Design with a Heavy Hand

We all make sacrifices for the sake of “good” design. That might mean wearing 3-inch heels that torture your feet, giving up a network connection to carry the MacBook Air, or popping an ugly flourecent, energy-saving bulb into your otherwise beautiful light fixture. We compromise.

But it’s sometimes strange, seemingly random, where we draw the line. When someone like Sam’s Club suddenly forces massive change with milk jug innovation, we’re bound to get a push back. Why? While the inconvenience of the package is relatively mild  (people complain that the lack of a spout causes spilling) it’s hardly comparable to going to the inconvenience of going to the fridge to get a bottle of water and throwing away a plastic container vs. simply turning on the tap.

So if it’s not really all that inconvenient, why the uproar? Because the change was forced, instead of made desirable. The milk jug has no story. In recent months, we’ve seen the lowest of the low, tap water, make a huge, sexy comeback. Between the overwhelming demand for Sigg bottles, the backlash on plastic for both environmental and health reasons, and the national Tap Project that brings a branded story to the very act of drinking water, tap water has been turned into the most desirable commodity around…and it’s practically free!

So why is it that a milk jug that’s saving companies and consumers millions, giving them more product for their money, making a hug impact environmentally, and drawing attention to the dairy industry that it hasn’t enjoyed in a decade (Got Milk?) simply been dropped into the mix like we’re preparing for the Great Depression instead of heroically innovating for the future of our sustainable, advanced “enviroconomy?” Because with companies as large as Costco, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club taking on the launch, there’s simply no way for consumers to say”no.” Which, I guess, is both the problem and the solution rolled into one fantastic, square-shaped savior that shall forever go unamed, unmarketed and unloved, making it that much harder for the next guy.