{"id":2184,"date":"2017-06-28T16:30:16","date_gmt":"2017-06-28T15:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2017-10-04T16:49:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-04T15:49:16","slug":"alaster-yoxall-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/alaster-yoxall-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Researcher Blog by Dr Alaster Yoxall: #2 – Why is packaging so frustrating?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

About the author<\/h4>\n
\n

Dr Alaster Yoxall<\/a> is Principal Research Fellow in Human Centered Engineering and is based in Design Futures<\/a> within the Art & Design Research Centre.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this post, Alaster explores what makes food packaging so frustrating and shares some good news about crackers\u00a0.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In my last blog I talked about how we are skipping gently down the path towards a sunlit upland, where in one bright future all the packaging would be ‘frustration free’. In particular, this search for the Holy Grail (if I can mix my narratives) has centred around hospital packaging. \u00a0That is to say the single portion stuff that you may have come across in hotels, transport cafes, care homes, hospitals and indeed if you’re off Santa’s list, prisons. What I didn’t say in my last post, is what sorts of food packaging are most\u00a0difficult to get into, and why?<\/p>\n

Let’s deal with the why first. Getting into packaging requires us to understand how to get into the pack, and subsequently it requires us to have the strength and the dexterity to peel, tear, twist and pull the pack to gain access.<\/p>\n

There are two things competing against our athletic abilities in the ‘Opening Packaging Challenge’:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. the requirement\u00a0to keep things sealed for transportation (so the product is safe and in one piece when it gets to you), and<\/li>\n
  2. to package\u00a0things as quick as possible using the least amount of material on the production line (this keeps the cost down and reduces the environmental impact).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Much of the packaging that is problematic for people has been described in our research as ‘fiddly’: you can’t quite grasp it, or it doesn’t tear, or you can’t see where to tear it. This has been borne out\u00a0by the packs we’ve tested so far that have failed the ISO test I mentioned in the previous blog.<\/p>\n

    So in terms of what \u00a0sorts of food packaging are\u00a0difficult to open, it’s packets of biscuits, crackers, cheese, sachets of sauce, jam and preserves, pretty much everything when it’s in packs that you can’t grasp, don’t tear or can’t see where to tear. For example, the common single portion pack of crackers failed the ISO test: nobody noticed the arrow showing where to tear the pack and all the participants chose a method that made opening the pack harder than it should have been. Working with the Design Futures team we’ve just redesigned the pack to help people do it an easier way. It’s due to be tested later this summer so watch this space.<\/p>\n

    \"Alaster<\/a>

    Alaster Yoxall, Packaging testing, 2017<\/p><\/div>\n

    If we can crack it for the crackers for want of a better phrase, then we can sort it for many of these ‘fiddly’ packs, and we’ll be a few steps nearer to our ‘Holy Grail’. Sir Lancelot and the ‘Frustration Free Pack’ not quite the stuff of legends, but we’re on our way to making truly easy accessible single portion packaging, something real and not a myth.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

    Please note: Views expressed are those of the Author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of SHU, C3RI\u00a0or the C3RI Impact\u00a0Blog.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    About the author Dr Alaster Yoxall is Principal Research Fellow in Human Centered Engineering and is based in Design Futures within the Art & Design Research Centre. In this post, Alaster explores what makes food packaging so frustrating and shares some good news about crackers\u00a0.   In my last blog I talked about how we are skipping gently down the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1158,"featured_media":2202,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[228],"tags":[169,255,170],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-researcher-blog","tag-alaster-yoxall","tag-designfutures","tag-packaging-research"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/06\/IMG_1449-e1497879695736.jpg?fit=975%2C290&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8oFHo-ze","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2836,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/alaster-yoxall-rip-off-britain\/","url_meta":{"origin":2184,"position":0},"title":"Design Futures’ Dr Alaster Yoxall featured on Rip Off Britain","author":"Ian Braddick","date":"31\/03\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Packaging expert Dr Alaster Yoxall joins Gloria Hunniford and a trio of British bodybuilders including the current Mr Universe to examine packaging accessibility on Rip Off Britain. One of the problem products the team examine is the much-loved crumpet, with packaging which proves too tricky for two out of three\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Still from Rip Off Britain - episode featuring Alaster Yoxall","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/09\/YOXALL-2014-03-Rip-Off-Britain.jpg?fit=890%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/09\/YOXALL-2014-03-Rip-Off-Britain.jpg?fit=890%2C290&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/09\/YOXALL-2014-03-Rip-Off-Britain.jpg?fit=890%2C290&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/09\/YOXALL-2014-03-Rip-Off-Britain.jpg?fit=890%2C290&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3191,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/alaster-yoxall-cost-sector-catering\/","url_meta":{"origin":2184,"position":1},"title":"Design Futures’ Dr Alaster Yoxall discusses food packaging in the NHS","author":"Ian Braddick","date":"09\/10\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: Alaster's work was featured in Elite Business where the finding of his research found that 20% of the older age group will switch brands rather than struggle to open a carton or bottle. 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Alaster has been involved in the 'Inclusive Design' of packaging for a little over 12 years. 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In both industry and academia there has been a growing interest in investigating approaches that capture consumer responses to products that go beyond traditional sensory\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Publications"","block_context":{"text":"Publications","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/category\/publications\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cover of Integrating the Packaging and Product Experience in Food and Beverages: A Road-Map to Consumer Satisfaction (Woodhead Publishing - courtesy of Alaster Yoxall)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/files\/2017\/05\/YOXALL-2017-05-Integrating-the-Packaging-and-Product-Experience-in-Food-and-Beverages.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1446,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.ac.uk\/c3riimpact\/alaster-yoxall-wrap-rage-blog\/","url_meta":{"origin":2184,"position":4},"title":"Researcher Blog by Dr Alaster Yoxall: #1 – Wrap Rage","author":"Alison Honnor","date":"31\/03\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"About the author Dr Alaster Yoxall is Principal Research Fellow in Human Centered Engineering and is based in Design Futures within the Art & Design Research Centre. 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