Design Concept
The form of the box consists of solidity and sturdiness with good proportions. The box is using frame and panel construction to bring out the sturdiness and strength. The panel detail on the box side is using a chess pattern because chess represents the gentlemen’s war strategy and is a classy game that has some good values. The box side handle is using a spheroid-shaped handle made with a lathe to ensure roundness and equality. A round shape gives the hand a comfortable tangibility in any direction. The handle placement is on a balanced offset to ensure that the handles have the same distance from the top and the bottom. The box top is using a floating panel construction that enables the panel to move with climate changes and ensures that the panel does not break. The top panel parquetry is using a star parquetry because the star represents good things and success. The box top and bottom apron are curved to bring out the visual effect of legs. The box bottom is using a solid edge to bring out the flexibility for the drawers.
Whisky or bourbon has various kinds of packaging. It can be in a glass form or in a certain quantity, but the most common way to package whisky is by using a box. Daniel and Neena have designed a whisky box based on a certain idea, but their main mentioned idea is a masculine box with a good-looking appearance. A box that can evoke the imagery of a gentleman putting on his suit. They got the idea from furniture because furniture often has a good balance of solidity and detail. To realize the furniture into parts, they took the example of a table leg and a knob from a drawer. That idea is then realized using the concept of post-modern era building and the Renaissance era of carving, because modern Renaissance carving looks simpler and easier to build. In terms of wood choice, cherry became the main wood for the box, with hard rock maple as an accent, creating a good-looking contrasting effect that can be achieved from the color of the two woods.
Material Selection
Material selection is a process of considering and choosing the right materials for a product. In manufacture, material selection is of central importance. Whisky boxes are manufactured by use of wood. Wood can be classified in various sections as hardwood and softwood. Hardwood is used for higher quality boxes where a higher retail price is required and for boxes where strength is important. In the UK, the most common hardwood used for whisky boxes is oak. Oak is a very strong wood, which is readily available in the UK and is very durable, which makes it suitable for long-term storage of whisky bottles. Its colour can vary from light brown through to very dark brown, which adds a unique appearance to each box.
The softer hardwoods are used for cheaper boxes and are often stained to resemble the darker appearance of the higher quality wood. Softwoods are used for relatively cheap whisky boxes where the cost of production is very low, an example of this may be a box containing a supermarket own brand of whisky. The most commonly used softwood is pine, which is pale in colour and has a swirl pattern on the surface. An advantage of hardwoods and softwoods is that they are relatively cheap and easy to shape, however they are less resistant to knocks and the appearance of the box does not reflect the high retail price of premium whiskies. At Glasgow Caledonian University, a research project took place where a malt whisky box was manufactured from the wood fibre medium density fibreboard (MDF). MDF is made by breaking down softwood into fibres, adding a wax and a resin binder, and formed into sheets by applying pressure and high temperature.
The advantage of MDF is that it is cheaper than hardwood but it is more durable than softwood and there is no limitation to the shape of the box. MDF can be used to simulate the grain pattern of hardwood by the application of a thin layer of wood veneer plus it can be painted. The MDF box produced at Glasgow Caledonian University was painted black and looked very modern in style. An alternative product to MDF is particleboard. Particleboard is similar to MDF but it is less dense and is easier to damage. The advantage of both MDF and particleboard is that they can be produced from waste wood and shavings and are currently the most cost-effective material for whisky boxes. However, the use of MDF and particleboard has not been popular in industry with consumers of high-quality whisky due to the image of cheapness that these materials reflect. Therefore, the best material for the manufacture of whisky boxes is hardwood, however, there is potential to promote MDF and paint it as a modern alternative in stores with a cheaper product range.
Box Construction
There are various ways to construct a box, though this was one of the most intricate things I have had to find out about during my time working at Robinson’s. Beginning with the box housing two bottles, we used 350gsm greyboard. Greyboard is a kind of cardboard that is very thick and very sturdy and is what gives whisky boxes their robustness. Now, to construct the housing, it asks for a piece of board 270mm long by 110mm wide with a 20mm overlap. This was cut to size from die-cut card and then scored using a creasing rule and cut form placed in a cutting form.
The scored board was then folded and glued to form a tray shape. This is the inner part of the packaging that will hold the product and is placed in the box shell. Now, the box shell was made using a piece of board 270mm long by 175mm wide with a 20mm edge round top and bottom. The extra area around the edge of the board gave us space to put various bits of important information such as brand name and company logo. This was made in the same way as the card for the inner housing but was cut making use of a blanking form.
After cutting out this part of the box, we were left with a shape similar to the inner housing but slightly larger. This is due to the extra width of the board as the cutting form bent round the edge of the board to cut the twenty mm edge. This was then folded and glued up making use of the creasing rule. The next stage was to fix the housing and shell together. This would ensure that the two parts do not become separated and the brand name of the product can be maintained. This would be done using some form of glue at a later stage of manufacture.
Finishing and Packaging
Essentially the process of packaging begins after the completion of the whisky box manufacturing, thus each manufacturer may have different packaging procedures associated with different types of whisky boxes. Usually upon completion of the manufacturing process, the boxes are checked for quality and consistency. This is important as the packaging process will be inefficient and wasteful if completed with inferior product. Any necessary rework shall be done to maintain quality and minimize product wastage. Once the quality has been assured the boxes are bundled together and stored in a product warehouse.
The packaging process of whisky boxes is highly intricate and detailed in comparison to the process of manufacturing the boxes. The complexity of the packaging process is due to the need to protect and maintain the product in its best condition, promoting the image of the company and enhance the product so that it sells. Customers are very demanding and increasingly so, they often wish to develop new packaging which will spur on sales leading to greater profit. With such a diverse and complex array of packaging options it may best be said that the packaging component of whisky boxes is limited only by imagination.
Quality Control
The final inspection is carried out in a Quality Control lab utilizing computer graphics and established tolerance limits. Final assessment of the packaging considers process control, performance, product functional requirements, and data analysis can be provided to illustrate the variation in these criteria. The effective and continuous partnership between the manufacturer and customer, in addition to a planned program, enables consideration of additional cost-effective improvements to the packaging and its processes. It’s our stated policy to satisfy the needs and expectations of our customers.
This we endeavor to achieve through a process of continuous improvement in the quality and processes of all our products and with a vision of zero defects in mind at all times. We operate a group-wide quality management system and have BSI third-party approval to BS EN ISO 9001:2000. During assessment of the quality of the cartons produced, we refer to BSEN ISO 9000 series currently published by the BSI, which considers process control and its monitoring, and implementation of systems to enable improvement.