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Knotwrap Design project

Thomas Rowley

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Introduction

Lush currently manufactures a product they are calling the Knotwrap, a 70cm x 70 cm piece of cloth intended to wrap gifts, reducing paper waste. Once the gift has been opened, the wrapping is reusable, and as can be seen left, can be used to carry items as a bag, made into a scarf and many more uses. Lush estimate one knotwrap to be “22 times better for the environment than a box with paper, ribbon and shredded tissue paper”. Some of Lush’s knotwraps are made from a fabric called Greenspun fabric - which is made from 100% recycled plastics. This project’s aim is to communicate Lush’s campaign using the Knotwrap itself as the canvas, and also to design a Point of Sale display to sell the new knotwrap in-store.

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The Furoshiki

Lush’s knotwrap product comes from the Japanese furoshiki (風呂敷), a tradition whereby gifts are wrapped in cloth as opposed to paper. The cloth often has a pattern or design on it which sometimes represents the family sending the gift, or has an underlying message. A historical example from World War II is a personal map printed on cloth captured from a Japanese soldier (left). The map was obtained by an Australian soldier, E. J. Knight, from a Japanese soldier captured on South Bougainville of the Bougainville Campaign in 1945. Below, I have selected some of the most notable designs I have found in my research - I really love the traditional style and think it would be great to merge Lush’s knotwrap project, with the Japanese style and culture. All of the traditional designs are simple yet effective, utilising a low number of colours for ease of printing - traditional inks are not available in a wide variety of colours, and often create a subdued tone.

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Lush’s Core values

Lush are well known for their core values, and efforts into making the world a greater place - be it through active campaigns, or simply the way they produce and sell their products. The four core values I have selected to focus on are those you see above, though Lush do have more than four, I feel these are the most notable and have to potential to create four varied and exciting knotwraps, with a solid underlying message. What I would like to achieve with this project, is four knotwrap designs which tie Lush’s values and Japanese heritage together really nicely. I plan to design according to the traditional furoshiki style, whilst still clearly displaying the four messages you see above.

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Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism, is by nature, associated with plants. I started by doing some research into the kinds of plants used in Japanese food - eggplant, squash, cucumber to name a few. But then I stumbled across Bamboo - not in the context of food (though some animals eat it), but in construction. Often used as exterior cladding or interior decoration in Japn, bamboo is a very versatile material. I have decided this is the theme I will use for one of my knotwraps, because it has the potential to produce some very striking visuals with the long, tall branches and occasional leaf growing out to the side.

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Ethical Buying

As children, we don’t often think what we are doing properly - take the analogy of picking a flower. By picking it and giving it to your mother, you are trying to do a good thing. The intention is good, but actually in picking the flower, you are killing it. This is Lush’s basis on ethical buying. By evaluating where and what they buy in, they ensure that as little damage to the earth is done as possible. For example, with their Greenspun fabric. In Japan, there are farmers who grow only flowers - fields upon fields of brightly coloured flowers line the country. Annually, there are flower festivals celebrating the flowers, and the lotus flower is a particular favourite. Whilst doing my research however, I found this picture (top right) of a child blowing a Dandelion, and it really inspired me as I feel the visual effect of the seeds blowing away could create a striking pattern.

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Fighting Animal Testing

Besides being symbols of peace, docility and cuteness, in Japan, Rabbits are also considered to be lucky. This is because the Chinese character usually used to write this animals name- 兎 (another character – 卯, is used to represent the rabbit as a zodiac sign) is very similar to the character 免 (manukareru), which means to get rid of, or make vanish- in other words- rabbits some believe that rabbits will make bad luck disappear. We can see the rabbit motif in many traditional Japanese objects and scenes still now such as Kimonos, Japanese dinnerware and Japanese tea things. The Moon Rabbit is Japanese Folklore often told as a bedtime story to children. If you would like to read it, it can be found here - http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/1996/8/1/the-rabbit-in-the-moon-a/

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Handmade with care

The kimono (meaning thing to wear) is a traditional Japanese item of clothing. It is usually sewn by hand, but even the machine sewn articles require a substantial amount of hand stitching after the machines have done their job. I would like to take not the Kimono, but the theme of hand-sewing as my theme for one of my knotwraps. I feel that while the Kimono would be an obvious choice, it would not be immediately clear to Westerners that it signifies handmade quality and craftsmanship. Seeing as Lush’s main market are in the Western hemisphere, it would be much better to take the theme of hand-sewing.

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Idea Generation

You may be wondering why my initial concepts are pure Black and White. I chose not to think too much about colour in the early stages of design - my patterns are going to be two tone when printed using natural inks, and at this stage I don’t feel that colour is particularly important to the essence of the patterns. I will add colour in at a later stage, and decide on colours after some considered thought.

