Safe Ways With Glass (SWIG)
There is a huge current debate regarding the number of 'glassing' incidents that take place in Britain's pubs, bars and clubs - an estimated 43,000 each year.

But what if drinking vessels used in pubs, bars and clubs could have the qualities and commercial benefits of conventional glass, yet be as safe as plastic - especially in situations where preventing accidental or violent injury is a significant concern? And what if the drinks industry could be engaged in developing these solutions and making them happen?

This is the challenge that the Home Office's Design & Technology Alliance Against Crime set as a part of their 'Design Out Crime' programme with the Design Council. To help set the scene, the Alliance engaged with the Royal College of Art, through its InnovationRCA network for business, to carry out a first phase of innovation work on the design of safer beer and wine glasses to reduce alcohol-related violence in Britain.

The Alliance is aiming to deliver a demonstration of 'safe glass' design solutions, showcasing a number of prototypes at an event in December 2009. Its intention is to produce innovative solutions that have real market and consumer appeal in an effort to encourage widespread adoption. To meet this brief it was essential not only to create commercially and technically feasible ideas, but also to ensure that consumers and key influencers from the drinks industry were engaged in the process from day one.

InnovationRCA therefore embarked on a two-month initial research phase in January 2009 to develop insights into the problem and possible solution areas, in preparation for a 'creative workshop' with some of the UK's top product designers, materials scientists, branding experts and industry marketers. The SWIG (Safe Ways In Glass) team met commercial and operational directors of major brewers, PR agencies, pub chain operators and trade organisations to understand their concerns and elicit support for the initiative, including National Pubwatch.

In parallel, InnovationRCA interviewed police, surgeons and victims of alcohol violence, while bar staff and customers in London, Glasgow and St Albans were videoed talking about their experience of drinking from glass versus plastic. The researchers were advised by leading experts.

The insights gained into the personal, societal and commercial impact of alcohol-violence were complemented by scientific testing of standard glass and polycarbonate beer glasses by the Materials and Design Exchange (MADE), of which the RCA is a founding member. This included simulation of bar cleaning regimes to determine the useful life and ease of use of alternative materials.

With a wealth of information to convey to the workshop participants and focus their creativity, the team commissioned a ten-minute video, 'SWIG News', which neatly summarised the issues. Some 40 experts assembled at the RCA for the SWIG creative workshop in late March. They generated hundreds of ideas, including ways of making glass safer and plastic more appealing, plus new business models to maximise the branding and marketing opportunities presented by safer vessel designs.

Outputs from the workshop were subsequently evaluated and prioritised for an illustrated InnovationRCA report. This, in combination with video materials and a separate Design Council publication detailing the research, is intended to provide a practical resource guide for any designer or marketer tasked with delivering safer drinking vessels to market.

The findings have also been used to direct the next phase of the Design Out Crime programme, which is the issuing of a concise brief to design and technology experts, providing them with the essential background knowledge to develop real innovative solutions to address alcohol related violence in the UK.