Lea & Perrins Student Factory Visit

The front gates of the famous factory which is still in Worcester.

An exterior picture of the famous Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce Factory which is still the one place in the world that both makes and packages the iconic condiment.

An absolutely amazing place to visit that is steeped in history. Thankyou's to Shane Shortman - Heinz UK's Brand Manager for Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce for arranging as well as factory staff Paul and Martin who kindly gave up their time to give us factory tours. 

The smells as we walked through the different areas of the factory were just simply amazing and an assault to the senses.. Students were shown around various elements involved in the production process of the famous sauce which is still made on site hundreds of years after the factory was originally built by local chemists Mr Lea and Mr Perrin.

The Green Design students on the Graphic Design and Multimedia Course at the University of Worcester are presently in the middle of a brief set by Lea & Perrins (Heinz UK) to design sustainable prototype re-designs of the iconic sauce bottles. Heinz' Corporate Responsibility Charter has resulted in both Heinz (and Lea & Perrins in particular) dramatically reducing their waste outputs to landfill. The sustainable re-design student project has also been generated through the requirements of the charter too which looks at all aspects of procurement and materials use.

We'll add more here when internal shots have been vetted by Heinz. Many of these involve the machinery and elements used in the sauce's secret recipe - which they're understandably sensitive about.

Further imagery from the day's visit:

The exterior of the famous factory.

Inside the factory.

Lea & Perrin's labels all ready to be added to the bottles.

Sauce bottle packaging in it's flattened state.

Inside the factory.

The Students and tutor all ready to go on to the factory floor. 

The rear of the factory near where the coopers used to make
the oak barrels for sauce.

GDES3003 Blog Task for Tues 27th and Thu 29th Nov.

Assessed Blog Task For Tues 27th and Thu 29th Nov.

Please put your individual returned comments below this post in the 'Post a Comment' box. With [your name] first.

Q1 Materials lightness, suitability for purpose, minimalising of materials use and 'clever or smart' usages of materials were all considerations discussed at CAT with Jo. With your present designs for the Lea and Perrins brief mixed with the research that you've done to date and some of Jo's discussions  (remember there's an mp3 on this year's CAT trip post) suggest 3 ways in which you might minimise your materials use with your package. 

Q2 After our group tutorials in sessions last week we spoke with all who attended about their ideas to date and made suggestions on how they might be improved upon. What 3 considerations did you take away from those discussions and how might they affect the way that you've taken your designs further since last week's sessions?

Q3 Again, on the back of tutorial discussions in sessions last week we'd agreed that most of you needed to add further references/research into products (food-related or otherwise) or precedents that successfully applied some or all of the ideas you were suggesting for the L+P brief. You'll need to have these anyway as part of a rounded set of supporting research. Name or cite 3 precedents or examples of how your ideas for L+P have already been applied commercially.

N.B. This blog task is for each student in both the tues and thu groups irrespective of whether they are going to attend the planned L+P factory visit on Nov 29th PM (I'll finalise timings in an e-mail pre thu pm).

Timings: 
I'll be checking on this blog on fri 30th Nov AM to see who has put up their comments in response to this task.

Prototype Student Designs - Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce

Some lovely prototype design solutions - these from student
Matthew Maynard

We're reaching 'prototypes' stage with the student's designs for the sustainable re-design of Lea and Perrins' Worcester Sauce. Each student has brought along either a set of printed working ideas or has done the same and wrapped around one of the iconic bottles for demonstration.

The majority of solutions arrived with 'value added' ideas such as local food recipes that use the famous sauce, a facility to fit quick refills which cuts down on the need for glass bottles and ideas for various bio-plastics that may potentially replace the glass bottles entirely.

The students are due to take a tour of the Lea and Perrins factory at the end of November 2012 so that they can see the sauce being bottled.

Eco Print and Paper Visting Speakers for Worcester Graphic Design Students

Mary Warren from Robert Horne Paper talks to Green Design Students
at the University of Worcester.

Big thanks to Mark Pickford from Seacourt's Eco Printers in Oxford and Mary Warren from Robert Horne's sustainable board/paper suppliers in Northampton for coming over to talk to my yr 3 Green Design guys.. 

Mark talked about Seacourt's environmental credentials and the sorts of work they undertake as well as the many awards gathered en route (including 2x Queen's Awards!). Mary talked in some depth about the various papers and boards available now to designers when thinking about either eco print or packaging. She also talked about the need to think about reducing materials use where possible but while still conveying the same message. Finally Mary talked about the rise of the 'ethical consumer' - educated and with disposable incomes these people are part of the driving force behind many large companies 'greening' their business practices.

Great to hear them both talk about their industry and big thanks again to them both for travelling over to see us. Our third year Green Design students are working on an eco packaging brief this year to design prototype sustainable re designs of the iconic Worcester Sauce bottle and associated graphics.

Mary's video

GDES3003-RobertHorne- from Andy Stevenson Work on Vimeo.

Questions For Seacourts or Robert Horne

Both Mark from Seacourt's Eco Printers and Mary from Robert Horne kindly offered to answer your further questions in relation to either print techniques or paper/board considerations tied-in to your brief for L+P.

Please post further questions as 'comments' on this post with [Your Name] and [whether tues or thu session people].