Active Ecological Packaging LIFI (Student Project)

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Derrick Lin

Global

Designer: Edmundas Jankauskas
Project Type: Student Project
School: Vilnius Academy of Arts
Course: Visual Communication Design
Tutor: Assoc. prof. Robertas Jucaitis
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Packaging Contents: Herbs
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Fallen tree leaves
Printing Process: Digital printing

By different counts, every year we lose almost 1/3 (which is almost 1.4 billion tonnes) of the food we grow and produce. With this amount of food we could feed one billion people and defeat starvation. At the same time we throw immense amounts of plastics into our environment. These two major problems gave the ground inspiration to create a packaging and a product which would allow consumer to grow their own food and reduce the amount of trash.

By analyzing an impact of social, economical and environmental changes to packaging (and vice versa) I managed to distinguish three main categories of future packaging: interactive, active and smart. Active packaging is the only one which is able to make an impact on how the product is consumed without asking for interaction from the consumer. An example would be a sustainable packaging. Therefore, this category was selected as a base for this creative project.

Most of the fallen leaves, collected in the city parks, are often burned thus losing energy. It is a great material full of minerals and easy to form. The leaves are washed and crushed with a mixer, producing fiber, which then can be put into mold, compressed and dried. The final result is a strong package full of minerals. A graphic representation of herb is used on the labels combined with the hand written fonts to create a personalized feeling and to establish a connection with a consumer.

Project is a result of 2 year (2015-2017) Master studies in Vilnius Academy of Arts.

What’s Unique?
LIFI is made of two parts: an active ecological packaging and herb seeds. The package itself is made out of processed fallen tree leaves collected in the forests of Lithuania. The hand made package is filled with seeds and a cover is formed. When user opens and waters the product, packaging starts to dissolve and helps plant to grow. This product is an alternative to the in-store found herbs, which are often plastic packaged. It can be reused many times or just thrown away.