Innovation – Re-birth of a paint can?

Have you ever wondered why paint containers (infact, most containers) are cylindrical in shape? Why not any other shape? Is itbecause cylindrical shape has advantages over other shapes or is it because oftradition (this is how it has been done for centuries)?

When I thought about it, I did what people usuallydo now-a-days – Googled it. I found some very interesting stories and designs:
  • A see-through container made using PET. Moreinformation on the same here.This helps customers to see the color even before buying it, thereby making thepaint selection process easier, fun and results in a higher customersatisfaction.
  • A square container with a unique twist and pourmechanism by Dutch Boy Paints. More information on this design here.
  • A unique 1-2-Paint, a paint bucket with aninnovative lid that serves as a paint tray to dry the extra paint from thebrush before using it to paint. This was designed at the Dutch-based designoffice of FLEX and refinedin close cooperation with AKZO NOBEL COATINGS. They also received a patent for this design.More information on this design here.

These stories go on to prove that innovation neednot be limited to the product development team. It can permeate to all aspectsof your products including the packaging and distribution.

These striking designs transform a paint containerfrom a commodity to an item worth collecting.

Innovative designs can also emerge out of combiningdifferent ideas. For example, when you combine these container ideas, you get:
  • A see through container, which is square in shape andcomes with a paint tray to dry your paint before application.

Hope the paint companies in India (Asian Paints, Nerolac, Berger, Dulux,etc) are listening and would do some work to transform their product packaging.