For the “Handmade” knotwrap, I took inspiration from the logo Lush already use to signify that their products are handmade.

To add some feature to the pattern, I have added a stitching effect, with a needle indicating that the hands are being stitched on - just as with Lush fighting their causes, good things take time to come to fruition.

The reason I went with the stitching was because, in Japanese culture, the Kimono is hand stitched.

For my “Fighting Animal Cruelty” knotwrap, I initially tiled the logo across the canvas, creating this pattern.

The logo was chosen because rabbits are considered very lucky in Japanese culture, and it ties Lush’s values in nicely with the Japanese background of the Furoshiki.

At this stage I feel this is too simple and it does need further development, although I do like the pattern and will be taking it further.

The “Vegetarian” knotwrap came out the best in my opinion. I am very pleased with the visual effect of the Bamboo, commonly used in Japan as decoration on buildings, in combination with the Japanese text.

The text translates to the English equivalent word vegetarianism, and again helps to tie Japan and Lush’s values together.

Finally, the “Ethical Buying” wrap. I do feel this needs further development, although I like the concept.

Again taking inspiration from the logo Lush use, but instead of a Lotus flower, it is a Dandelion flower, which children often blow the seeds off.

This childlike innocence relates well to this value I feel, so I will push this concept further.

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Idea Development

I felt the original Handmade design was missing something, so I first added a repeating stitch along the bottom half. But I still wasn’t happy - it needed more of Japan in there. So I added the word Tedzukuri, which translates to Handmate in English.

I first tried a radial type pattern based upon the original design, but it became too busy and was overwhelming to look at. So I simplified the design and I feel it has come out really well, with a bit of added detail on the larger rabbits, helping to draw attention. A red background was chosen to signify the blood often shed by animals for the sake of human want.

I was already very happy with my original design for the vegetarian knotwrap - so I added a green background to signify vegetarianism.

As with all of these knotwraps, the light colour shows a very light grey - this is because it is the bare material of the fabric, with no inks or dyes.

The wraps are going to effectively be single colour, as I feel the patterns themselves on traditional furoshiki are the most important part, and traditionally, furoshiki would have a low count of colours as they were all handmade.

This design was the one I felt needed the most development, as the message I was trying to portray was not clear in the original design.

By adding a hand holding the dandelion, I am showing the significance in the way humans interact with the planet earth, and the importance of acting in an ethical manner.

I chose orange for this knotwrap because in Japan it signifies ambition, and a call to action - something Lush is well known for.

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Selected knotwrap designs

These are the four final designs I propose. I feel they portray the Japanese heritage well, mixed with Lush’s values to create a series of furoshiki that not only honours the history of the knotwrap, but also portrays the values that Lush work so hard to keep to.

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Point of sale

When we visited Lush’s Brighton store, the most notable thing (aside from the strong smell of perfume and bath product) was the interior décor. An abundance of wood, chalkboards with bold white writing in the striking white typeface. And then the products bursting from the shelves with their bright colours. There is absolutely no packaging, and the décor in the store does not distract at all from the product - the store is designed to promote the product and nothing else.

The point of sale display for my Knotwrap series must follow this theme, so that it fits with the theme of the store and does not look at all out of place. I don’t want the display to distract from the product, it must complement the product, just like Lush’s store already does.

It should also convey the message the product is trying to convey - the Greenspun fabric. This should be done in a way that is obvious and easy to understand, as not everybody will instantly understand what Greenspun fabric is.

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idea generation

My initial idea for my point of sale follows the wood theme - inspired by traditional wooden lemonade stands, it is simple and to the point.

The wraps are displayed clearly, unfolded, and are not packaged - keeping Lush’s “Naked Packaging” value.

I feel this design will fit in well with Lush’s theme, and will fit in Brighton’s store well in the bay window at the front.

However, the stand is very basic, doesn't catch the eye, and in no way attempts to explain to the customer what they are, what they represent, or what they are made of. So further development is required.

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idea Development

After further development, this is the design for the P.O.S. I am proposing.

I took inspiration from the machine used to create greenspun string (below), and the process of putting plastic in the top, and string coming out of the bottom.

This display clearly conveys that the knotwraps on display have been made from recycled plastic (i.e. the bottles at the top), and further to this, the chalkboard at the back explains the meaning behind each knotwrap, while fitting in well with the store’s theme.

The text on the display will be stained into the wood, allowing the grain to show through as I feel this conveys a 100% natural style, much like Lush’s other products.

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Proposed Solution