techdirections December 2012 : Page 27

An Interdisciplinary Graphics Activity 9qÛDac]Û=alr_]jYd\ÛYf\ÛK]jaÛKkgka] mfitzger@doe.state.in.us HE cereal box design activity is intriguing both for its simplicity and the resourcefulness that it can generate in young people. Also, it lends itself to a va-riety of curriculums. It covers both consumerism and Design for the Environment (DfE) concepts broadly and in depth. The activity introduces a wide range of topics. They include graphic design; basic drawing; sketching and rendering; measurement of area, vol-ume, and weight; technical presenta-tion skills; oral and written reports; the technological design process; applied problem solving; marketing; consumer research; eco-packaging; environmental education; recycling; point-of-purchase displays; and con-siderations of form, function, and aesthetics. Teachers can easily adapt the ac-tivity to serve as an interdisciplinary project throughout the school. Art, math, science, family and consumer sciences, music, health, history, social studies, language arts, English, and computer education each have a logical piece of the puzzle to contrib-ute. Students can have related real-world experience through a ﬁeld trip to a local grocery store. They can research packaging, products, and consumer activity within their own community. Finally—and perhaps best of all—students ﬁnd this activity fun, rewarding, and interesting! day’s marketplace has many similar competing brands of products. For example, at a grocery store students might ﬁnd three or four different brands of cola—a house brand, Coke, Pepsi, RC, and so forth. The manufac-turer of each will work with package designers and advertising people to develop packaging, logos, and ad-vertising campaigns that will create demand for their product and coun-ter the appeal of the competition. Packaging can consist of a wide variety of materials, including paper and related products, plastics, glass, wood, composites, and metals. Spe-cialized packaging includes glass bottles for perfumes, plastic pump containers for toothpaste, microwav-able containers for food, and sealable foil packaging for cereal boxes. The design, shape, colors, and speciﬁc materials selected reﬂect the considerable effort made by com-panies to produce both functional and attractive packaging. And, again, packaging design aims to develop a need in the consumer at the point of purchase. One overall goal in many designs involves making a product unique in appearance over its direct competition. Package design must take several factors into account. First, the pack-FZb][lan]kÛ After completing this activity students will be able to: ● Apply problem solving to meet a stated design challenge. ● Apply basic concepts of graphic design. ● Describe Design for the Environ-ment (DfE) concepts. ● Apply consumer research to produce a prototype product. ● Calculate the surface area of a package design. ● Calculate the volume of a pack-age design. GY[cY_]Û;]ka_f Packaging plays an important role in the marketing and distribu-tion of products. In today’s world of mass marketing and self-service, a product package is much more than just a container. In many instances, the packaging plays a key role in motivating customers to purchase a particular product. Packaging design can inspire a sense of need, emotion, and excitement in a consumer. To-Mike Fitzgerald is engineering and technology education specialist, Delaware Department of Education, Dover, and Teri Tsosie is director of technology, Hermosa Valley School, Hermosa Beach, CA. www.techdirections.com FREE SAMPLE—ON-DEMAND CLASSROOM PROJECT Û

