CY-BO relooks at how packaging (and even products) are built, bringing an almost cellular approach to design by basing the packaging around a single 6-pronged unit that can connect together, forming a chain-link that can be used to create complex shapes.

Plastic is ubiquitous in today's society. A great amount of plastic is specifically flowing into the packaging industry. However, economical and technical limitations cause most plastic packaging to have a linear and unsustainable life, often characterized by a very short use phase.

Kenji abe aims at reducing plastic waste by designing packing material that can be used as many times as possible. CY-BO is water resistant and it has high cushioning properties on the inside.

Kenji’s vision is to completely reimagine packaging by creating a standardized unit that can ‘weave itself’ around products. Square-shaped products get wrapped in CY-BO in a square pattern, spherical products in a sphere created using CY-BO units, and if the product is abstract-shaped, it can easily be wrapped in CY-BO by piecing together the individual foam units in the shape of said product. This, broadly, does a number of things. Firstly, it creates a standard, eliminating the previous standards of plastic packets, paper boxes, or cardboard cartons. In doing so, it makes it easy to recycle and reuse CY-BO units, massively eliminating waste. Thanks to a highly modular design, CY-BO can be used to envelope fruits, vegetables and dishes but it can also be used as a coaster. Secondly, made from foam, the CY-BO eliminates the need for bubble-wrapping products. Given its inherent ability to cushion, the CY-BO becomes both the packaging as well as the dunnage, saving materials and saving space. Moreover, fragile products can simply be wrapped in additional layers of CY-BO, further expanding on its modular/molecular design. Thirdly, the CY-BO goes beyond packaging, becoming a useful material in its own right. Sure, it can easily be recycled by separating and reusing the individual CY-BO units… but it can be up-cycled too. Quite like how paper and plastic become the fodder for upcycled craft projects, CY-BO can be redesigned into a variety of products like stationery-cases, lamps, coasters, even clothes. 

CY-BO is one of the six finalists of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2021