Sustainability inspires creative students to new inventions

This month, students studying the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Graphics Design were inspired by sustainability, entering a eco-friendly Easter competition. 

Easter is a time of year that generates a large amount of single-use plastic waste. In a more environmentally aware society, students were tasked with ensuring the seasonal event continued without making a negative impact on the planet. 

Students were given cartonboard as the single material to be used. The design had to have a secondary usage, to which students chose game designs. 

The client; Graphic Packaging International, are a leading provider of sustainable paper-based packaging solutions tasked students, using 100% cartonboard, to design an Easter gift pack that would appeal to 11-17 year old. 

Megan Rixon came up with the idea of packaging containing chocolate eggs in 9 smaller boxes that you could play tic tac toe (noughts & crosses) with. The winner each time gets to open a box and eat the egg. 

Mackenzie Taylor developed the idea of producing a chocolate counter version of the game ‘Connect 4’, called ‘Connect 3’. The packaging forms into a vertical grid to which the counters are dropped into. The object of the game is to get three in a row. The counters can still be used once the chocolate content has been eaten.

The PDF Design presentation boards submitted had to show the development of the wholes idea from packaging and surface graphics research, through ideas development and prototype designs and then the final packaging net, surface graphics and constructed package.

Both Megan and Mackenzie’s designs have been sent off to be entered into the competition and await the results.