On 09th April I posted article about interview starting on THINK3 platform. The first one was interview with Ministry of Foregin Affairs of the Republic of Latvia minister Maris Riekstin's. Only one day after that I posted my post about Eco Coke bottle design and said that "I will try to contact with Andrew and write down some nice interview". As I promised, I contacted Andrew Seunghyun Kim and sent him nine interview questions. But not everything was as it supposed to be. Andrew told me that "but I have been extremely busy lately" so he can't answer all of my questions, but he sent "an interview I did previously" which is also nice.

Here are few of questions that I have sent to Andrew.

1. You came up with great idea Eco Coke design - green bottle is easy to use, more portable and, importantly - more environmentally friendly. Why Coke and who inspired you, and how you even thought about it?

2. As it known, plastic isnt 100% bio-degradable. It makes nurdles, which can be found in animals and planktons. Do you have any information about how long your green bottle will degradable?

3. You wrote that: Most of you guys are suggesting CocaCola/Pepsi to purchase this design, but i feel that is highly unlikely due to marketing and the history of the brand. We know that one of the Coke success story’s are the bottle. If Coke dont want to change it’s design, how do you thing, will they change it to eco-friendly-bottle?

4. As it known, Coca-cola making Coke uses 10 litres of water per one bottle of coke. Taking water, adding sugar, some secret spices - they really think their business can be sustainable?

5. If Coca –Colla will ever tell you – we would be honored if we could use your design. Dont you feel like part of water wasting, air polluting and other problem maker?

Interview.

Q. Where did you grow up? 

A. I was born in Seoul, Korea and grew up largely in Vancouver, Canada. 

Q. Where do you live now? 

A. My school is in Detroit so that’s unavoidably where I live right now... Currently finishing my freshman year at CCS (College for Creative Studies). 

Q. What inspires you when you design? 

A. I am influenced greatly by my experiences in life and my designs generally have hidden metaphors of them. In terms of inspiration, I am inspired by two major things: nature and culture. It’s never my intention but all of my designs seem to have something to do with nature, whether it be a “green” aspect or just an appreciation of the beauty of nature. Culture is also a big theme I like to explore as a believe that our designs will become the artifacts of our civilization. 

Q. Who would you like to design something for? 

A. My biggest interest is in high-tech design. Obviously, Apple is a brand I love but companies like Lacie are also of great interest to me as they have a sense of obligation for artistic design. 

Q. Can you explain to our readers the concept behind your design? 

A. The premise of the Eco Coke is to maximize the efficiency of the bottle by creating one that does not waste space. A square bottle can have a 27% smaller footprint than a round bottle. The bottle is also collapsable to reduce space required when being transported for recycling. 

Q. What’s the inspiration behind your eco-friendly coke bottle design? (to promote a greener environment, bring more awareness to it etc.?) 

A. The inevitable inspiration was to create a greener bottle. CocaCola is a very large company and I felt that even a small change could bring a huge environmental benefit. The design philosophy is that many small changes can lead to a very big change. 

Q. Is there anything you would change about your design? 

A. The Eco Coke project was just a quick freshman midterm project so I never imagined that it would get so much press. For this reason, I feel that I could have done many more things with the bottle. If I were to create a second version, well ... it would look quite different. 

Q. Do you have any plans to bring your design to Coke’s attention? 

A. I never intended on getting a response from Coke but the head of design at CocaCola, David Butler, surprisingly responded to my design in a financial publication. He said: “I love the thinking and especially the way it provides a great example of how we have to think big and leverage systems thinking in designing for our brands.” He also stated the tremendous brand equity they have in the traditional "contour bottle” and how it would be quite hard to change that. 

Q. What are you working on right now? 

A. I am designing a conceptual convergence product for finals right now. It’s called “monami” and will be aimed at the laptop user. It’ll be completed at the end of this month. I am also working on a more long-term project that is around the theme of nutrition and vitamins.