Fido's Pooch Pouch

Fido's Pooch Pouch, the ultimate companion for your daily walks with your furry friend. No need to worry about fumbling with seperate bags and treats - this packaging combines convenience and sustainability in one sleek design. 

Here you have three rolls of biodegradable poop bags nestled alongside a convenient treat compartment, simply refill with new rolls of bags to keep the convenience going! In case you do forget to refill, worry not, the entire packaging transforms into an emergency poop bag!

Get ready for hassle free walks with Fido's Pooch Pouch, Because every walk should be a walk in the park.

This was a university project where we had 10 days to design and produce a packaging for a problem/item, using only carton/cardboard. The goal was also to use minimal glue and create a design that was both functional and sustainable. Since this project was time-sensitive, I quickly decided I wanted to make something for the pet community and began prototyping a poop bag that eliminates the need for plastic bags and reduces plastic waste.

For prototyping (all optional):

• Paper
• Pen/Pencil
• Scissors
• Tape
• Glue

For product:

• Carton (I used 200g and 305g, you are welcomed to use whatever suits you)
• Scalpel/Box cutter knife
• Glue
• A printer which can print thicker paper
• Autodesk Fusion 360 (This is optional, i find it easier to draw a sketch in Fusion 360 as it is easy to put dimensions vs. something like Illustrator, but you are free to use whatever program you'd like.)

For graphic design:

• Adobe Illustrator (Optional, other programs can be used)

The pen and paper are one of the best tools designers have, and it was used heavily during the first couple of days. I landed on three different designs to iterate. And after many discussions and back-and-forth, I had to take a difficult desicion to pivot the idea. It proved difficult to actually replace the plastic poop bags we use today in just 10 days. The bag is far superior compared to my paper designs. However, that is a part of the process; I simply had to adapt.

I went back to the drawing board and looked at the packaging for the rolls of bags themselves, I noticed that most of the poop bags sold were wraped in plastic. As a result, I ended up using the third design with added functions, such as creating space for where the rolls are supposed to be.

I started designing in sketch mode in Fusion 360. Expect a lot of printing out designs, only to find out that you were off by a few millimeters. This is why Fusion 360 is great for this sort of work: you can simply go back, change the dimensions you need, and then everything else will fall into place.

Iteration and prototyping are key in the design process. Embrace it and love it! This is where you will learn the most from the entire process.

After many different iterations, I landed on a design that could fit three rolls of bags, including "windows" that allow you to check how many you have left. Late in the process, I added a convenient treat compartment, and the original "paper poop bag" survived the design process. However, it is now more of a gimmick, intended as an emergency poop bag for when you accidentally run out of regular bags.

Not much to say here - do your own thing; that's the fun part. I decided on a playful design, including a mascot. I transferred the sketch from Fusion 360 to Adobe Illustrator, which provided the outlines for where the design should be.

Print out the design, cut it out using a scalpel or box cutter, and then fold it. Alternatively, you could print the design on normal paper, glue it onto flat cardboard, and then fold it. Here are some tips and tricks for folding and cutting thicker paper:

• Use a ruler at all times
• For the folding marks, use a sharp edge (e.g., scalpel) to very gently cut along the lines. This will damage the paper only along those lines, making it easier to fold without bending where it is not supposed to bend.
• Be patient

I also made a fun little commercial to show how it works, I hope you enjoy it!