Keywords

"Maybe stories are just data with a soul".

Brené Brown.

1 The Complexity of the Packaging System and Current Crises: An Advanced Design-Driven Project as a Tool for Embracing Change

Packaging today is a multi-dimensional subject. It is a driver and an accelerator of the social, economic and environmental phenomena in which it is immersed: following the evolution of the packaging system makes it possible to perceive the mutations of the territory, it reveals the processes of distribution, production and waste management, and it highlights how the behaviours of citizens are evolving. Packaging is therefore a complex phenomenon with a high degree of economic and cultural cross-sectoriality: for the quantity and variety of subjects and disciplines involved, and for its ability to convey socially or environmentally relevant messages and information, to act on the quality of life and climate, to monitor safety, to connect people and companies. Packaging finally appears as a map which guides the consumer within a complex system of stakeholders: it suggests consumption or disposal practices, it warns and informs, it promotes social and environmental causes and highlights the company purpose. Object and interface as well, the packaging involves a plurality of specific players, operating in a value chain that is no longer linear but interconnected, called Value Web [1]. The combination of these actors, relationships, disciplines give life to a Product System that can be defined as “Packaging System” [2, 3], moving within a context where several crises coexist - economic, social, environmental, health - changing our needs as citizen-consumers and as companies.

The community of people working in the Packaging System in fact needs today to be resilient and sustainable and balance the needs of Profit, People, Planet: an indispensable but difficult transition for companies. This need to embrace change and thus trigger innovation requires a renewed toolbox to move in a new reality. As Carmelo Di Bartolo explains, quoting in turn Renzo Piano, ‘when you make innovation you have to create the tools to make it happen’ [4]. In this changed global scenario, the role of Design and Advanced Design (ADD) in particular, takes on even greater value, due to its ability to facilitate these changes with a system of practices aimed to design “processes, products or services for complex scenarios located in the future” [5]. ADD, framed within the field of the Design of Processes and seen as a systemic approach, relies on multi-stakeholder collaborative practices to drive change.

The question underlying this paper is therefore: how can research in ADD and its tools help to embrace change, accelerate systemic and responsible innovation and narrate it in companies operating in complex, multidisciplinary sectors such as packaging? ADD in fact moves mainly around 4 factors:

  • Time factor: Planning with respect to an earlier future, and thus in a logic of anticipation.

  • Without Market: Designing without solicitation of a client and market demand [5].

  • Extreme design: Designing by looking for references and stimuli in places which are geographically or culturally very distant from those of the project itself.

  • BtoB, Shelf innovation and design of research tools: studying processes where innovation aims to be a continuous process [6].

Returning to the Packaging System, the hypothesis is thus that supporting change in such a complex system and triggering responsible and systemic innovation in this sector, can take place through an ADD-driven project such as an Observatory: a monitoring system, which collects case studies, gathers and processes knowledge and contributes to the creation of a network that connects the various players. The Packaging Innovation Observatory is therefore an eco-systemic project of the Advanced Design Unit (ADU: a research group of the Department of Architecture of the University of Bologna) and represents one of the tangible forms that ADD can take, a field of experimentation to verify the theoretical premises, but also the tools and practices, of this branch of industrial design.

2 ADU’s Packaging Innovation Observatory: Background, Processes, Methods and Tools

The Packaging Innovation Observatory of the University of Bologna, in particular, was created to narrate, interpret and act on the phenomenon of packaging as an expression of contemporary cultural complexity, starting from the mediating sensitivity of Design - capable of bringing together the knowledge of different scientific and technological sectors - for the creation of a system that can spread knowledge and multiply collaborative projects of responsible innovation.

2.1 The Packaging Innovation Observatory Process

The Observatory acts with different instruments, in an organic process made up of 4 elements:

  • Research: It monitors the industry, archives significant case studies and collects industry trends and insights in a digital database, to study data and extract common dynamics and predictive elements.

  • Analysis: It observes, cross-reads and interprets qualitative-quantitative data from a multidisciplinary, ADD-oriented perspective, carrying out specific studies and research.

  • Storytelling: It simplifies complexity and communicates it through “value stories”, that are able to tell the observed phenomena at different levels.

  • Networking: It facilitates the relationship between different actors in an integrated system approach to create a cross-sectoral network of stakeholders.

2.2 The International Symposium “the Future of Packaging Design. Toward a Smart and Sustainable Era”

The process of collecting cases and documents, which was the starting point for the Observatory, began in 2019 when a Symposium was organised by ADU. On that occasion we adopted a process that involves gathering and interviewing experts on a topic (“observers”), in order to collaborate on data research and case study reporting. The results of this investigation are then brought to a wide audience through the organisation of an international Symposium, where the results are disseminated, fostering the creation of a network on the topic, the basis for the construction of a potential Observatory on the topic itself.

