RMIT is a global university of technology, design and enterprise ranked within the top 250 universities in the world. The AIP is the peak professional body for packaging education and training in Australasia. We were contacted by RMIT to assist in the design of a set of design criteria guidelines for Australia's packaging professionals. The criteria set out to highlight key design considerations in designing packaging that minimised food waste.
Research
As the primary body for packaging design within Australasia, the AIP sets the standard for design. Conducting extensive industry research, including interviews with industrial designs and AIP staff, was crucial in understanding just how flexible our designed needed to be. We were creating something which had to be used on various levels: A set of slides used for presentations by AIP representatives; A guideline for industry professionals, both experienced and start-ups; A reference guide for industrial and graphic designers; and a intuitive guide for information-hungry consumers.
Concept development
We worked closely with the AIP to develop a full iconography—not simply a system of visual representation, but a language that properly worked to express key parts of the design criteria document. We wanted to make the document as flexible as possible. Working with the team at RMIT, we worked out an interactive way of navigation, to account for the multiple ways the document would be viewed (as a presentation, in pieces as a reference, as a snapshot overview).
Application
Using a rigorous feedback framework involving consumers, AIP staff and industry professionals, we settled on a structure which highlighted award-winning examples of packaging design using a tailor-made icon language. The document was fully adaptable and editable, to account for future design input and updates.
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The Outcome
The AIP has reported positive feedback from the design criteria guidelines. Industry responses have shown an increased awareness around the minimisation of food waste on a design level in food packaging, particularly amongst newer, less-experienced companies in the sector.
