During the epidemic, a group of netizens from all over the country posted selfies wearing the same cup-shaped mask online. If not reminded, it is difficult for you to immediately notice that the mask they are wearing is made of cardboard.
Peng Xianjiang, a packaging designer from Dongguan Yucheng Paper Creative Packaging Co., Ltd., led the design of this paper mask that people can quickly assemble by themselves. During the epidemic, masks became one of the most important and scarce epidemic prevention materials. Talents in all fields were looking for innovative solutions to the problem of mask production capacity. With the birth of a mass innovation project called "Vulcan Mask" on the Internet, Peng Xianjiang became the first designer of the project.
I hope to use more creativity to lead design ideas and bring more thinking to everyone, "said Peng Xianjiang. As early as his first year in the industry, Peng Xianjiang won the highest award of "China Packaging Star" for his excellent design work - all paper transportation packaging. Over the past decade, he has won more than 10 individual and team awards for packaging design, as well as 6 individual patents.
Author: Zhang Shaweiqili
Participate in public welfare design projects to contribute to the fight against the epidemic
Currently, there is a shortage of raw materials for masks. What do you think about designing a paper mask? "On the ninth day of the Lunar New Year this year, Peng Xianjiang received a sudden call from his hometown in Hunan. The sudden outbreak of the epidemic has made it difficult to find a mask across the country. Photos of Chinese people wearing modified plastic edible oil tanks, water dispensers, and other daily necessities on their heads when going out due to a lack of masks have been widely circulated online.
The shortage of mask production capacity is a common problem faced by people during the epidemic, with mask prices doubling and becoming difficult to purchase. If there is a low-cost paper mask that can be quickly assembled by oneself, it can solve the problem of many people not having a mask when going out.
Peng Xianjiang has 13 years of rich experience in industrial packaging design and unique insights into all paper structure design. Therefore, the project initiator contacted him, hoping that he would lead the product design. After hearing the project initiator's idea, Peng Xianjiang agreed without hesitation.
Peng Xianjiang was the first member of the project design team and also the leader of the design team. At that time, everyone communicated and exchanged ideas through WeChat. We set up a design group with more than ten designers from Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other parts of the country participating. I drew and designed according to everyone's ideas and communicated with them in the group to optimize the subsequent redesign of the mouth mask
There are two difficulties in the design concept. One is that the entire mask can only be designed with one piece of paper, which greatly tests the designer's creative ability. On the other hand, whether the edges can perfectly fit the face requires continuous repeated testing to ultimately achieve the goal. Peng Xianjiang said that in the first few days of the project, his main job was to draw conceptual ideas on the drawings.
On February 9th, Peng Xianjiang drove back to Dongguan ahead of schedule. Afterwards, Peng Xianjiang shuttled back and forth between home and work every day: "There's no other way, the printing equipment is all at the company." After receiving the printed design product, Peng Xianjiang immediately folded and pasted it onto his face. He found that the mask design he had conceived had a low degree of fit with the face after being made into a physical object, so he took a photo of the mask he was wearing and sent it to the design group. While exchanging ideas with everyone, he picked up a pen and paper to draw other feasible solutions.
In order to complete the design as soon as possible, Peng Xianjiang spends most of his time in the company every day, printing out different designs from himself and various designers in the group, constantly testing the fit with the face shape, and taking videos to discuss in the WeChat group. After 5 days of testing and polishing, the design drawings were finally finalized and 2000 copies were issued. The final product consists of a large cardboard with double-sided tape attached to multiple edges, a filter, and 2 ropes. Peng Xianjiang explained that users only need to stick the filter to the interlayer of the mask body, then tie the tie through the cardboard and fix it, finally tear off the double-sided tape sticker on the cardboard, stick the triangular area next to the double-sided tape, and the paper mask will be raised into shape.
Due to resource constraints at the time, the filter cloth in the design work could not be found to be of medical grade. But the works are still sent to netizens from all over the country who participate in registration for testing and use. Many people took photos of themselves wearing paper masks and sent them online, spreading this design work and speaking out together to help fight against the epidemic. Peng Xianjiang said that seeing his designed works being recognized and used by more and more people, and many netizens fighting against the epidemic in such a special way, he feels a sense of achievement in his heart.
Won the National Packaging Design Gold Award within one year of entering the industry
When I first graduated, my design skills were not high. The school only taught me how to use professional design software. It wasn't until I joined this company that I truly began to learn rich design knowledge, "said Peng Xianjiang.
Peng Xianjiang, who majored in computer science, joined Dongguan Zhenglong Paper Products Co., Ltd. after graduating in 2006. His first job after graduation also became the initial source for him to accumulate design and creative abilities.
Peng Xianjiang joined the company as a packaging designer, responsible for liaising with overseas clients on a daily basis and transforming their transportation packaging design drafts into actual finished products.
