Stripes Packaging Series by Ridzert Ingenegeren

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DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?

RI : The idea was to create a packaging series for the Bergkvist knives that is suitable as gift packaging. My client and I also wanted to make it an eco-friendly alternative to many other knife packagings that are currently used on the market.

DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?

RI : There were two main focuses, namely to provide an interesting unboxing experience and to create sustainable products.

DI: What are your future plans for this award winning design?

RI : The packagings are already used for successfully selling knives of the Bergkvist brand. As with other designs I create, it is my wish for the packaging to help my client succeed.

DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?

RI : Designing the main concept took less than two months, after which a few months were needed to finalize product development with the manufacturer.

DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?

RI : The design was commissioned by Bergkvist. The collaborative approach of my client and me was to find ways to make the packaging more sustainable than previous versions and other products on the market.

DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?

RI : The packaging series is being produced by my client in collaboration with a manufacturer.

DI: What made you design this particular type of work?

RI : I looked at the packaging series from the perspective of recycling, combined with using renewable materials. Many packagings that are currently on the market use EVA foam to protect and present the product it carries. EVA foam does its job nicely, but has a low recyclability rate and is often hard to separate from its cardboard packaging. The Stripes packaging series is made 100% recyclable with paper, which means that the packagings can be disposed of in one go in a paper recycling bin. The inner cardboard of the packagings, as well as the brochures that comes with the knives, contain 100% recycled material. Extra care was taken to make the packaging plastic-free.

DI: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?

RI : The Bergkvist brand was the main inspiration for the design. After my client and I had discussed the desired outcome, I designed multiple options that we could choose from. Conversations with the team and manufacturer of my client influenced the design as well.

DI: Who is the target customer for his design?

RI : Everyone who would like to buy a Bergkvist knife. Another part of the target group for the design is someone who wants to give a folding knife to someone else, which is why we made the packagings suitable as gift boxes.

DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?

RI : The sustainable aspects: it is 100% recyclable with paper, has recycled materials for the inner cardboard and brochures. It is a plastic-free packaging without EVA foam or magnets.

DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?

RI : The name ‘Stripes’ refers to the different stripe patterns on the packagings. Each packaging has a stripe pattern that refers to the form language or style of the knife it contains.

DI: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?

RI : Graphic design software as well as CAD software.

DI: What is the most unique aspect of your design?

RI : The combination of being an esthetically pleasing gift box while at the same time being easy to recycle.

DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?

RI : I collaborated with my client, his team, and the manufacturer to get all the details right.

DI: What is the role of technology in this particular design?

RI : The conventional way of working with EVA foam as inlay material would have been easier, but we chose for a solution that is recyclable with paper. We compared various materials and arrived at bagasse, which is a type of paper made of waste from the sugarcane industry. The technology for creating a bagasse inlay is vastly different from the technology for creating an EVA foam inlay. Technology plays an important role in this design, because the technological possibilities are directly related to the material.

DI: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?

RI : My client performed market research that led to the start of the design project. On top of that, research into materials that are suitable for paper recycling was done together with the manufacturer.

DI: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?

RI : Challenges were to find the right materials and to eliminate plastic, while at the same time keeping the solution cost efficient.

DI: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?

RI : It would be great if the packaging series could be an inspiration for other people who design packagings or sell products, especially the sustainable aspects. If it would win an award from an international design competition, it should get more exposure and hopefully help with that goal.

DI: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?

RI : Doing something unconventional might take more time and perseverance, but if you handle challenges as a team, you might as well create something big!

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

RI : Well, if you’d like to develop a new product or packaging, you might want to start by having a look at www.ridzert.com