For this assignment, we needed to reverse design an object in order to deduce the design decisions of the creation of the device and redesign it to meet the needs of the users.
Stage 7: Production
In the final steps of the construction of a toothpaste tube, the plastic tube needs to be completely sealed before filling it with the actual toothpaste. The manufacturing of the tube would need to be very precise in order to seal all the edges and folds in it so that it doesn’t spill when it’s being filled up or transported. What could be improved from this is the use of different materials to make the toothpaste container.
Stage 6: Communication
To explain the project to a team I would show a mood board with the different ideas for the outside of the tube and the different colors, a collection of sketches of the object and a 3D model to show the team how it would look in reality and what would be the way of constructing it.
Stage 5: Definition/ Modeling
I suppose that the toothpaste is sold contained in a tube to make it easier for people to hold it and press the surface to make it come out. I think the form is supposed to be because of the function of getting the toothpaste out although this is not always easier. As the toothpaste runs out it gets harder and harder to squeeze it out and we end up wasting toothpaste.
The colors could have been selected to communicate freshness and because of the purpose of the toothpaste which is to clean. The object doesn’t really need decoration, it’s mostly used as an advertisement for the product.
Stage 4: Exploration/ Refinement
The essence of this product is the actual toothpaste, not the tube. The amount of plastic that is used to make thousands and thousands of these tubes is definitely not a good thing for our planet. The simplest way to make the design would be to have a container that could be glass or metal where you could get toothpaste, this way we could avoid the unnecessary plastic.
Stage 3: Conceptualization
It’s like a container of some sort that would be used to contain a gel that we can use to brush our teeth.
Stage 2: Identification
If I could redesign this object I would change the materials, the form of the object and the way of extracting the toothpaste. I would make a metal or glass container with a pump that can get you the exact amount of toothpaste you need to brush your teeth and that it would get every last bit of toothpaste out, this way avoiding the waste of product.
For my new design, I would use different materials like glass and metal to make it environmentally friendly and to avoid the use of so much plastic.
My design would be colorful but minimalistic in order to avoid unnecessary tags and packages, it would be made of sustainable materials that don’t pollute the planet once they are thrown out.
I would also make it so you could refill the container at pharmacies and supermarkets to avoid generating more waste.
Stage 1: Inspiration
I would have recured to modern and environmentally friendly containers in the market right now, other companies trying to avoid the use of plastic and designs by people experimenting with the use of healthy materials.
Reflection
This assignment was very useful for getting into the mind of the designers and deduce how the design decisions would have been made. It let me understand the design process better and to have in mind all the steps for when I have to design something from scratch. Also, it was very useful to be an outside person because I could comment on the problems of the design and reflect on the use of certain materials and the giant amount of waste they create. This made me be more conscious about the use of materials and I’ll definitely have that in mind when I have to design something in the future.