This research model has also been adopted on the topic of innovation in the Packaging system. During the 2019 Symposium we coordinated qualitative-quantitative research that collected more than 300 cases studies of packaging innovation, reported by 80 international observers. In front of an audience of 250 people, 6 global case studies were presented and 8 other local experts were invited for discussion. On 6th December of that year, the 1st International Symposium entitled “The Future of Packaging Design. Toward A Smart And Sustainable Era” has been held in Bologna.

The results of that preliminary research presented at the conference have been:

  • the identification of 6 innovation drivers, engines for the industry into the future;

  • the detection of six ‘design alerts’, as we named them, i.e. the translation of the drivers into concrete actions for all companies and designers handling packaged products.

The conference ended with a call to action to companies on the idea of creating an Observatory, continuing the research process started in the months preceding the Symposium and continuing to connect the stakeholder network. Over the next two years, the Packaging Innovation Observatory continued working, although the formalisation took place in October 2021 with the launch of the digital platform https://adu.unibo.it/osservatoriopack/

The Observatory digital platform. The platform consists of 4 main sections: Explore, Learn, Design and Connect.

  • Explore. The first section is dedicated to the exploration of case studies and is based on an archiving system developed by ADU. The packaging system section was developed starting from an in-depth indexing work started as early as the Symposium with prof. Erik Ciravegna of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, at that time Visitor Fellow in Unibo.

  • The sheet consists of a descriptive part of the project and an analytical part, in which each case is marked with different tags describing the ‘type of intervention’, a label that scientifically indicates the type of project action carried out, and defines the type of innovation (meant as adaptation to change) that emerges. The system makes it possible to navigate through these tags interactively and in all directions. To date, more than 500 case studies have been archived, 50 of which are made available free of charge on the website, while all others are accessible to Observatory Members (companies receiving its services in consideration of a fee).

  • Learn. The second section of the site is dedicated to shared content and is in turn divided into 3 other subsections:

    • Insight: an aggregator of articles, podcasts, reports, books, news, videos and papers. A selection of content coming from specialised italian and foreign sites to deepen the topics of innovation in the packaging sector. It is a dynamic snapshot of the state of the art to understand change, looking at different thematic fields outside and around the sector in a ADD ‘extreme design’ logic.

    • Research: this section is dedicated to cross-driver and in-depth research (on innovation agents and for vertical analysis), accessible to Members of the Observatory. On the website some examples of the two types of research are available.

    • Events: the page aggregates sector’s events in Italy and around the world, for a deeper understanding of packaging innovation issues and to keep up with sector continuous innovation.

  • Design. The third tool of the platform is related to projects and refers to the type of services that the Observatory can offer, Talent Labs (projects that hybridise project skills inside and outside University and companies), competitive or cross-company collaborative projects. Project planning is not at the heart of the Observatory's services, focused on research, but is meant as a tool of experimentation or validation for research purposes.

  • Connect. The Packaging Innovation Observatory is a network, but also a point of reference and connection for the community of people in the Packaging System. The page highlights the relationships in place, such as ADU's internal Project Coordinators, the members of the Scientific Commission (in which several Italian and foreign Universities converge), the Members (affiliated companies) and the Supporters (bodies and organisations that patronise the Observatory project).

3 The Narrative Dimension of the Packaging Innovation Observatory: The Value Story Concept in the Giflex Applied Case Study

In the process started with Symposium and still continuing with the monitoring, analysis and data transformation carried out by the Observatory, we consider the narrative and qualitative aspects as more important than the quantitative ones: without neglecting the importance of data, the Observatory's design-driven approach does not aim at measuring phenomena statistically. Rather, it has the capacity to interpret and narrate phenomena in a transversal manner, to connect aspects relating to different disciplines and to establish a dialogue between different actors. In this way, complexity can be simplified and communicated through effective storytelling accessible at different levels. The data will be read and interpreted as data stories, to understand what they tell about the phenomenon in object and to interpret the society and the companies.

The amount of case studies collected does not aim at being an exhaustive mapping of the packaging ecosystem, but rather a tool for narration and identification of innovation drivers, to facilitate the dialogue among stakeholders and to stimulate research projects into the ecosystem itself.

3.1 The Giflex Research Case Study

In order to delineate in depth the aspect of integration between the different fields and languages, and the importance of knowledge translation and narration to the different actors, it will be significant to report the specific research that the Packaging Innovation Observatory has carried out for Giflex [8], the Italian association grouping manufacturers of flexible packaging designed for the packaging of food, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other industrial applications. The brief and aim of the research programme were the definition of an identity and value profile of flexible packaging, based on the innovative elements of the sector, and the positive impacts that these elements have on people's lives and on the environment, in order to create a value story to be told in contexts of dissemination and promotion. In fact, flexible packaging suffers from the negative reputation of the plastic with which it is associated, often leaving in the background its inner qualities of lightness, durability, adaptability, practicality and safety, which are essential in everyday life and in industrial and logistical environments. The study examined flexible packages, their qualities and the values they express, analysing them according to ADD-driven interpretations. The research, which is still ongoing, has a total duration of 12 months and will end in December 2022.

