Paper
Plastics
There are two different types of plastics:
- Thermoplastics
- Thermosetting plastics
Thermoplastics:
- Are recyclable
- They don’t resist heat
- They are easily formed into shapes
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A moulded shape can be reheated and it will return to its original state- the material is known as having plastic memory.
- Examples of thermoplastics: acrylic, ABS, polystyrene and polythene
Thermosetting plastics:
- Are non-recyclable
- Resist heat and fire
- These types of plastics undergo a chemical change when heated to become hard and rigid
- Examples of thermosetting plastics: melamine-formaldehyde, polyester resin, epoxy resin and urea-formaldehyde
Die Cutting and Folding
Paper and card with straight edges are cut to shape and size in batches on large guillotines. Die cutting is a machine process where a quantity of irregular shaped design can be manufactured, providing the paper is not too thin. This includes cutting the outside shape and any holes within the design.
Using a CAD/CAM system, a blade is made for the machine, rather like a pastry cutter, and the design stamped out. This method is used extensively in the packaging industry to cut out the net of a design. Laser cutters enable sample prototypes to be made and evaluated quickly and cheaply.
Any folds in the design are achieved in the same way except that the blade does not cut right through the design but merely squashes it against a shaped recess, forming a line along which the fold is later made.
Laminating
Laminating is similar to varnishing. It provides a high gloss finish, which also increases the durability of the printed product. It achieves this by bonding a thin plastic coating over the entire printed surface after printing. Laminating is more than twice as expensive as varnishing, but does provide a glossier finish, and much greater protection. This is important if a large number of people are to handle the product.
Varnishing
Applying a thin glossy varnish to a printed product helps protect it at the same time as making it look more attractive. Varnishing requires a further stage on the printing process after all the colours have been printed, but before any necessary folding, cutting and trimming.
Spot based varnishing is a method of printing a layer of varnish over a specific part of a printed surface to provide a dramatic highlight. The glossy varnish is usually applied over colour photographs or graphic shapes to create a contrast with the surrounding matt background.
The four types of varnish are:
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Oil based, which takes between two to eight hours to dry and is the cheapest to use.
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Water based, which involves the use of a special machine.
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Ultraviolet, which are highly smooth and glossy and dry almost instantly but requires that the ink must be completely dry: this adds cost and time to the production process.
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Spirit based, which are now environmentally unacceptable. Varnishes can be applied until the ink has dried, unless special ultraviolet inks are used.
Embossing
It is the process by which a portion of the surface is raised above the surrounding of an area. It is done for effect, both visual and to the touch; it also provides a very subtle look and feel of quality. This effect is enhanced when used in conjunction with carefully chosen typography and textured papers.
The required shape is pressed into the printed work using a steel die. Embossing involves a separate stage in the production process, after any varnishing and laminating. It costs about the same as printing, so if a design includes ink and embossing it will cost twice as much. Most types of card and paper can be embossed, and there are no restrictions on size. Other printing effects include the use of metallic papers called foil blocking and inks, and holography.
The table below summarises the applications, advantages, disadvantages
and cost for the finishes I have researched on, from the above information:
Red, blue and yellow are known as primary colours. They cannot be made by mixing any other colours together. Secondary colours are green, purple and orange, which are produced by mixing the primaries together. If you mix a primary colour with a secondary colour you will create a tertiary colour.
Complimentary colours are those which are opposite each other on the colour wheel, for example blue and orange. These colours create contrast, while colours which are close to each other on the wheel create harmony.
The actual colour, such as red or green, is described as the hue. The hue can be changed by adding white to lighten (a tone) or black to darken it (a shade).
The red, yellows and oranges are on one side of the colour wheel and are known as ‘warm’ colours, while the blues and greens opposite are ‘cold’ colours.
Colours can be used to create harmony and contrast. Colour is always affected by light and texture.
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Modern colour printing uses dots of the three primary colours (yellow, magenta and cyan) to create a full range of colours when mixed together on the page. These are known as process colours.
Different colours are more suited to different types of products and services.
