Inside/Out of the Box

For our final small project, we were tasked with the job to create a package for a light bulb. Nowadays, usually a light bulb is stored on the shelf in a store with at least on side of the bulb exposed so the consumer can visually assess the bulb, the manufacturer uses the minimal amount of chipboard to make this happen, as to conserve costs. However, as the consumer, I worry more about dropping the box and then the light bulb shattering. So as designers, my team took the practical side and general consumer concerns to heart. We decided that the bulb’s casing should protect the bulb in case of an accident, so we created a cardboard box with newspaper insulation around the bulb, in the case if it fell, the newspaper would act as a cushion, weathering the fall. Newspaper and cardboard we decided upon so that it would be as environmentally friendly as possible and could easily be reused or recycled. In addition, as consumers, we noted that often times, the packaging often opens with the bulb side up, making it difficult to grab the bulb in its container without fear of it falling, so as a solution, we made the packaging where the blub in facing down, with the base upwards, allowing for an easier grip by the consumer. Furthermore, light bulbs are difficult items to recycle and throw away, so we added a shipping label onto the box, enabling the consumer to place the old bulb into the packaging of the new bulb, tape it up, and send it back to the company, ensuring a more environmentally safe disposal method. Inside the box, we created instructions for both the application of using a light bulb and how to ship the old one back to us. The outside of the box we made green to convey our environmental standpoint, even if our product is not environmentally friendly. And finally, to make opening the box as easy as possible, we proposed for it to have a perforated tab at the base. All of our characteristics display our consideration and value of consumer and customer experience.