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Rage Against The Machines or a Dance between Designer & AI

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 04:43:57 GMT

Designers POV of Generative AI in Design

Stone cold sober

183:789545851 (Simon Man) — Sun, 13 Sep 2020 18:25:22 GMT

Rise of LNA (Low to No Alcohol) beverages

If you live in UK or Europe, the term Dry January would sound very familiar. Recovering after a boozy Christmas and New Year’s, this is the time of year that people swear on a healthier lifestyle.

Health trends are nothing new, they come and they go. More recently consumers seem to be more in tune with health and in doing so, new trends and products appear to emerge.

There are more plant based brands out there than ever before and plat based protein is becoming ever more prevalent as people seek out plant based substitutes for meat as an ethical and health alternative. There has also been a uptrend of fermented and probiotic rich foods as newer superfoods make appearances. These food trends seems to be gaining momentum in 2020, even during Covid-19, we see the exercise equipment market boom as in-home workouts became the norm and outdoor running became an escape from the monotony of being house bound retaining some sort of freedom. People are now becoming increasing aware of their fitness and health & wellbeing.

This isn’t an isolated trend and seems to have had a knock on effect on other categories, especially the beverage scene. People are drinking less today than ever before, not out of regulation but out of choice.

In 2016 it had been reported that the annual global alcohol consumption market dropped by 1.4% two years running. There many reasons resulting in this decline and for the surging popularity of the low-to-no alcoholic (LNA) beverage industry such as religious or social reasons. The APAC regions growth of LNA can be attributed to increasing consumer awareness combined with the growing demand in majority Muslim regions such as Indonesia and Malaysia. With industrialisation, rising health awareness, shifting consumer ‘moments’ along with large consumer bases in China, India, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, these will further increase market growth.

In UK and Europe we have already seen the adoption of LNA through the shifting of drinking habits.

Major beer brands such as Heineken, Carlberg, AB InBev and Kirin have already penetrated the market with LNA beverages with many crafts beers following suit. However the major brands have seen this rise in opportunity as a complimentary product to their expanding portfolio and not a replacement for the core alcohol product.

“Non-al coholic beer is meant to complement rather than replace beer, allowing anyone who wants to have a beer, to enjoy one during any occasion at any time of the day,… It is for those moments in life when the consumer wants a great beer but doesn’t fancy the alcohol or the effects of alcohol…”- Maud Meijboom (Heineken)

JAPAN

The Japanese market for LNA appears to be one of the most popular with consumption increasing not only for foreign craft LNA but even home brands like Kirin where the main driver seems to be health and wellness related. Kirin LNA beer is targeted at men and women over 20 years old who care about belly fat. According to a Kirin survey, 70% of adults in Japan were concerned about ‘beer belly’ hence the popularity in the beverage. Although currently this hasn’t become an adopted habit there have been a noticeable 320% growth in just 10 years with no indication of it slowing down. Kirin’s USP in Japan is that its managed to claim a FFC (food for function) label for it’s fat reducing properties which was granted in 2019.

WINE

The low – no alcohol trend is not limited to just the beer category. We have seen this trend spill into the wine and gin category.

New consumer moments have given rise to new drinking rituals where lighter, easier drinking moments are preferred with LNA beverage.

O.Vine is a brand carving its own market. Although the low alcohol wine category is nothing new, it’s popularity is also on the rise. The major differentiation with O.Vine is that they use the waste product of the wine process, the crushed seeds, skin and pulp, mixing this with lightly sparkling water to creates a lighter and more refreshing beverage that is not only low in alcohol for those easy drinking moments. O.Vine are concentrating on the gen x consumers from 30-55 + years old who use to like drinking wine but has now began seeking healthier alternative with low alcohol, calories and sugar.

GIN

There has also been a surging trend of food pairing with alcoholic beverages so it is only natural that this trend would eventually migrate to LNA category. We have seen many restaurants and bars introduce a wider non-alcoholic menu choice and more exciting mixology of mocktails driven by food pairing for enhanced flavour experiences. This idea of ‘lighter’ drinking experience isn’t new, it derives from the tradition of having aperitvos or a light pre-dinner drink. This was further supported by lighter social occasions such as lunches where strong alcohol drinking isn’t encouraged especially during working hours. Habits have shifted from hard drinking moments to savouring taste and experiential discoveries of ingredients and flavours.

