Till this day, almost every piece of plastic that has ever been made is still on the planet in some form or another. Plastic production is expected to triple by the year 2050. The main issue we face today is that only a fraction of the plastic that we produce has been recycled. Plastic bottles are one the most common offenders of plastic pollution, on land and sea.
In a recent study in 2018 tested for the presence of microplastics in 50 of the leading brands of bottled water in Canada. The study found microplastics in all of them, regardless if the bottle was plastic or glass.
This alarming discovery lead to the creation of the ‘WATA’ bottle, I created a fictional brand and thought of a designed concept of how we would use water bottles in the year 2050. The design of the bottle features two barcodes; one is for the purchase at the shop (on the back) and the other is for refilling at designated ‘WATA’ dispensers (on the cap). By implementing this concept, it allows brands to still compete whilst being sustainable.
The Process
For the process of the ‘WATA’ bottle, I purchased a glass water bottle from Amazon. I extensively browsed the website in search of the ideal shape and style of bottle. I wanted to make sure that it did not have any visible labels or branding on the bottles. Luckily the bottle I ended up purchasing and using had its branding at the bottom of the bottle, making it not as noticeable.
Furthermore, the cap size was a crucial element that I considered when I was purchasing the bottle. This was because it needed to be wide enough for me place a second barcode on it, in order for my design concept to be effective.
I specifically sought after glass bottles because I wanted to imply the importance of reusable water bottles as opposed to disposable plastic ones. I wanted to emphasize the state of the planet in the year 2050, by having featuring a glass bottle I further stressed on the fact that plastic would be something that we would (and should) cut back on during this time period.
Afterwards, I then started to pay more attention to current labels of disposable water bottles. My aim was to create a realistic looking label that had the expected features of a typical disposable water bottle. Once this step was completed, I designed several labels and tested out a few methods of labeling the bottle and the cap.
Label Design
Initially, I had thought of creating a brand that would be called ‘drinkable’. I had planned to make the water murky with bits and pieces of plastic in it, to give off a sense of the potential state of water we might be left within the year 2050. This was all in an attempt to visually express the state of water that was contaminated with plastic. However, upon discussing with my class I concluded that it was best to avoid expressing my concerns of microplastics in water and instead resort to indicating it on the label.
I tried various methods of trying to get the label of the water bottle to stay on the glass. One of the methods I was attempting to do was to screen print directly on the glass. However, after I tried to contact a screen printing company, it became apparent that I would have to order what seemed to be the only reliable and available screen printing tools for this specific purpose from a company in America.
After communicating my concerns with my tutor, he suggested that I use adhesive printing paper for the label. This method was the most cost-effective.
I began to experiment with the design layout of the label shortly after. The first design was more focused on branding because I wanted to indicate that the concept of the reusable water bottles in the year 2050 could still allow brands to be competitive. However, I resorted to keep the branding into a minimum and direct approach in order to better communicate and draw the attention to the fact that there was micro-plastic in the water. The simplistic approach indicates that it has become a norm in the year 2050 that the water is contaminated with microplastic and this point is not overshadowed by any branding.
