Colgate-Palmolive issued us a challenge: create a packaging concept for an environmentally-friendly, waste-reducing dishwasher liquid concentrate. Quite a task, eh? Working with a team consisting of 2 other graphic designers (Nicole Zigmont and Michael North) and 2 packaging science students (Valerie Nadeau and Jessica Pirrello), we can up with a solution that emcompasses all those details.
Palmolive Reduction is shipped as an empty bottle with an attached packet of dishwasher concentrate (4x the normal concentration) stored under a refill cap. By shipping a concentrate, water is conserved and shipping costs reduced. The consumer also saves more by only needing to purchase refill packets instead of new bottles when they run out of dishwashing liquid.Seeing an empty bottle on a store shelf can be a bit scary to consumers so the surface of the bottle is made of cloudy white plastic, excluding the front window. The window, a transparent plastic, allows the consumer to see how much liquid they have left as they use it. It also reinforces the idea of "reduction" - the curve of the window tapers down and, as the consumer uses the liquid, they are reminded that they are reducing their waste. The bottle of made of sturdy plastic that will allow it to be used again and again without any issues.
The back label explains the concept of Palmolive Reduction. We broke the mixing process down into 4 easy steps, complete with easy to decipher imagery. The overall look of the label - both front and back- was heavily influenced by Palmolive's current product, Pure + Clear
Views of the bottle in several stages of use. The bottle, when shipped, contains one concentrate packet for the user to mix immediately ("full bottle without refill packet"). Once the consumer uses up their initial mix, they can then purchase the refill bottle that contains two concentrate packets. They can mix one packet up and store the other packet under the refill cap ("Full bottle with refill packet").
Two color/scent options for Palmolive to extend Reduction's life down the line. The great thing about using concentrate packets is that users can mix and match - they may buy a bottle with the original scent to begin with, but they can buy the "Citrus Rush" refill and use it with the bottle they have at home.
The gravity feed cap is a great feature for our bottle. The cap is located on the bottom of the bottle and has no lid (the liquid is held in by gravity), meaning there is no wrestling with caps or turning slippery bottles upside down while you're up to your arms in suds. The user simply has to grab the bottle, squeeze it once, and return it to it's place on the sink's edge. The gravity feed also allows an exact dosage to be measured out so one squeeze can do a whole load of dishes, saving the consumer from wasting their product due to over usage. The wide bottom of the gravity feed also helped balance the bottle.
The refill package echoes the bottle package, but is in a more compact form that allows it to be stacked on shelves, conserving space. It holds 2 packets of concentrate, one for immediately mixing and one for storage. We also chose to only sell 2 because we are aware of how long the concentrate lasts, and we didn't want the consumer to buy 1 dosage and then not be seen again for a year. That would hurt Palmolive's bottom line.
Mock-up of products on store shelves.We competed against 3 other teams and their concepts, pitching them to Colgate-Palmolive at the end of February. I am happy to say our concept was deemed the best, and we were awarded a sweet little prize for our efforts.
