the moringa project: university of florida graphic design

Today in class, we clarified what keywords should define the moringa powder and what names could possibly be used for branding the powder.

• KEYWORDS: pure & natural, smart, informative/accessible/concise, invigorating/strength, artisan/handmade

• NAMES: Ratio (numbers), Sprigs (or family name), Good Leaf, Pow Pow Powder

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It was inspiring to see many different options for using a clear bag to package products without loosing the “class” or “appeal” of the product.

Here are a few things I think we should explore involving actual packaging strategies:

a) using stick on labels to present material

b) using a paper-flap component to visually seal the bag (either partial or full wrap around the bag)

c) possibly screen printing directly onto the plastic bag material

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/health-benefits-of-moringa.html

Here’s a screen shot of the woolworths’ website taken today. I noticed in the mid-left column there’s information on Earth Day and the WWF. That tells us something about values. Looking for more clues from the site.

Also on the Woolworth’s site

After reading many of the blog posts and taking in all that Edward had to say last Tuesday and also the questions he answered, I think we pretty much have our work cut out for us.

I agree with what a few people already recommended, that being we should decide on a name and material for the package first and foremost. I believe these key elements will be the basis of our design.

Here is an interesting page I found when looking for how to use moringa powder. I thought it was very interesting that the paragraph mentions that high temperatures can destroy many of the nutrients of the product, although we have heard it is recommended for cooking…

http://www.treesforlife.org/our-work/our-initiatives/moringa/faq/using-moringa/how-do-i-use-moringa-leaf-powder

In my research I also found this info-graphic which explains how moringa can be compared to other foods. (this design is not nearly as appealing as the brochure Maria showed in class.)

One last interesting thing I discovered in my research was a list of benefits of moringa. Some I found almost comical, but might be interesting to include in a brochure/website.

1. Increases the Natural Defenses of the body
2. Provides nourishment to the eyes and the brain.
3. Promotes metabolism with bio-available ingredients
4. Promotes the Cell structure of the body
5. Promotes natural Serum cholesterol.
6. Lowers the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
7. Promotes the normal functioning of the liver and the kidney.
8. Beautifies the skin
9. Promotes energy
10. Promotes proper digestion
11. Acts as an antioxidant
12. Takes care of the immune system of the body
13. Promotes healthy circulatory system
14. It is an anti-inflammatory
15. Gives a feeling of general wellness
16. Supports the normal sugar levels of the body.

After reading Ed’s response to the questions we asked, I thought it would be useful to look up useful information and maybe good recipes to use for moringa powder. I think it would be very helpful for the buyer to see what ways moringa powder can be used for & how it can be used.

” Moringa leaf powder can be used as a tea, added to beverages, sprinkled on food or taken in capsules.  It can be used in cooking, but high temperatures destroy some of the nutrients.

A teaspoonful or so can be placed directly under the tongue and washed down with water, but care must be taken not to breathe the fine powder.

Moringa leaf powder is loaded with nutrition, easy to make, easy to store and easy to use.  The ways to incorporate Moringa leaf powder into the diet are truly endless.”

+ more info on moringa: http://www.themoringa.com/

+ a website with good nutritional facts about moringa & certain ways it helps for different types of people: http://www.enjoymoringa.com/

+ a PDF of moringa recipes: http://shop.themoringamiracle.co.uk/Moringa%20Recipes.pdf

+ more moringa recipe sites:

http://www.moringafarms.com/recipes.htm

http://www.moringaleafpowder.co.za/recipes.html

This link below isn’t about packaging or our target audience, but I think it could be valuable for inspiration in some way or even as a simple visual reminder of the country that we’re working for. In that way I think it is very relevant to our project.

It’s a collection of great photos of Swaziland from all over Flickr – some will probably surprise you like they did me. I’ve spent a good amount of time going through them a little bit each day and they are all so interesting. I think you’ll find them just as interesting and compelling.

http://www.designshares.com/moringa/k8d

I’m going to piggy-back off of this post and agree that our first course of action should be to figure out the name of our product, and to decide what kind of packaging we will use. After that, I think this may be a good course of action:

1) Using the chosen name and packaging structure (verified by Edward), we would split into groups, possibly the groups of 3 we already have, and come up with proposals for the packaging.

2) Iterations are presented by group, and the class chooses 3 designs to refine and show to Edward.

3) Once we get feedback from Edward on the packaging design, we can break into groups according to different materials that could be produced. For example, one group will continue refining the design, while others may develop the website, educational materials, a display, etc. Communication between groups is key, and presentations should happen at least once a week.

4) Everyone eats moringa powder and is happy.

Names I Liked

• Sprig
• Stem / Sprout (but I like Sprig the best)
• Vita
• Leaf of Life

note: we should ask Edward about copyright situations with the name

Packaging I Liked
Wendy posted images from Fresh Market, including a bag of grits. I really liked this way of packaging the moringa because it is lightweight, “ecofriendly” without having to force the eco side of things (culturally speaking), can hold a lot of powder, is a wonderful tactile experience—that is, very soft—and could perhaps employ manual labor (though that depends on how tight the weave can be without using a machine).

Printing Companies in Swaziland
Some of these may look a bit dumb, but this is just to show that there may be resources available to us within Swaziland:
Armstrong Artworks (screenprinting)
a directory of printers
packaging places (Yellow Pages)
printers (Yellow Pages)

The photos aren’t the best quality because I didn’t have my dslr and the lighting was too dim, but here are the ones that we liked the best! We  all came to conclusion that you can make materials look chic with good design. For example, the rice (flour?) bags and the tomato cans – simple yet elegant!

I briefly mentioned Woolworths South Africa when presenting our mood boards, but I thought it was important enough to put up here. From Wikipedia:

“Woolworths is an upmarket retail chain in South Africa selling goods of a comparable nature to Marks & Spencer stores in the United Kingdom. The South African company also operates stores in Bahrain, Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Zambia and Zimbabwe.”

Considering we will likely be thinking of this project in phases, this seems like it could be the next step, to get the product from a relatively low-end chain such as Pick-n-Pay to a more upscale setting. When I visited Woolworths, the packaging did in fact stand out to me; it had some eye-catching characteristics, including revealing the product with clear plastic or cut outs, bold sans-serif typography, and large white space contrasted with bold photography.

“Woolworths is switching from plastic to cardboard packaging for its ‘to go’ range of sandwiches. The cardboard used in the new pack is certified as coming from a sustainable and well-managed forest. While the transparent window may look like it is made from plastic, it is in fact made from corn, another renewable resource.”