1Z by Continuum

Rose Etherington | 6 March 2011 23 comments

Design agency Continuum have created conceptual packaging for a single cigarette for smokers who are trying to quit.

The triangular pack contains one cigarette, two matches and a stick of gum.

The intention is that lapses in resolve lead to just one cigarette rather than a whole pack.

Here are some more details from Continuum:

Designing for failure is essential for success, or at least that’s what global design and innovation consultancy Continuum has found. When people make changes in their lives, whether it is flossing their teeth or quitting smoking, they will have setbacks. And when they do, it is easy to let that setback turn into a pattern of failure. While going a day without flossing isn’t a catastrophe, there is still an opportunity to help someone get back on track. For instance, Weight Watchers has flex points that can be used on one massive chocolate binge. In the case of smoking cessation, that desperate craving for just one cigarette can remain that: one cigarette.

You can design for that setback so it doesn’t turn into an entire pack of cigarettes. Design for resilience is being realistic that setbacks will happen, and creating safe ways to fail and bounce back.

After exploring this idea, Continuum came up with 1Z, the single serving cigarette.

They developed a back story of the fictional manufacturer (Bright-Leaf), and their reason for entering the market, and it helped to create a product brand identity for 1Z that worked with the form and the way the brand logo wraps around the box.

The name, 1Z, is a reference to “loosies,” the street slang for a single store-bought cigarette, and gently reinforces the quitting theme.

The triangle form for the packaging (see attached images) was chosen because it conveys that the product is something radically different from a standard pack of cigarettes.

Through exploration, Continuum found that a light touch with messaging around quitting was most effective; no one wants to be lectured. Instead, they had several subtle messages to support behavior change. The FDA offers several options for messaging on cigarette packaging and they chose the one related to quitting. The lid has a message, “In case of emergency, lift here.” And, the cigarette itself is branded, “Just one.” Finally, Continuum included a stick of gum as a quiet way to clear the taste from the mouth; to reset and get back to neutral.

Contents of the package were kept to a minimum: 1 cigarette, two strike- anywhere matches, and a piece of gum. As discussed above, the gum was included to provide an end point to the event. The gum provides resolution to that setback and offers a starting point to help the smoker continue quitting.

Continuum also considered manufacturing and production costs, and estimate this package will cost less than 10 cents to make, realistic for a $1-2 predicted price point. And the triangle shape is an efficient form for shipping.

Throughout the design process, they got feedback on iterations from a group of smokers trying to quit. Continuum wanted to include many different perspectives and opinions and this feedback helped steer the design in form, tone, and branding. The result is just a concept, but one which all of the smokers said would help them quit. In fact, one of the test subjects said, “I wish this was on the market today!”