These upsurge in opportunity moments have allowed relative young, new, fresh brands like Seedlip to carve out a distinct market space not currently occupied. Now placed in over 3000 top bars and restaurants with the backing of Diageo the brand has grown from a one man band in 2015 (stating out in Selfidges) to a brand of well over 40 people. It has become the poster brand for non-alcoholic spirits.

Seedlip tapped into the booming Gin market which exploded in recent year and as trends moved more towards easier drinking moments Seedlip seemed to have appeared at exactly the right moment. Taking cues from the Gin category, it soon became the alternative and go to brand fashionable cocktail concoctions. The combination of brand, storytelling and media hype/endorsements around Seedlip has contributed to its unprecedented rise to fame and it’s easy to see why when consumers are curtailing their drinking habits to healthier options.

BRAND EXPERIENCE

Whilst there has been rapid growth of the LNA category, there has also been many recent teething and regulatory issues within category and positioning of some brands.

That being said this movement does not seem to be dying down and there is predicted growth especially in the APAC region, once the Japanese Olympic get back on track.

We see consumers habits and trends spread, we must not ignore the role that design has to play in the adoption LNA products . The design of the product alone is no longer sufficient as consumers search more experiential experiences of key touch points and moments, whether it is paired with food or consumed solo. Consumers may be willing to compromise on alcohol levels of a beverage, however because they down traded on alcohol content, this doesn’t mean that they expect and less of a brand or consumer experience. In fact they are probably looking for a more enhanced experience to offset.

So how can design identify these key moments to amplify the consumption experience and elevate it so that it feels like the consumers are getting more and not less?

It could be in the presentation, pour, the mixology, the theatrics, but one thing is for sure, identifying these key opportunities moments and amplifying them is what will differentiate your brand from the next.

Experiential cues and model be taken from that of the fragrance world, like OLa Lab or Singapore’s own Brass Lion Gins where consumers learn about the mixology and create their own blends of non-alcoholic beer cocktails in a social setting?...

...Or do you create hyper sensory experiences that’s links back to and promotes the product (LNA) benefits like Bompas & Parr or experiential spaces which invokes consumptions moments like Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire.

You could go as far as to creating pop up experiential bars of mixology and bespoke flavour pairings like lays chips to promote flavour pairings between beer and food as well as influencer and social PR .

It is no longer adequate to rely on just brand alone for consumer conversion and buy in (especially in this new category), that brand has to stand for something and has to offer a brand experience/elevated experience to match.

To see how WKD Studios can help you innovate on brand experience and touchpoints contact us on collaborate@wkdstudios.com

Waste not, Want not

183:789545851 (Simon Man) — Mon, 31 Aug 2020 08:35:39 GMT

Designing out food waste

We have all heard the phrase ‘eat everything on your plate’ and ‘don’t waste food’ as we were kids but never actually understood what the impact were if we didn’t. We all just assumed it was our parents nagging or them asking us to appreciate the amount of energy that went into making the meal. The latter may hold more of a wider meaning beyond personal effort.

The world is shining a spotlight on sustainability, eco brands and personal responsibility when it comes to the environment. Consumers are becoming more aware of the impact of what individual lifestyle choices is having on the world around us, partly due to the constant barrage of media information that is directed at us as consumers. Products and brands have become extensions of who we are as people and how we want other people to see us.

We cannot run from the constant socials pressures of maintaining a ‘perfect’ public persona, where we are constantly subscribing to ethically conscious products and brands from what we eat to what we wear.

During the last 2 decades we have seen this consumer trends grow at an exponential rate and in turn spur innovation. People became more aware of free range, organic to the more in depth documentaries of how cattle farming by far contributes to a big climate change. From deforestation, to the ethical standing of meat consumption, it is now clearly evident that the merging of ethics and sustainability resulting in ‘ethically sustainable’ is the new bar that consumers are holding themselves and brands to, hence boom of vegetarian, vegan, organic and sustainable categories in recent years

We can no longer ignore the ramifications of what and how our food consumption is having on the environment as well as our health and wellbeing.