Desk Research and Field Research

  • Desk Research. In the first phase, a large quantity of documents was analysed, 70 specialised websites and 145 technical-scientific readings. The collection and organisation of information also involved the study of flexible packages and their qualities on the market in Italy and worldwide: over 300 case studies were collected and analysed, starting from an observation of national and global packaging design awards. A specific case study analysis sheet was developed for the research, based on the Observatory sheet but with specific “type of interventions” grouped into 6 macro thematic areas.

  • The first two results of the desk research were the construction of an identity profile of flexible packaging - made up of visible and hidden qualities, the expression respectively of an evident and a discreet innovation - and the identification of 4 drivers of innovation in the packaging sector, to understand how flexible packaging is adapting to the changes. Furthermore, the 6 macro thematic areas of the sheet were the starting point for outlining 6 Value Drivers, i.e. factors that determine the creation of value in flexible packaging: Sustainability, Materials, Production and Logistics, Digital Technologies, User-centred Solutions, Communication.

  • Field Research. The research programme included a second stage of activities to receive insights directly from industry players, in an Open Innovation process that involved Giflex members in participatory activities. The first two activities were aimed at collecting insights from industry actors on the qualities, strengths, weaknesses, prejudices and their vision of the future (2050) about flexible packaging:

    • Interactive survey: it was carried out live during the GIFLEX Congress on 18–19 May 2022 in Rome, where the first results of the research were presented. Using the Mentimeter tool, 98 responses were collected live from people in the room.

    • Web survey: A questionnaire was sent via e-mail to all GIFLEX members during June 2022. Using the Google Form tool, responses were collected from 195 people.

The third field research activity was aimed at co-creating value stories with associates.

  • Online workshop: Held remotely on 9 June 2022 via the Zoom platform, the Miro tool was used and a co-creation activity was conducted with a group of 14 participants (Observatory members, companies, designers, journalists) divided into 3 mixed working groups for the creation of 3 different value stories.

  • The results of the Field Research started with the definition of a narrative method (tested in the workshop) for the construction of flexible packaging value stories. The question underlying each story is: How can flexible packaging help people solve problems and satisfy their needs in everyday life (and beyond)?

A generative and combinatory narrative method. The result was the conception of a combinatory method, which mixes 5 ‘narrative elements’ - need, context, content, form, quality - within a story composed of 4 ‘narrative phases’:

  1. 1.

    Starting situation.

  2. 2.

    The unexpected.

  3. 3.

    Magic object.

  4. 4.

    Happy ending.

The stories, still being defined as the research is in progress, will be composed as follows: a person expresses a certain need in relation to a goal or problem, in a specific context, at a specific place and time of day. To help the person fulfil this need, flexible packaging comes to their aid in the most appropriate form to wrap a certain content, and offering benefits associated with the qualities that the specific packaging solution presents.

The power of this narrative method is its generative aspect. Indeed, not only will it enable the research team to generate a series of ‘'value stories'’ for the association's use in their communication, with the objective of enhancing the qualities of the flexible packaging category. But being an open tool, it allows a potentially infinite combinatory game for the generation of new stories, both for use and benefit of the association and all associated companies.

4 Orienting Processes, Building Effective RTBTC Narratives

“Process is more important than outcome: When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we're going, but we will know we want to be there” [9]

In conclusion the Packaging Innovation Observatory - as an ADD-driven tool for archiving, mapping and narrating a complex system - proved to be a good answer to the paper's initial research question (i.e.: “how can research in ADD and its tools help to embrace change, accelerate systemic and responsible innovation and narrate it in companies operating in complex, multidisciplinary sectors such as packaging?”).

Design, seen as a mediator between needs and knowledges (Celaschi, 2008) of different scientific and technological sectors, was the starting point for a process of analysis and planning to create a system capable of spreading knowledge and multiplying collaborative projects in the packaging sector in its various declinations, as well as bringing out the trends of responsible innovation within this context.

The method defined for Giflex makes it possible to elaborate short narratives around the qualities of flexible packaging and the benefits it offers to people in everyday life as well as in unusual or extreme contexts, proving to be a generative and open-ended tool that allows for a potentially endless combinatorial game of creating ever new stories that can be used to promote the values of flexible packaging, placing them at the centre of communication actions to promote this sector.

If it is true as Bruce Mau states that “Process is more important than outcome”, we can ultimately conclude that the Packaging Innovation Observatory is an ADD-driven tool that integrates knowledge and languages and translates them into an RTBTC (Research To Business To Consumers) narrative language, guiding the actors of the Packaging System in orienting processes: not by defining goals but rather by suggesting possible directions, mixing data with qualitative observations, and translating these analyses into effective narratives.