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Red is often used to whet the appetite and to sell fast food
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Orange suggests power and is used for strong cleaners, health foods and drinks
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Yellow represents long life (i.e. durability), sunlight and sunsets
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Green is the colour of nature and safety and is used to indicate ‘environmentally friendly’ products. It is also the colour of money
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Blue stands for reliability and is therefore popular with banks, travel companies etc.
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Purple expresses smoothness and excitement, and is therefore used for luxury and exotic products.
Typography is not just about neat lettering. The appearance of words can be used to attract attention, to look decorative and interesting, and to suggest a particular time or place.
Graphic designers need to select typefaces very carefully. They need to specify a particular font, its size and weight, its colour, and the amount of space around it.
Anatomy of a Letter
- Capital letter, or uppercase (sometimes called a majuscule).
- Lowercase, or minuscule.
- Point size: the measurement taken from the top of the k to the bottom of the g.
- X-height: the overall height of the body of the lowercase letters.
- Capital height: for use in capital alphabets.
- Baseline: an imaginary line on which the body of the letters rest.
- Ascenders: those parts of a character rising above the body.
- Descenders: those parts of a character below the baseline.
- Counters: the white, nonprinting areas within a piece of type.
Each style of lettering has its own very distinctive tone of voice. Different typefaces can express a wide variety of feelings. It is possible to use a typeface to help shout or whisper a message, or to attract attention to it. Alternatively you might want your words to look and sound:
- Traditional and reassuring
- Romantic and relaxed
- Stimulating and exciting
- Creative and unusual
Meanwhile some typeface styles make us think of particular situations or periods of history.
It is essential that typefaces are easy to read. Some typestyles are more legible than others, but their size and space between the words and letters make a great deal of difference. Lighter and more condensed typestyles need to be larger to be easily read, whilst bolder more extended typefaces can be smaller.
Below are some examples of different typestyles:
Although the titles of these fonts suggest the style of them, I have looked at what effect each one gives the reader and I have suggested when you would use each typestyle e.g. for a poster
Size of typefaces is measured in points. One ‘point’ is 1/72nd of an inch (which is about 25mm), so a 72pt letter would be about 25mm high.
As well as the height of each letter, the width needs to be considered. Most typefaces come in a range of widths.
The size of typeface depends on:
- The number of letters used
- The amount of space available
- How noticeable the text needs to be
When making my product I will have to use different methods of joining things e.g. Pritt Stick. I have researched into a variety of these different methods by looking at their uses, advantages and disadvantages. From this information I will be able to choose which method(s) will be suitable to apply to my final product.
Below is a table of the information I have gathered:
Ergonomics is concerned with improving the design of existing machines and systems in order to improve their suitability to the user, which will enable users to utilise them in a more comfortable and effective manner. When carrying out these studies there are many considerations, which have to be taken into account, such as size, weight and age of the user and how long the user may be working in this environment. Also, if the product is not utilised correctly it may be dangerous to the user and hence can affect the health of the user.
Ergonomics can be applied to nearly all environments- desks, chairs, kitchen plans, factory layouts- everywhere that people work and move about.
For my project, I will have to consider the ergonomics concerned mainly with handgrips as these are to be considered when designing/ producing my packaging. I will also need to consider the ergonomics involved with handgrips, as these aspects will also apply to my bag.
Handgrips-
Handles do not always fit the hand well, but the hand can easily adapt to their use. However use of items like these in constant or prolonged use can cause fatigue and bruising of the soft tissue. Better handles offer a larger contact with the hand and where the force can be spread out evenly over a larger area. Texture can help improve grip and avoid slipping.
In my research I gathered information, which will help me design and make packaging for a range of fast food products.