Cereal Box Design

Mike Fitzgerald and Teri Tsosie

THE cereal box design activity is intriguing both for its simplicity and the resourcefulness that it can generate in young people. Also, it lends itself to a variety of curriculums. It covers both consumerism and Design for the Environment (DfE) concepts broadly and in depth. The activity introduces a wide range of topics. They include graphic design; basic drawing; sketching and rendering; measurement of area, volume, and weight; technical presentation skills; oral and written reports; the technological design process; applied problem solving; marketing; consumer research; eco-packaging; environmental education; recycling; point-of-purchase displays; and considerations of form, function, and aesthetics. Teachers can easily adapt the activity to serve as an interdisciplinary project throughout the school. Art, math, science, family and consumer sciences, music, health, history, social studies, language arts, English, and computer education each have a logical piece of the puzzle to contribute. Students can have related realworld experience through a field trip to a local grocery store. They can research packaging, products, and consumer activity within their own community. Finally—and perhaps best of all—students find this activity fun, rewarding, and interesting! Objectives After completing this activity students will be able to: -Apply problem solving to meet a stated design challenge. -Apply basic concepts of graphic design. -Describe Design for the Environment (DfE) concepts. -Apply consumer research to produce a prototype product. -Calculate the surface area of a package design. -Calculate the volume of a package design. Package Design Packaging plays an important role in the marketing and distribution of products. In today’s world of mass marketing and self-service, a product package is much more than just a container. In many instances, the packaging plays a key role in motivating customers to purchase a particular product. Packaging design can inspire a sense of need, emotion, and excitement in a consumer. Today’s marketplace has many similar competing brands of products. For example, at a grocery store students might find three or four different brands of cola—a house brand, Coke, Pepsi, RC, and so forth. The manufacturer of each will work with package designers and advertising people to develop packaging, logos, and advertising campaigns that will create demand for their product and counter the appeal of the competition. Packaging can consist of a wide variety of materials, including paper and related products, plastics, glass, wood, composites, and metals. Specialized packaging includes glass bottles for perfumes, plastic pump containers for toothpaste, microwavable containers for food, and sealable foil packaging for cereal boxes. The design, shape, colors, and specific materials selected reflect the considerable effort made by companies to produce both functional and attractive packaging. And, again, packaging design aims to develop a need in the consumer at the point of purchase. One overall goal in many designs involves making a product unique in appearance over its direct competition. Package design must take several factors into account. First, the pack-age must protect its contents. Second, a package must meet reasonable cost standards. With many products, the cost of packaging represents a major expense—in some cases, the packaging costs more than the contents that it protects. Once the requirements of package—protection and cost—have been satisfactorily addressed, marketing and advertising considerations come in. The functional aspects of package design call for creating a package that is easy to handle and store, durable, not readily soiled, neatly stackable, and suitable for its contents. Color, transparent windows, text, and graphics can enhance product attractiveness. Another consideration involves the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966, which states that the packaging and labeling of products should give consumers accurate information as to content quality so that consumers can make value comparisons. Interdisciplinary Details Here are some of the many ways that an activity in packaging design can fit in different areas of the school curriculum: Technology education, art, computer education—Graphic design concepts, sketching, drawing, rendering, logo design, package design. Health/family and consumer science— Nutrition, diet, consumerism, product labels. Science and mathematics—Instruction in volume, area, mass, prediction, environmental education, material science, pollution, environmental impacts of pollution. Social studies, history, business education—Environmentalism, marketing, advertising, market research, market target groups. Music education, language arts, English—Script writing, commercials, commercial jingles, mass marketing, strategic planning. Design for the Environment In addition to considerations discussed above, manufacturers must also try to make packaging design choices that are good for the environment. Many manufacturers now consider concerns of ecology and the environment. Attention to these issues responds to the need to reduce hazardous materials in both packaging and products. Also, designers and manufacturers must continue to support recycling efforts found in communities throughout the United States. Eco policies in design are a form of environmental stewardship that works with both product and package designers to meet the following goals: -Design for energy efficiency. -Design for recovery. -Design for reuse. -Design for recycling. -Design for reduction of hazardous materials. These concepts are summarized in the environmental “Four Rs”: reduce, reuse, recover, and recycle. Manufacturers must consider: How much energy it will take to produce the product? How much energy will the product use in its life cycle? How can the parts be recovered for reuse? What parts can be recycled? Can the parts of the product that are potentially hazardous be reduced or eliminated? The DfE (Design-for-Environment) programs that manufacturers and designers implement must not only look into how a product will be used by consumers today but also take an in-depth look into the overall life cycle of the product and its packaging. Every year, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) imposes stricter standards. Legal compliance regarding environmental concerns has grown increasingly important as a design consideration in manufacturing. Sample Math Extension Activity Extensions for this activity can lead students toward a more concrete understanding of both volume and surface area. A math activity that teachers could conduct could include measuring various containers to find their surface area and volume. Science skills can figure in by having students predict the mass of a given volume for various products. 1. Introduce students to the concepts of volume (V) and surface area (SA). 2. Assign to the students and/or the teacher to collect 20+ assorted forms of packaging. The packaging shapes should vary from simple to complex. Packaging such as a cereal box, a gift box, soda can, liquid detergent, and so forth, that combine prisms, cubes, and cylindrical shapes would be good. 3. Show students how to calculate the volume (V) and surface area (SA) of a simple package and of a complex package. 4. Team students to calculate the volume and surface area of various simple packages. 5. Provide each team with a complex package, such as a liquid detergent bottle, to calculate. 6. Have students sketch the packaging and calculate its volume and surface area. 7. Have students present their results to their classmates. Student Design Problem Research Conduct research on the Internet and in print to find out how cereal companies develop a new cereal. Research various package designs and find one appropriate for resealing cereal to keep it fresh. Determine the type of information you must include on food packaging. Take notes on your findings so that you can reference the information you’ve gathered as you complete this activity. Materials Possible materials and tools include paper, plastic wrap, cellophane, pencils, colored markers, scissors, clip art, glue sticks, basic drawing tools, computer, drawing/paint or CAD software, electronic clip art, and children’s coloring books. Procedure 1. Locate a cereal box that is empty and take it apart without damaging the box. Find the glued tab and cut down that fold. 2. Complete design sheets for proposed cereal boxes. 3. Make sure you include all elements you need in your cereal box design. Double check your design brief! Measure each side of your box. Make notations of your box’s measurements on your design sheet. Your cereal box must include the following elements: -Company logo -Resealable flap -Universal product code (UPC) label -Brand name -Nutrition information (a list of ingredients) -Consumer information -Graphics/color -Weight of contents 4. Select your best design. 5. Determine whether to design your box by hand or use a computer drawing/word-processing program to design each side of your box. 6. Print all sides of your box. 7. Glue the sides you have created to the cereal box you disassembled in step 1. 8. Write a one-page report explaining the design of your cereal box and its graphics that include: -Cost to produce -Selling price -Market target -Ease of handling and storage by the consumer -List of ingredients 9. Give a one- to two-minute presentation of your cereal product to the class. Your presentation will include the prototype cereal box, marketing target, cost to produce, selling price, storage, and ingredients. Think of the members of your class as the board of directors of your company. If you successfully sell your idea, you will receive a bonus, a new car, and a condominium in Hawaii!

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