Cellipack - Better Cell Phone Packaging by Grain.

Regular cellular phone packaging is excessive. As phones themselves continue to shrink in size, packaging does not. Phone buyers don’t even see the packaging until after they have bought their phone, as most point-of-purchase displays feature tester phones. The process is akin to buying shoes.

Considering packaging and shipping is vital to designing greener products. By re-evaluating the material, form, and content of traditional cell phone packaging, Cellipack is able to reduce shipping costs while minimizing waste, improving recyclablity, and putting twice as much product in the same amount of space. 

Cellipack features two layers of formed wire mesh which form an impact absorbing package without the need for additional padded materials or inserts. A recycled content paper band holds the mesh layers together while providing space for product identification and barcodes. The modular, nesting design separates the phone and A/C adapter into separate packages to maximize space savings in shipping. Multilingual digital manuals can be downloaded to the phone or computer, decreasing shipping weight, printing costs, and waste.

Highly efficient and recyclable, Cellipack also reduces the cell phone’s embodied energy from worldwide shipping.

Bainbridge Ferry Walkway Proposal

Update: We've been chosen as one of three finalists!  More info will follow soon.

Grain submitted the above sketch for Bainbridge Island's Ferry Terminal Walkway artist call organized by the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council. The concept is to drape laser cut sheets of Tyvek from the ceiling forming a fluid structure evoking low hanging clouds or gentle waves.

The structure would use the long perspective of the space as an advantage, providing a fluid experience that changes as the viewer moves through the space. There will be multiple scales of interest to the piece, allowing viewers who spend a longer period of time waiting for the boat to discover new details with each visit. A series of iconic Bainbridge images will be used to cut a pattern throughout each drape. These icons will include emblems such as the ferry, strawberries, fireworks, bicycles, deer, and more! We see these playful icons as an opportunity to honor Bainbridge – both past and present – for Islanders and visitors alike.

The decision to use Tyvek is many. It is actually the same material used for Fed-Ex envelopes, so it is durable, scrub-able and weather proof. It can be easily laser cut and sewn. It is relatively inexpensive. It is light weight and somewhat translucent. It is heat and fire safe – often used for residential insulation. Most importantly to us, it can be taken down and re-used after the installation period. For example, it could be cut and re-used as street banners or made into bags. Finally, once it has seen its last use, Tyvek, as a #2 plastic, is among the most easily recyclable plastics.

New York Bicycle Rack Design

Grain recently entered a competition sponsored by the New York Department of Transportation to design a new bicycle rack for the streets of New York. Our design - dubbed The Milton - was intended to increase the use of bicycles for transportation by creating something iconic, inspiring, fun, and practical for cyclists to use. Watch a video (bottom of post) visually describing our entry, and check out some pics (above & below). It comes in two sizes and reads like 3D text.

Cool, now lets ride...

Grain "Padded Stump" stool selected for Design Within Reach competition!

Padded Stump
By: Chelsea Green for Grain
Materials: found wood tree stump, 12" square pillow form, rubber bands

What is really necessary to provide a good seat? Padded Stump is a spontaneous composition of found parts. It is a do-it-yourself gesture to serve an immediate need. Hopefully, it inspires others to do the same with what surrounds them.

Fabricated of found elements – nothing "new" was used in the creation of Padded Stump. All components can be taken apart and re-purposed as user needs change over time.