GreenBook

Introduction | Works Like: Binding Technology | Looks Like | Looks & Works like: Front Covers

 

Introduction | Lusann Yang

 

Team Ectera presents a simple, cheap green notebook that reduces wasted paper.

Our product, the Greenbook, addresses the issue in which users often find themselves with a number of half-used notebooks. This results either in poor organization when the user puts a second subject in the second half of the same notebook, or in wasted paper when the user doesn't use the second half.

The Greenbook solves this problem with two primary design features:

• The user can remove chunks of bound pages. Once the user is done with a subject, he can tear the used portion out of the book. The used portion remains bound and can be stored on a bookshelf immediately, and the unused portion remains a fully functional notebook. The user doesn't need to spend time or money binding the used portion for storage.
• The Greenbook should be made of thick (optionally recycled) paper that encourages using both sides of the paper.

 

The Competition

Other Notebooks

The market for notebooks is enormous, ranging from simple yellow writing pads and composition books to the ubiquitous spiral notebook and the fashion-conscious Moleskine. The Greenbook will compete directly with the cheaper notebooks listed above with respect to price and usage. It is designed for an eco-conscious, budget-friendly student or professional.

 

Binders

Our notebook is not designed to compete with a binder. Binders are fully modular and offers the ability to add, remove, and rearrange pages at will. Using a binder is more expensive than using a typical spiral notebook; a 1" binder costs between $2.99-$12.99 on Staples.com. In contrast, our notebooks will not offer the ability to rearrange pages, but they will allow you to remove chunks of pages at a time which will remain bound. Our notebooks should be competitive with the price of a typical spiral-bound notebook, at ~$2 per notebook.

Sketch models

Works Like: Binding Technology

We think that the tear-apart binding feature can be achieved using perfect binding which is the technology typically used to bind mass parket paperback books.

With our first sketch model, we addressed the following questions:

1. Can you choose accurately which page to tear at?
2. How strong is the binding after you tear it?
3. Does it lose single pages at the front or back of a section easily?
4. How dependent is perfect binding technology on the glue used?

Looks like

Our second sketch model asked what the finished product might look like?

Looks & Works like: Front Covers

Our third sketch model addressed the protection of the front of the notebook.

We explored several different front cover mechanisms:

1. An elastic band
2. A cloth cover
3. A cardboard cover