Fold

Traditional Chinese Medicine Teabag for MZ DESIGN

Tests have shown that the effective ingredients concentration of ordinary hanging teabag liquid is only 40 percent of that when directly brewing medicine. This is because ordinary teabags wrap medicine inside, making it difficult for water to flow smoothly from the inside out. This design aims to increase the effective drug concentration and reduce medicine waste. We also hope to use origami technique to save more volume in the product to implement sustainable design concepts. When water is poured into it, it will unfold layer by layer from a flat folded shape, forming a barrel structure.

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Fold by Mengzhen Xu

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Traditional Chinese Medicine Teabag by Mengzhen Xu

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Mengzhen Xu Fold

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Mengzhen Xu Traditional Chinese Medicine Teabag

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Unique Properties

This traditional Chinese medicine teabag can improve the extraction efficiency of water on ingredient when brewing and improve the "effective ingredients concentration" in medicine liquid. This teabag adopts the process of "origami". When water is poured into it, it will unfold layer by layer from a flat folded shape, forming a barrel structure. This design not only ensures extraction efficiency, but also reduces the package volume by 60%, reducing carbon emissions during transportation.

Tags

Traditional Chinese Medicine, Teabag, Sustainable Design, Fold Structure, Reduce Waste

Production Technology

This design uses 100% biodegradable and renewable paper as the raw material to produce environmentally friendly food grade filter paper. Folds are formed through the origami pressing process, resulting in a flat folding structure. The outer packaging also uses biodegradable and renewable paper, which is lightweight and environmentally friendly. This folding structure design reduces transportation space by 60%, reducing production costs and carbon emissions during transportation.

Design Challenge

The most difficult part of this design is the early testing stage, where testing the efficacy of various teabags on the market requires the use of expensive testing instruments and a long cycle. The shape design of this product is also a challenge. It not only needs to be beautiful, but also needs to achieve the function of maximizing the "concentration of active ingredient".

Project Duration

The project started in July 2022 and finished in April 2023 in Guangzhou, China.

Operation Flow

Open the packaging, take out the medicine bag and remove the lid. Place the medicine bag above the cup and pour in hot water for brewing. During the brewing process, the medicine package will unfold layer by layer from a flat folded shape, forming a barrel like structure. After 2-5 minutes, it is ready to drink.

Research

Through searching academic papers and conducting interviews with users, we have summarized a teabag usage process that is in line with daily habits. Physical tests have shown that the "effective drug concentration" of ordinary hanging teabag liquid is only 40% of that when directly brewing medicine. This design improves the efficiency of brewing and reduces transportation space by 60%, reducing production costs and carbon emissions during transportation.

Inspiration

Tests have shown that the "effective ingredients concentration" of ordinary hanging teabag liquid is only 40% of that when directly brewing medicine. This is because ordinary teabags wrap medicine inside, making it difficult for water to flow smoothly from the inside out. This design aims to increase the “effective drug concentration” and reduce medicine waste. We also hope to use origami technique to save more volume in the product to implement sustainable design concepts.

Image Credits

Image #1: Photographer Miao Jingyi, Fold, 2023. Image #2: Photographer Miao Jingyi, Fold, 2023. Image #3: Photographer Miao Jingyi, Fold, 2023. Image #4: Photographer Miao Jingyi, Fold, 2023. Image #5: Photographer Miao Jingyi, Fold, 2023.

Project Overview

Fold Traditional Chinese Medicine Teabag has been a Silver winner in the Packaging Design award category in the year 2023 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.

Silver Recognition

Mengzhen Xu was recognized with the coveted Silver A' Design Award in 2024, a testament to excellence of their work Fold Traditional Chinese Medicine Teabag.

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