Paper Bottle
It's not often that you get to design something that is genuinely a game changer. Something that is a force for good in the world. A real piece of sustainable product design. I got that chance. To design a bottle, made from paper, to have zero impact on the planet and truly deliver on a circular economy. For more information and to see the final product and company that was spun off go to https://www.paboco.com/
When I worked at NINE, our client BillerudKorsnäs came to us with a project. They wanted to revolutionise the drinks industry and challenge plastic drinks bottles with completely renewable materials that would biodegrade. To do this they would manufacture with partners a paper-pulp based bottle, capable of holding carbonated and still liquids.
As this technology was so new, I wanted to explore what could be done with the shape of the bottle, so worked closely with the manufacturer to understand the possibilities and restrictions of the manufacturing process so we could really showcase the incredible properties of this material.
First we wanted to find the right volume for the product. So we developed some different sizes and semantic shapes of the bottle based on potential customers. A metal cap was decided from the beginning for practical closure reasons, to deal with potential carbonation as well as to remove a plastic screw cap to be true to the purpose of the project. The preform could always be changed later, but the plan was to launch with the beer bottle style closure.
So me and Henrik Lundblad sketched out some ideas. Sizes, shapes, purposes, manufacturing modularity, designs to be flexible to different brands needs, manufacturing inserts, multipacks and tessellation, added features like wax seals or ribbon closures, paint finishes and textures... the list goes on... etc.
The final design is focused on communicating the honesty of its material. The paper pulp used in the process is a mix of Nordic Pine and Spruce so I abstracted those branches and leaves to show the origin of the bottles material. It's a very simple idea. The design clearly communicates its roots and it's very understandable overall silhouette and shape. It would have been simpler to have a plain bottle. A simple shape with no markings, allowing all brands to customise it however they wanted, but we needed to explore what could be done with this material. What could actually be shaped? Could the detailing of the shape be better than PET? Could we have crisper, sharper details? It would be absurd to design a paper bottle with the legacy knowledge of blow moulding PET bottles. So what could be done? What could actually be manufactured at mass volume? We had to experiment with the process and also release as fast as we could to start getting momentum. There was no time or money to experiment without launching.
Note - don't ever underestimate the benefits of a quick prototype! Wrap a beer bottle with paper and see what your sketch REALLY looks like!
I think that I hit all of Dieter Rams's principles. They hang on my wall after I backed the documentary (Thanks Gary Hustwit :D) It's the project I'm most proud of in my entire career. I hope that if Jonathan Ive gets a hold of one, he will get a very clear idea of the people that made it :)