As part of my research, I carried out a questionnaire to find out what the public thinks about existing packaging products. To make sure my questionnaire did not give me biased results, I questioned 30 random people, 15 males and 15 females, in the town centre. I found out that the majority of the people I asked fell into an age group of between 21 and 25. The most popular take away was Chinese. The people that I questioned found that most of the packaging they have used has been made out of card and foil. They also found that packaging has not been clearly labelled or printed on, and that bags they have used to carry the food away in have not been strong enough to carry the load. Most of the bags that have been previously used have been made out of plastic. I also found that when I asked whether or not people found foil containers to hot to hold/ eat out of, I received an equal response i.e. 15 people said yes and 15 people said no. Therefore, I cannot actually come to a conclusion about whether or not people find foil containers to hot to hold or eat out of.
I also found that fast food take and take away restaurants have very different needs in terms of packaging. Many fast food restaurants do not use crockery, but instead serve the food in plastic and card containers. Paper and card are used extensively in the packaging industry, as they are cheap to be made out of these, provided the production run is more than 1000 units. Their main disadvantage is that they become weak if they get wet.
The most suitable finishes for take away packaging would be die cutting and embossing.
The main colours associated with China are red, black and gold. From my research on colour, I found out that the colour red is often used to whet the appetite and to sell fast food. Therefore, my packaging will be more attractive and eye-catching if I use this hue on my final products.
I will also have to consider ergonomics and anthropometrics within my project, as these will apply to fast food packaging.
I also sent a letter of enquiry to McDonald’s and I received an information pack, which includes information about how social responsibilities e.g. environmental affairs and the community have to be taken into consideration. The information pack also contains information regarding recycling, litter control, health and safety and quality/ standards. The information pack is very useful as McDonalds is a worldwide business and all the aspects mentioned above, and many more, have obviously had to be taken into account. I can use this information within my own project and as all aspects do not apply I will use as much of the information provided as I can.
I have also analysed existing products. I looked at existing bags, menus, packaging boxes and chopstick wrappers. From the existing menus I analysed I found that they were mostly A4 in size. I have talked about their main features and from this I will now be able to extract attractive/ eye-catching aspects from each of the different products, which I can then use when making my own.
I have also found out that the most effective construction method to use for my packaging would either be PVA glue or double-sided sticky tape because they are cheap and are good for lightweight objects. I will also incorporate a tab to assemble the boxes so that they can be stacked and then only assembled when they are needed.
I feel that I have fully researched into aspects which are involved within my project. From my research I can now consider including these aspects within my own products and making them fulfil the users’ needs i.e. the products should be relevant to my target audience by fulfilling their preferences.
Specification
Logo
- This should be attractive
- It should be printed in colour
- It should display the name of the take away, either in English or Chinese
Menu
- The menu should be made out of paper
- It should be A4 in size
- It should contain colour, so as to be attractive
- It should be clear and easy-to-read
- The front should contain the logo, the name of the take away, a contact number, the address and details regarding opening hours
Packaging box
- The box should be able to be folded away so that it can be stacked and then only assembled when it is required
- It should contain a locking mechanism which will enable the box to be assembled only when required
- It should contain a version of the logo and clearly display the name of the take away
- It should also display a graphic and/or text telling customers to dispose of litter appropriately
- The box should make use of colour as this will make it attractive, but the fact that the box will be thrown away once it has been used should also be bared in mind, hence a two-colour print would be most appropriate.
Packaging box containing clear insert
- The box should be able to be folded away so that it can be stacked and then only assembled when it is required
- It should contain a locking mechanism which will enable the box to be assembled only when required
- It should contain a version of the logo and clearly display the name of the take away
- It should display a graphic and/or text telling customers to dispose of litter appropriately
- This box should also contain a clear insert, which will go on the lid of the box
- The box should make use of colour as this will make it attractive, but the fact that the box will be thrown away once it has been used should also be bared in mind, hence a two-colour print would be most appropriate.
Bag
- It should be made out of paper, as it will be thrown away
- It should contain some colour
- It should clearly display the name of the take away and the logo
- It should be big enough to carry quite a large load
Chopstick wrapper
- This should be made out of paper
- It should make use of colour
- It should be long enough to be able to hold a pair of chopsticks
- The front should contain a version of the logo and clearly display the name of the take away
- The back will give instructions about how to use chopsticks
- The back should also have at least two different graphics showing customers how to use chopsticks