Video Reflection A: Giving Packaging a New Life & How it's Made: Packaging

Studying Industrial Design calls for an extensive knowledge of different materials, which I usually associated with the actual product. However, it wasn't really until viewing these videos that really opened my eyes to the notion of the product's packaging, its uses and reuses, as well as their effect on our environment after they've lived their life cycle.

It has been made clear to me the amount of energy and materials that are required in the process of producing and recycling products and their packaging through these videos. By visually showing the recycling process of everyday materials; paper, aluminium and plastics to name a few, it has invoked a strong consideration to appropriate materials to use, how many different types and much of each are really necessary to produce the product and its packaging. This is largely due to the fact that it is more difficult to recycle an entity made up of many materials, as the recycling process requires for them to be separated into sub categories of like materials.

Furthermore, the 'How It's Made' videos genuinely interested me as they showed how everyday products are made. The efficiency and mass scale production in conjunction with previously watching 'Giving Packaging a New Life' allowed for me appreciate and value the product as well as past its life cycle. It allowed me to reflect how we as designers need to be aware of the impacts the materials we use and the method in which they are produced. On a more general note, the videos also reinforced the need of properly disposing and recycling our rubbish appropriately to maintain a green environment.

To conclude, the three main points I gathered from watching these videos:

1. Consideration of materials; the amount and types, in the design process to reduce difficulty in the recycling process

2. Awareness to the amount of energy used in the process of producing and recycling

3. The need to properly dispose and recycle our rubbish