Food loss and waste amount to a major squandering of resources, including water, land, energy, labour and capital and needlessly produce greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to global warming and climate change. Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year – approximately 1,3 billion tonnes – gets lost or wasted and accounts for about 4,4 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Even if just one-fourth of the food currently lost or wasted globally could be saved, it would be enough to feed 870 million hungry people in the world.

The statistics and consequences food wastage is never ending, whilst it seems like doom and gloom, the issue has given rise to new design innovation as well as technological advancements in the food industry.

We have seen brands emerging and growing such as whole foods, beyond meat, Hippeas, Oatly and many more taking over our shelves and carving out a exponentially growing unavoidable market.

INNOVATION

Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat and Don Lee Farms are just some of the brands that have launched entirely plant-based burgers that ‘bleed’ to emulate the sensations of what a meat burger would offer but without the guilt. A number of brands have created hyper realistic mock meat products that appeal to those who are still eating meat, or may be swayed to make the switch to a plant-based lifestyle based on ethics over their desire to eat meat. As Naturli’ Foods puts it: "We’ve developed this product assuming that many people want to eat plants instead of animals, but are afraid of compromising on flavour and maybe even missing out on their favourite dishes such as lasagne or burger patties."

Plant-based meat uses 47 to 99 percent less land than conventional meat, with median savings of 93 percent. Raising animals for human consumption takes up 77 percent of the world's agricultural land but provides only 17 percent of our food and also creates vast amounts of greenhouse gasses. Its therefore easy to see why this is a growing trend and definitely an area of evolving innovation.

In the very e arly stages of innovation, decellularization is currently being explored not only medically but potentially for the food industry. This innovation is something straight out of a sci-fi movie, imagine a ‘meat berry’ !. Yes it may sound strange but already partially exists.

The idea is to use stem cells (cow for beef) and inject it into decellularized vegetable/fruit structures where eventually the meat grows into the shape of whatever the plant base is.

This is in its infancy but no less an interesting way to tackle food wastage issues by essentially ‘growing meat’ using less land.

Big advancements have also been made in 3D printed food. Whilst this isn’t necessarily something new, we saw Cadbury’s launch 3D printed chocolate, this still has yet to go mainstream. However advancements in 3D printing technology has advanced immensely that it will only be a matter of time before what was once pure fiction, food replicator in Star Trek, becomes a reality.

Food printing also has tremendous potential in the agtech industry since 3D printing can reduce high costs related to labor. In addition, it prevents food spoilage of produce that occurs during the long journey from farm to market. Instead, fruits can be broken down to their powdered micronutrients and rehydrated to their original form through 3D printing at grocery stores, decreasing the chances of damage and loss of produce.

We have seen pasta printing machines before, but the latest news of a 3D printed sushi restaurant has been going viral. A japanese company is fusing science and sushi to create nutrient-rich foods based on individual requirements. open meals wants to create 3D-printed sushi by analyzing the saliva, urine and stool of diners so that every piece is tailored to their needs.

Open meals debuted their 3D printed sushi at the south by southwest interactive festival in Austin last year, under the moniker ‘ sushi teleportation ‘ . it envisioned people searching, downloading and uploading food data to a digital food platform that connected to a robotic arm which could 3D print pixel cubes made from edible gel

With intricately printed and visually stunning geometric sushi, this could potentially pave a way for consumer to 3D print food allowing an on demand bespoke solution for current food wastage, where ingredients may no longer have perishable or expiry dates and would limit throw away food culture.

Knowing that one third of the worlds food produced for human consumptions goes to waste every year, Toast Ale has turned this into an opportunity to establish themselves in the craft beer market, accounting for more than 24% of the $114.2 billion beer market.

Imagine creating one of the world most loved beverage whilst simultaneously help solving one of the world’s biggest issue of food waste! It’s definitely a win win proposition, taking stale unsold bread from shops and turning into ale… GENIUS!

