Thinking Keeping : a practice-led research project which focuses on the act of opening or breaking in to product packaging

Thinking Keeping is a creative, practice-based enquiry into the irreversible act of 'breaking in' to a sealed package. Breaking open a product's packaging structures the user's first experiences of owning the product, and reinforces perceptions of the product's newness, perfection and desirability. It is a pivotal stage in the emotional lifetime of a product. Through creative methods we are subverting the experience of 'breaking the seal', by applying it to products that have already been owned and used. Our enquiry raises questions about the potential of packaging to overcome barriers to reuse, to help construct meaningful lasting relationships with products, and to challenge the desire for newness. We intend to expose contradictions in how consumers value, keep and destroy packaging. The research brings a new angle to research relating design to practices of keeping things and sustainable consumption (e.g. Chapman 2005, Fisher and Shipton 2010, Schifferstein et al 2008). Design can play a key role in influencing consumers' relationships to their possessions, and designers are in a position to propose powerful ways of rethinking the relationship through creative, practice-based approaches. Our explorations are structured around sketching, prototyping, and data collection via exhibition. Working without the constraints of a commercial brief means that we can develop concepts that subvert expectations, and whose ambiguity prompts reflection and speculation. Thinking Keeping is a collaboration between a product designer, a packaging designer, and a jewellery designer.