Zero Bag,
a design that goes beyond simple aesthetics and appeals to everyone

Introducing a user-oriented logical design

The 2023 Lexus Design Award is an international design competition for up and coming creators, and this year, a Korean team won an award for the first time in five years. The Lexus Award seeks designs that help shape the future and contribute to solving social problems using the key words of Anticipate, Innovate, Captivate, and Enhance Happiness. Zero Bag, submitted by students KyungHo Park and Yejin Heo, was highlighted as a design that would help solve problems with eco-friendly materials while providing convenience to product users.

The two students got to know each other through the Industrial Design Membership (IDM), an industrial design society that shares ideas on design. While researching upcycling materials for their Living Wear Design class, they conceived of the idea to use water-soluble plastic wrapping paper and started developing Zero Bag. In June 2022, while gradually developing the idea, they heard about the Lexus Design Award and decided to participate in the competition with Zero Bag, considering it appropriate for the theme of the Award.

Zero Bag consists of a clothing wrapper and a paper detergent film extracted from seaweed. When a consumer purchases clothes, the bought items are often placed in plastic bags for the customer to carry them in. Upon arriving home, the purchased clothes are removed from the plastic bag, the new clothes are washed, and the plastic packaging material is disposed of as waste. However, Zero Bag is a product that does not require garbage disposal while also serving as a washing detergent. Consumers can put clothes packed in Zero Bag directly into a washing machine without the use of any additional detergent. Student KyungHo Park explained the design value of the product, saying, “I thought about how to present better value to the public by changing the way clothing items are packaged. The result is our creation of Zero Bag as an eco-friendly product that addresses various concerns including users’ inconvenience. The key concept of Zero Bag is that it is a design that benefits our lives and considers user perspectives.”

Supplementation of Zero Bag is an important remaining challenge

Even after winning the Lexus Design Award, the idea of Zero Bag was refined several times. First, because the creators had an opportunity to collaborate with world-class creators through a three-month mentoring program, that lead to changes in their initial design. Yuri Suzuki, a famous Japanese designer and sound artist, gave constructive advice to take Zero Bag to the next level. Yejin Heo explained saying, “When I first designed the Zero Bag, I focused on creating a beautiful design and aesthetically pleasing appearance as much as possible. But I received feedback saying I should focus on the experiences of consumers actually using the product, rather than simply on the appearance of the product.” She added that it was an opportunity to transform Zero Bag into a practical product created from the users’ point of view.

She added, “In addition, by taking that advice and applying it to other fields, we have expanded our original idea to include meal kit wrappers and fruit wrappers using baking soda. We can confidently say that we have expanded the application of Zero Bag. KyungHo Park evaluated the significance of the collaboration, saying that mentoring has made him perceive design on a whole new level.

Students KyungHo Park and Yejin Heo were invited to Milan Design Week, a famous world-class design event, in April this year, thanks to their achievement with the Lexus Design Award. Lexus set up a separate booth for award-winning artists and exhibited the winning works. During the exhibition, Park and Heo were able to interact with various marketers and entrepreneurs. Needless to say, they are confident about the huge potential of Zero Bag. In particular, the most interesting issue discussed at the site was the business feasibility and commercialization of their product. Heo recalled that she had difficulty explaining to people who came to see the exhibition why Zero Bag is necessary, as apparently many foreign consumers are not familiar with the concept and culture of meal kits. In other words, she found that overcoming cultural differences was a marketing challenge.

In addition, there are still some problems to be resolved in commercializing the idea. With respect to waterproofing in daily life, we should also consider the durability of Zero Bag and its susceptibility to moisture and mold. The two students plan to conduct systematic tests and experiments to supplement and verify the functionality of Zero Bag.

Meanwhile, Park and Heo produced the final prototype of Zero Bag after the Milan Design Week and have made various attempts to expand the application of Zero Bag to more industries based on the feedback they received. They are considering various ways to make their product more sophisticated and safer, and are working on applying for a patent for Zero Bag, while searching for a suitable manufacturer.

To become a better designer

The 2023 Lexus Design Award and Milan Design Week presented venues for Park and Heo to demonstrate their talents as future professional designers. Park expressed his aspirations saying that if he had the opportunity he would like to try designing in fields other than eco-friendly products, saying:

“I haven’t decided on a specific area yet, but I want to work in any area that allows me to express my ideas for user experience and logical design without restrictions. I think a designer is someone who can identify high value in any field and present it to consumers in a way they can easily accept, rather than just being someone who makes products in a specific field.”

Heo also said she did not yet have a path she would like to pursue in the field of industrial design, but the design philosophy she has pursued thus far is clear.

“While I would like to satisfy people’s conscious needs, I believe that everyone has unconscious wants. I’d like to become a person who can satisfy people’s unconscious wants like the designer who developed a new takeout cup for users who don’t like getting lipstick on their cups when drinking, or who have difficulty in drinking.”

During the interviews, Park and Heo emphasized that good design not only encompasses elements that people consider aesthetically pleasing, but also enhances the user experience. A design that satisfies and appeals to people beyond satisfying their existing preferences will be recognized by the public. For such designs, students KyungHo Park and Yejin Heo, two next-generation designers, will pursue logical design and continue pursuing challenges to reveal better value to the world.