a whole.
Design
No digital software was used to create the final design, I relied on traditional methods. I spent most of my time at Luke’s workshop designing with my hands. It gave me a real understanding of the material I had chosen to work with.
I produced 3 prototypes, one of which was made to test the tolerance of the press studs.
These are the designs I submitted for my degree, helping me achieve the “Best Capstone” award.
I designed the bag using graphic design, the output just happened to be 3D.
Photography: Felix Toohey, Joseph Yap
Going Into Production
ZeroTag wanted to put the bag into small-scale production.
I redesigned a few elements to make the manufacturing quicker and easier. I removed the shoulder pouldren as we realised that it added no additional support. I also re-designed the shape slightly so that the bag material could be cut on a cricut machine. Each bag was comprised of 2 milk cartons. We had no issue sourcing these cartons as Luke’s cafe went through hundreds in a month.
The carbon footprint for this product ended up being astoundingly small. The bag was entirely made next to the cafe where the waste milk cartons were coming from.
Myself and ZeroTag commissioned Into Carry to produce 50 units of the updated design. Sales began on the 2nd of September, 2023 at the Zero Waste Festival in Melbourne.
For the photography of the product, I wanted to reference the original No Bull tagline, “Zero waste is not a myth”. Wouldn’t it be cool if traditional myths were wearing the bag, like Big Foot?
Unfortunately, I couldn’t get anyone to wear a hairy costume. So I replicated the style of photography often associated with the myth sightings. I also wanted to push the product beyond milk on tap and market it towards the out door.
Photography: Mika Wilhelms, Felix Toohey
Featuring Mira Everson, Albert, Felix Toohey, Mika Wilhelms Shimroth Thomas, Joseph Yap
