Katy
Chen
Graphic Design | Illustration | UI/UX | Social Media | Brand Development
Smart Sticker
A packaging solution to reducing food waste.
A group project in Interaction Design class.
Most food waste is contributed by consumers in their home environment.
Research & Findings
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Studied fruit arrangements, people and packaging at local markets: Central Market, Kroger and Tom Thumb.
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People pick their "good looking fruit" based on widely conceived standards.
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The most common household fruit is apples.
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Most people would forget the fruit they bought and the fruit would rot.
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Sometimes parents would buy a fruit and the kids would not inform the parents that they ate the fruit thus resulting the parents to over purchase them the next time.
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There are other sites such as Save the Food and an apple farmer’s guide to ugly apples but no consumer would know of them unless they are intentionally looking for the information.
Potential Solutions
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Do no give consumers the option to pick their own fruits
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Have a trained staff on site to teach about proportions.
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Create an app that tracks dates the fruits are purchased. It would send push notification or reminder and recommend recipes.
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Have take home care instructions on the packaging.
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Avoiding harsh black and red
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The Ripeness Meter incorporates a current technology of a sticker that changes colors to indicate ripeness by measuring the gas produced by the fruit as it ripens.
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The NFC chip in the bottom left requires no interface but a simple tap of the phone.
The Smart Sticker Packaging
A holistic style packaging for all fruits. The sticker incorporates current technology into the packaging we use to improve our interaction with our products. Our team designed a sticker that could be placed on packaging with a digital meter that measures ethylene gas levels that are naturally emitted from the fruits as they ripen and decay. The various levels on the sticker indicate the suggested uses for the fruit or vegetable based on their stage of life. If the fruit or produce is at a point of no use the packaging will recommend composting rather than throwing it in the waste bin thus using them more effectively.
Moreover, we have eliminated the need for an app to keep track of the produce. From our interviews, we found the target audience do not want to download another app for such use. We decided simplicity is key to incentivize engagement. Our solution is to implement the NFC (near-field communication) for consumers to tap their phones against to reset the purchased date so they can reuse the packaging as well to maximize recycling and further reduce waste.
