DESIGN NAME: Cans'n Caps
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Promotional Lids
INSPIRATION: -
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Design Concept
Cans'n Caps are designed to re-use every aluminum beverage can in several different ways. It adds various functions to used cans with each different cap.
Design Goal
Dating back to 70s, aluminum cans have been a symbol for environmental movement since they are fully recyclable. Today, beverage cans are one of the most important consumer products. Despite its advantages, aluminum-recycling rate is only around %50. Every minute an average of 113,204 aluminum cans are recycled while around 100,000 cans are thrown away and end up in landfills. Cans'n Caps offer a simple but efficient way of reusing these aluminum cans by turning them into functional and fun objects of everyday life. The design goal behind this project is to reduce aluminum can waste in nature by re-using them, while raising environmental conscience among people around the world. It is an open-ended project that can grow and expand addition of several different functions by different user groups and needs.
Necessity and Target Groups
Cans'n Caps hold the potential of being everyday life object in individuals’ life, such as a spice container set in kitchen or a candle set for special days. Caps are also to be used in service places such as diners, grabbing attention to the re-used aluminum can while serving customers. The major contribution is to increase social awareness on reusing and rethinking products' lifecycle in developed countries. In addition, Cans'n Caps will also easily be served as cost free functional objects and gadgets in under developed societies.
Novelty and Innovation
Recycling statics show that average consumption of beverages is around 2.5 cans each day. It is also a recycling fact that throwing away an aluminum can wastes as much energy as pouring out half of that can’s volume of gasoline. Therefore, reusing aluminum cans save a lot of energy while reducing litter, landfill and greenhouse gas emissions.
This project aims to raise awareness on wastage of aluminum cans and encourage people to reuse them as functional and customized products. Planned as a promotional tool for a social responsibility campaign on environment that can be launched by a worldwide beverage brand, Cans'n Caps also contributes to the branding of that specific brand by making cans a part of a daily life.
Working Principle
Cans'n Caps snap-fit on standard aluminum beverage can. Once used cans are washed and cleaned, they are filled with dry or liquid ingredients according to pre-defined labels or any other content that can be labeled by user. Then aluminum can is capped and ready to be used.
Since aluminum beverage cans already manufactured with a protective polymer coating applied on the inside that prevents the proposed ingredients coming into contact with metal. Therefore aluminum can is a durable and suitable container for such everyday objects.
Usage
Cans'n Caps are designed to fit on top of a six-pack beverage cans, either in six flat pieces or four pieces group. Caps are intended to be a worldwide promotional tools for an awareness campaign, sold alongside with the beverages and packed within a six-pack shrink-wrap package.
With Cans'n Caps, regular six-pack beverage package turns to six different objects with reused cans. Different caps with different colors add several functions to aluminum container, such as spice and seasoning containers, grease container, candle, coin-bank or even a feeding bottle for pets. Flat container caps include pepper, thyme, cheese, chili pepper, sumac and salt. Tall caps are specialized for liquids, such as oil, vinegar, lemon, grease, candle, pet feeder and sugar. There is also an untitled cap for 'anything' that consumer can label manually, such as different spices like mint and cumin. This unlabeled cap allows customization of objects, while they are also specialized with colors.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: -
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: -
FITS BEST INTO CATEGORY: Office Furniture Design
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: -
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: -
TAGS: -
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: -
CHALLENGE: -
ADDED DATE: 2012-02-28 05:17:36
TEAM MEMBERS (1) :
IMAGE CREDITS: Hakan Gürsu, 2011.
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