Founder Tristram Stuart calls his product “planet-saving beer,” and gives the profits to charities working to fix the food system".

Craft beer is growing despite the broader beer industry facing some challenges,” he explains. “This is fuelled by a very noticeable shift in drinking patterns. People are increasingly looking for quality over quantity. Drinkers are happy to spend more on one or two premium beers now.”

It’s interesting that when we think sustainable that there is a trade off in quality, experience, flavour etc to balance the ethics, however Toast Ale clearly demonstrates that consumer perceptions are changing. Being ethical and sustainable doesn’t mean to compromise or less quality and that we can have our cake and eat it, but in this case beer!

When we think of food wastage and sustainability, it is easy to concentrate on the negative attributes and forget about a wider human dilemma of wellbeing, poverty as well as deficiencies. We live in a world of not only throw away culture, but easy access food, yes in most developed and third world countries we see a lot of diets that are deficient in one way or another. Also the issue of diabetes as well as other conditions relating bad eating habits is one that contributes to not only waste but health.

What if foods is a brand based in Singapore led by food scientists who’s aim is to provide nutritiously dense meals in the correct portions, which in turn limits wastage of raw ingredients as well as promoting healthy eating. Essentially What if foods create nutritionally efficient meals so consumers know their health needs are met and there is no need to over consume, ultimately leading to less waste.

SOCIAL

Many social campaigns exist today to deal with localised food waste. Even with big brand supermarkets marking down reduced priced items for consumer when products are nearing expiry.

A more socialistic and consumer centric way that a local organisation in the UK , Brixton, is initiating as a campaign known as The Peoples Fridge . Based in one of the poorer communities in London, The People’s Fridge is run by a group of volunteers aiming to help tackle food poverty and cut food waste all at once. The crowdfunded project joins similar campaigns launched in Spain, Germany and India as well as other cities in the UK. The idea is run purely on a trust basis.

DIGITAL

As we propel ourselves further into a digital environment, there have been many apps used to help track and prevent food wastage such as Feedie which turns food photography into charitable donations, Imperfect produce which is a marketplace for discarded produce because of aesthetics, Treasure which looks at taking leftovers from hotel buffets in Singapore, Karma and Olio are perhaps the most creative and well known.

Karma is for the zero waste generation connecting them to restaurants, cafes, shops that has surplus food for a fraction of the regular price.

Olio is a genius app that connects neighbours with left overs or surplus food with each other that not only cuts food wastage but also build social connections. By their own admission Olio is the tinder for food!

The future trend of using digital apps to offer solutions to not only environmental issues will no doubt create cross connections for social and community issues.

PACKAGING

Packaging can help play a huge role in limiting food waste as well as portioning. Most of the innovation in this area tends to be functional negating the emotional needs of the consumer. Cryovac introduced individually sealed meat portions, which is great for extending the lifespan of the product but doesn’t offer much else. While we see product innovation with Fressure brand, turning avocado, into shelf standing, longer lasting product. Whilst this answers a consumer need there is a notion that packed avocado is less fresh and over packaged compare to how avocado's are sold today. Packaging helps protect and preserve the freshness of food. However, materials used don’t exactly benefit the environment. In fact, inefficient packaging is responsible for over 60% of our waste footprint. Specifically, packaging of hair products, beverages, and laundry-related items make up for more than one-third of America’s waste footprint.

In order to alleviate this, the food industry must follow a circular economy model. A circular economy is a cycle where resources are used and kept to their maximum value and time, then reused or recycled to be consumed again. By finding multiple purposes for and different types of packaging, the amount of harmful waste produced can be reduced significantly, minimizing the impact on wildlife and the environment. Loop is a a great example of circular economy producing packaging that brands refill.

There has bee n some packaging design that addresses portioning which helps limit wastage, spoilage but also help with health and wellbeing. Portioning is a great way to lead as a brand addressing nutritional wellbeing as well as freshness on demand.

