Innovation Theft and Land Speed Records: What Do They Have in Common? At first glance, innovation and design theft might seem worlds apart from the high-octane realm of land speed records, but bear with me—there’s is a connection. This week, I saw a post on LinkedIn from a packaging expert who I not long connected with. I thought the content looked familiar and could see they had “drawn...
Why Details Matter #2
How small changes drive big impact – Multi-Depth Creasing Over the past three decades, I have written protocols, developed equipment, and supported the construction of three e-commerce supply chain testing laboratories. This has enabled me to conducted some 5,000+ tests for e-commerce packaging, many of which involved focused studies into best practices for structural design. In this one...
Why Detail Matters #1
How Small Changes Drive Big Impact – Offset Slots In today’s landscape, where sustainability and cost-efficiency are absolutely paramount, it’s crucial to optimise your e-commerce packaging so you can remain competitive as an online retailer. This will become even more relevant with new regulations like PPWR looming in the not so distant future, requiring minimal use of materials and...
The Future of E-Commerce Packaging
Why Channel-Specific Solutions Outperform Adapted Designs With the focus of many e-commerce retailers still heavily on optimisation and sustainability, now feels like the right time to address a topic that has been a slow burning frustration for me over the past four years: adapted corrugated packaging solutions for e-commerce… Understanding Adapted Solutions Before diving deeper into my...
The genius of lego play day
The Genius of Lego Play Day: Lessons in Innovation The annual Lego Play Day on June 11th, 2024, had me reflecting on the topic of innovation and why Lego’s approach is not only different, but I would go so far as to say, genius. As children, we played with unbounded imagination, where ten small Lego bricks could transform in our mind into an plane, a truck, a house, or even a castle. As a...
Impact of Design on Sustainability
What impact do Packaging Designers have on Sustainability? In the face of growing environmental concerns, the role of packaging designers has evolved from creating attractive and functional packages to becoming pivotal players in the sustainability movement. This shift is crucial as the packaging industry significantly impacts our planet. By rethinking traditional approaches and adopting...
Complexities of Designing for Omni-Channel
This article covers the complexities that arise when designing for omni-channel packaging and how to navigate the challenges.In a world where consumers expect to be able to purchase when, where and how they like, as well as growing pressure on retailers to reduce costs, omni-channel packaging sounds like the perfect solution. Enabling businesses to manufacture or produce one product and...
Insights & Experience from Three Decades
As I begin my 29th year in design and innovation, I started to think about what I want to achieve over the next year. This had me reflecting on where I had come from, to what I do now and where the hell has the past 28 years gone! For me, packaging design started when I was around 10 years old, I went to a careers evening with my parents for my older brother and there was a stand for St...
Why Competition is Essential for Innovation
Why Competition is Essential for Innovation: Exploring the Benefits of Rivalry in Business Recently in my LinkedIn feed, I saw that an ex-colleague and team had won a number of design awards. Now that they work for a competitor, it was difficult to publicly praise and congratulate them, but as a designer, I dropped a private message, as it was a great achievement and they deserved the feedback...
e-commerce Packaging Trends 2024
As we approach the end of the year, it’s that time again… no, not to make new year resolutions that will be broken before the end of January, but predictions for trends in the new year. 2023 brought significant challenges for many However, whilst there may be still further challenges ahead, they always create opportunities for those willing to be agile, dynamic and innovative. So where are the...