At that time, Peng Xianjiang connected with multiple major overseas brand clients and received many design works from outstanding designers in Taiwan and Japan, which inspired him. For me, who had a weak foundation in design at that time, good design works not only amazed me, but also made me reflect on the rules and techniques they used. In Peng Xianjiang's opinion, there are three main considerations for packaging structure design. The first is to design a cardboard shape that matches the shape of the packaged product, so that the cardboard can be perfectly embedded with the product shape after folding and inserting; The second is to consider the weight and material of the product, and evaluate the required hardness of the cardboard. If the hardness is too low, it cannot support the weight of the product, and if the hardness is too high, it cannot provide cushioning when the packaging falls, losing the protection of the product; The third is to consider the shape design of the packaging, making it more aesthetically pleasing on the basis of practicality.
Peng Xianjiang's specific job at that time was to print the received drawings into physical samples and fold and assemble them. During the continuous process of folding and assembling, as well as subsequent modifications to the design draft, Peng Xianjiang gradually developed more thoughts on structural design. Through these blueprint works in my hand, they became excellent samples for me to conceive how to do a good design later, "Peng Xianjiang said. At that time, in order to better improve his design level, he not only often consulted overseas designers for questions, but also frequently consulted packaging design related materials after work, comparing and summarizing different packaging designs.
Earthquake resistance and drop resistance are the most important aspects in transportation packaging design, so the focus of packaging design is on structural integration. I need to consider where to fold the paper into rectangles and triangles during the design process, taking into account the shape and weight of the product, to make it more evenly stressed and better ensure the seismic and drop resistance of the packaging. "In less than a year since entering the industry, Peng Xianjiang's packaging structure design ability has been greatly improved through active learning, and his outstanding business ability has promoted him to the supervisor of the design department specializing in packaging structures.
Subsequently, Peng Xianjiang took over a children's high chair packaging project. After three weeks of design polishing and repeated testing, he finally designed a simpler packaging structure idea, achieving the goal of matching the product inlay and being resistant to falls and earthquakes. After the project was completed, he submitted his satisfactory work as a competition entry to the "China Packaging Star" competition.
Due to the emphasis on the functional design of packaging and the technological content of packaging design, as well as the emphasis on material selection and structural design, Peng Xianjiang's work was ultimately awarded the highest award (gold medal) of the "China Packaging Star" that year. In the same year, another packaging design work by Peng Xianjiang was also selected by the China Packaging Association to participate in the World Packaging Star Competition and won the "World Packaging Star" Design Award.
Maintaining a joyful mindset is essential for making good designs
Having been in the industry for over ten years, Peng Xianjiang has led his team to produce multiple outstanding works that have won over ten awards, including the "First Prize" in the 2011 China Packaging Creative Design Competition, the "Third Prize" in the 2011 China Packaging Creative Design Competition, and the "Bronze Prize" in the 2018 Guangdong Star Creative Design Competition. Six independently developed packaging designs have also obtained personal patents.
For his own achievements, Peng Xianjiang believes that having good learning methods and a happy attitude are indispensable.
In my past work and study, I have always maintained the habit of collecting excellent works and summarizing them, which helps me to think better and keep up with the times. At the same time, I believe that doing packaging design well is more important to constantly practice. During the process of making samples, I will imagine folding the same place in different ways to see if different effects will be produced, "said Peng Xianjiang.
Secondly, design is a job that requires experience accumulation and inspiration. If one relies solely on experience, they often become a template tool, and novel and interesting ideas are often generated when emotions are pleasant. Peng Xianjiang believes that design should be a job that makes people feel happy. However, nowadays, many designers will continue to work overtime late at night after a day of work in order to meet the deadline. Long hours of work bring mental pressure and affect the designer's performance. Peng Xianjiang has his own stress relieving trick - when he still doesn't have a design idea after thinking for a day, he will choose to empty out all the thoughts of the day, let himself rest on time, and wait until he wakes up the next day with a full spirit and happy emotions, and then change his thinking to make design breakthroughs.
Nowadays, Peng Xianjiang not only founded his own design company, but also became a packaging design technical consultant due to his rich experience accumulation. The team members I have led before have already gone their separate ways, and some have even entered excellent listed companies. However, when they encounter design problems, they often come to me to discuss and research specific design issues. Peng Xianjiang said that in his work over the years, what has made him happy is not only the successful design of his works and the recognition of his colleagues' abilities, but also the contribution of his design works to China's all paper transportation packaging design.
Peng Xianjiang believes that currently, the design technology of all paper transportation packaging structure is at the forefront of the country and not inferior to many developed countries, so packaging design is full of infinite imagination and possibilities. Recently, Peng Xianjiang and the company team are working on a new creative design concept. I think creative packaging design is not just about earthquake and drop resistance, but can also use creativity to endow packaging with other practical functions, such as giving transport paper boxes a 'locking' function. Peng Xianjiang said that this new design idea will undergo physical testing and optimization, and hopes that after successful research and development, it can become a widely used creative packaging design in the future.