Nespresso is a brand that has led by packaging innovation, the portioned pods have become so synonymous and iconic that this is now tied to their brand story. Whilst they have a recycling loop system, their packaging is becoming more sustainable. Not only has this allowed Nespresso to dominate the market but it has allowed them to create vast product line extension.

Packaging is a great way to help brands create shelf standout as well as innovate and engineer value into the pack itself and do so without compromising the consumer experience but rather enhance it.

Nonna’s is a new pasta brand that looks at utilising local Italian grandma’s family recipes and techniques to create ethical limited handmade pasta where partial proceeds are used to help the local senior population keep employed at a comfortable pace whilst allowing them to maintain their independence. Pasta is one of the most common foods loved all over the world and the idea is to emphasis quality and not just produce quantity. The unique cardboard packaging has a distinct engineered form creating brand standout against competitors on shelf as well as help consumers accurately portion the pasta to limit food waste whilst maintaining healthy diet. The pack is easily resealable, sustainable and also runs on current manufacturing lines. The aesthetics is contemporary, modern whilst nuancing traditional Italian heritage.

www.wkdstudios.com for more info

Companies have already explored possible packaging alternatives in pursuit of sustainability through decomposing, natural and intelligent materials. In the food industry companies have also begun using edible packaging composed of natural food particles, algae, and sugars and fully-resealable films as eco-friendly and consumer-friendly packaging substitutes.

Jakconi studios have designed a pen that is is made from a percentage of fruit waste that is 100% garden biodegradable after use to leave zero waste and zero trace.

As the world population continues to grow and we shift into a new digital age, food sustainability and health will become more prevalent where we will rely increasingly more on innovation, science and design to help alleviate the issues of food wastage and the environmental impact on land, sea and climate.

Without innovation, the worlds resources will no longer be able to cope with such exponential growth and if we filter these down to microcosm/local effects, this will have rippling effects on not only human nutritional needs, health and well being but also healthcare systems (which are currently struggling to cope).

To ensure that we preserve earth's natural resources for future generations and avoid catastrophic irreversible environmental impact, the time to act is now through innovation and design by educating, changing the habits and lifestyles of consumers with brands on the front line.

If you would like to collaborate and help change the world for the better, get in touch : Collaborate@wkdstudios.com

A Whole New World - Post Covid

183:789545851 (Simon Man) — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 20:37:37 GMT

"Societally Safe" Design

In the words of Aladdin it’s “A whole new world" …

Unless you have been living in a bubble, you can get away from the two words that everyone dreads, Corona Virus. Some describe 2020 as the lost year however there is a silver lining, it has been the year of self-discovery, changing, change and appreciation. In short it has shown how resilient and adaptable we as human beings can be.

This same resilience can be seen through popular brands innovating and adapting to an ever changing consumer landscape as they navigate into a new era of consumer experience and interaction.

Health, hygiene and wellness has been catapulted to the forefront of everyone’s mind, where ‘OCD’ behavior has become the norm. With hand sanitizers lurking at A every turn, temperature guns poised and at the ready and social media martyrs ready to record and call out those who are not masked up. One thing is evidently sure, anxiety levels are at an all-time high.

To quote Albert Mufarrij: “A friend of mine in Switzerland recently mentioned that he now looks differently at otherwise innocent household objects, like the video games console. He said, “It’s the four plastic controllers which are shared between me, my children, and friends. I guess those things are highly potent when it comes to potential viral transmission.”

Products and brands that lead the way to a cleaner and more hygienic future are ultimately the ones that understand, innovate in and around material advancements through ‘societally safe’ product design.

Image resource : Albert Mufarrij

Whether we notice or not ‘super materials’ already exist and surround us every day.

Whilst there has been many material advancements in antibacterial, antiviral and ultra-hygienic materials/coatings , they have been previously limited in their usage and are often niche or gimmicky. Corona flipped the script where now a majority marketing campaigns revolve around, health, hygiene, wellness and germs and how their brands can solve all your Corona woes.

What many people don’t know is that material advancements and design innovations are already present in places that are high risk environments such as hospitals.

A majority of antibacterial/viral innovations have been in the field of architecture where we probably walk and surround ourselves every day with but have no idea they are creating an invisible protective bubble around us.

