Packaging design from an ecological point of view

Near the Mid-Autumn Festival, the author saw a photo of a pastry in an old pictorial. This form of packaging has a long history. It is very simple. A piece of oily paper wraps the pastry. The top is covered in red, and some patterns of festive symbols are printed. Finally, the paper string is bundled up. The grown paper rope becomes a pickpocket. If the moon cake is not taken out of the "resplendent" box nowadays, but gently open the knot, unfold the oil paper, and then savor, you should not have a good feeling.

The author also heard of an ancient way of transporting porcelain over long distances. During the prosperous period of the Silk Road, the transportation is still underdeveloped. How can a box of porcelains experience a bumpy ride? We certainly have many good ways today, such as using thick foam boards, adding multi-layer cartons, or simply airlifting. However, the wise ancestors used the mud with the seeds of plants to wrap them outside the porcelain. When the plants grow, they will fill every gap closely and care for the porcelain. Walking all the way, plants are also all the way up, and it is amazing to think of them.

Now all kinds of packaging, functional, beautifully designed, and some people really put it down, but it seems that there is always something missing.

It is true that the times are different and many things are changing. For example, commodities, although "Historical Records?" and "Hereditary Biographical Biography" have records of the ancient commodity economy during the Spring and Autumn Period in the 5th century BC, but the self-sufficient natural economy and small-scale peasant economy are still the mainstream in the long Chinese history. In recent hundreds of years, especially since the third technological revolution, the explosive growth of the global economy and the continuous development of the commodity economy and society have given people insufficient time to savor, and the packaging of goods has attracted people's attention. Eyeballs, fast-paced deals.

No one can stop social progress. This article is by no means arguing that we should pick up the previous form of packaging. We must wrap all the cakes of the manufacturers in a single color of oil paper, or use a plane to drive a few carriages to carry the clay bowls that are wrapped in mud. Instead, we try to use these packages. Look for inspiration in form.

During the festival, people are happy when they receive cakes from relatives and friends. Happiness does not come from how expensive the packaging of gifts is and how laborious it is. It is a mutual care and sincerity. It seems that some packages that are deliberately inlaid with gold and silver are ugly. The Palace Museum has a lot of gold and silver collections, which are extremely luxurious. We admire that the key is not the gold and silver material itself, but that such ancestors' items can be circulated so far that we will not only see it in the book, but that it is the extraordinary craftsmanship and wisdom of the innumerable skilled craftsmen who manufacture these items. In contemporary society, who is forged by the fake “purity jewels”? What have we really consumed? This is not merely a question of producers, and the consumer psychology and aesthetic needs of the general public have sometimes played a role in “inspiring”.

Mr. Zhang Guangyu once said: “In addition to smearing, I also like to collect books of folk art and pieces of clay sculptures. From the perspective of others, it seems that there is nothing to be said about folk art. How shabby it is. Is it worth mentioning 'collection'? But I think it is an excellent sustenance. I can see from this that the goodness of art is true, and that there is nothing to decorate. These two characteristics are no longer comparable to the postures of the scholars' arts. As far as the flow of painters is concerned, it does not matter.

Rethinking the above porcelain packaging, we can easily find that simplicity and simplicity can have amazing power. What is simple? It is by no means a matter of letting goods “naked” on the ground but “going with it”.

Earlier, a chemical factory in a certain province exploded and polluted the river, bringing severe challenges to the people on both sides of the river. Animals and plants in the water have already sounded alarm bells more than once, and people’s own activities can bring unimaginable consequences to themselves. We should not ignore the power of "natural". "Going with the flow of nature" shows its wisdom even more when our living environment is getting worse and worse. After all, we are the sons of "nature."

A lot of packaging, while tearing them apart, we are tearing down the beautiful coat of the earth. People cruelly cut down trees and destroy forests; endlessly extract coal and oil; produce and use large quantities of chemicals and discard chemical materials? We have done many ugly and terrible things!

Back to the design itself. "To be natural" has three meanings: First, we need a design that is "enough to use", which does not need to be rumored. Second, it must be "useful." How much better it is, this is a question of social aesthetic level. Not more is better, nor is it more luxurious. What is the key to clarifying the criteria for consumer satisfaction? Simple things are more in line with the "natural" rhythm and can make the surrounding environment better. Taking "Jane" as the United States, to guide consumption and judge design, it will reduce the bloated goods on the shelves. Third, the nature of some experiments is that they use less. Some people may be dissatisfied: I have money, I want to spend, and no one has the right to stop it. This advocates a "degree" of consumption, which means that there are many objects for consumption. Apart from consuming those luxury goods, it is also possible to associate consumption with knowledge, travel, charity, and charity. Pure luxury goods cannot be replaced. In this way, life has become simple, but it is by no means an interest. When we “enjoy” something to a higher level, it is truly rich.

Reproduced from: Decoration