Saffron is a craft crop which is known to be the most expensive spice in the world with an unparalleled musky, honey fragrance that makes the simplest recipes luxurious. In order to produce one pound, 100,000 crocus flowers must be harvested by hand and the three stigmas of each flower separated.
Some dealers adulterate saffron with oil, sugar, turmeric and Metanil for more profit. Trust kit gives ordinary saffron shoppers the ability to buy pure saffron at spice markets.
Trust kit includes a guidebook and a dropper. The guidebook have 5 test sheets.
The test sheets are perforated to easly seperate from the book after use.
I researched to find how saffron is adulterated and what chemicals are used to reveal them. I squeezed the findings in the test sheets. I was inspired by pregnancy test-kit to create a similar simple test for saffron shoppers.
For packaging, my goal was to create a small package with a trust worthy look. I made a couple of paper boxes to find the proper size for the packaging in order to place the guidebook, dropper and the test cards inside.
The graphic and size of the test kit were modified after observing the user interaction with it.
Prior to using the paper, I considered making the package from cloth. The cloth design was intended to produce a more luxuries, trustable-looking package based on local custom. I switched to cardboard and paper, because of the cost and use considerations.
I cook with saffron quite often. I was born and raised in Iran and since Iran produces more than 90 percent of saffron in the world, Iranians have many foods, pastries, and drinks using saffron as one of the main ingredients. I designed the saffron kit to help ordinary customers choose the right product and consequently encourage the companies and sellers to distribute the high quality saffron.
I would like to thank my professors Charlie Cannon and Paolo Cardini for guiding me on this project and Michael Tracy for reviewing the guidebook narrative.