Image resource : www.bocadolobo.com

Advancements in self-cleaning ceramics such as Krion® solid surface and Ceramica 2.0 ceramics have high compositions of antibacterial minerals that destroys surface viruses and bacteria (self-cleaning). Designer often use these types of materials for counter tops and toilet surfaces.

Tiles already use natural light or LED to activate photocatalytic properties of silver to germs in high trafficking areas.

Images resource : Eduardo Mace

Major brands such as Nippon has dominated their category by introducing anti-microbial and antiviral paints for home interiors where consumers feel protected from outside germs. This innovation has never been so relevant in time than now. Home has now taken on a new role of not only being a personal space but also a working and educational space, a clean and hygienic house is crucial for one top feel safe and protected. nWe have even seen paints that neutralise the air.

Image Resource : www.biocote.com

Most synthetic advancements of anti-viral and anti-bacterial comes in the form of additives, nanotechnologies and coatings of plastics and silicon. In search of truly effective materials that eliminate germs and virus’s we need look no further than past cultures and nature .

The world most efficient materials in combating bacteria and viruses can be found in cork which has a 97% effectiveness in eliminating virus’s. There are few metallic ores and alloys that surpass cork and achieve even great efficacy. Copper, found traditionally in Ayurvedic therapies, have a 99.8% efficacy rate at eliminating bacteria and viruses (usually under 4 hours) indefinitely making it a sustainable yet superior material in design. Silver and colloidal silver is another metal used in the fight against corona and we already see the use of this in the personal care category.

Many consumer products may have used antibacterial materials however this didn't use to be the reason for purchase, yet now it has become the product USP. For Example the new startup Aeris, produces antibacterial phone cases that is tailored to the hygiene conscious and 'coronaphobic' consumer. They use a simple copper infused coated that creates and invisible hygiene shield around the phone.

With many complex layers of dealing with the pandemic, design innovation in this new space needs to be pushed. Designers from all fields have an opportunity rethink the materials, consumer experience and how consumers interact with products to create a new movement than balances aesthetics, health and sustainability.

It is with no doubt that more hygienic considered products and packaging will saturate a new market and become the new base standard for what consumers seek.

Image resource : Concept by Simon Man - WKD Studios

A perfect written piece by Albert Mufarrij called; Coronavirus could mark the beginning of ‘societally safe’ product design:

“I want to be bold and call out the term “societal safety,” as this needs elevating. Businesses should think of this as a new purpose principle, integrating societal-safety considerations into their product design processes, at an early stage, especially where the end products are intended to physically fit within and touch our daily lives.

Products designed to be touched frequently (I spend about five hours a day on my iPhone, for example) should be front of the queue for this kind of design rethinking. We must now seriously think of a new way of classifying products designed for “sensitive” interactions, where one’s face, ears, and mouths are a usage point, if not the primary usage point."

W hen planning their post-Covid-19 strategies, businesses and brands should seize this moment to invest in bold product development initiatives that satisfy these imminently emergent consumer and user demands.

The immediate call to action here is to urge designers and engineers to focus on the development of next-generation materials and innovative hygienic layers that can combat the transmission of Covid-19 today, but also to anticipate the emergence of other viruses tomorrow.”

Resouces:

Albert Mufarrij-

https://venturebeat.com/2020/04/14/coronavirus-could-mark-the-beginning-of-societally-safe-product-design/

The Hohenstein Institute-

https://www.textileworld.com/textile-world/textile-news/2014/01/scientists-prove-benefit-of-textiles-with-antiviral-and-antibacterial-effect/

Steritouch-

https://www.steritouch.com/antimicrobial-products/antimicrobial-additives-for-silicone/

ISABELLA PRISCO

https://www.elledecor.com/it/best-of/a31214046/self-cleaning-materials-interior/

Tiger Beer Sustainability

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 08:17:18 GMT

WKD Studios helps agency win sustainable pitch for Asian beer brand, Tiger!

WKD studios assists agency to win pitch for sustainable 3D collateral design in Singapore