NJ is banning the bag May 4th, 2022, so in response I decided to design my own.

I noticed that most reusable grocery bags are not tailored specific for a class of products:

  • meat/deli/seafood
  • frozen/dairy
  • produce
  • bakery/eggs/delicate items
  • pantry items
  • chemicals/household

I tend to like to keep things separate when I bag my items at the grocery store, as it makes it easier to put things away once I'm home. With reusable bags, it would make it easy to identify what bag is used for meats, for produce, for chemicals, etc., in order to prevent cross contamination and to keep things organized. I plan to create bags that aim at this niche market.

Strawberry. Drawn in Procreate with vine charcoal brush

I was playing around with brushes in Procreate and started drawing a strawberry. I decided then to start off with a produce bag. I drew each piece on my iPad in Procreate using a vine charcoal brush, making sure to select produce that would create a rainbow of color when combined.

Tried out using a type font first over spread out produce.

Because the vine charcoal came off like chalk to me, I decided to go with a chalkboard sign look. I went from standard type over the produce drawings, to drawing out the word Produce and flanking the drawings above and below, which I liked much better.

Final design with chalkboard writing and flanked produce
Mock up of the final design

The most difficult process has actually been trying to find a company that will make a small batch of around 30 to 50 bags with a full bleed at a reasonable price. Purchasing bags from an online company with a full bleed requires a purchase of at least 100 to 500 bags, far too many for me to feel comfortable investing. Creating an actual bag like this for this specific of a use is definitely why most company's don't do it as it's not cost effective.

I still plan to design the entire line, as well as create one singular grocery bag, for those who prefer one. I also still plan to create a physical product, albeit for myself. Freezer bags would also be a option for keeping groceries cold. This was fun, and I'm excited to continue designing more bags.

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