Checkout Line Ecology

Shown at

during

Links: 

What do you call the plastic bar used in grocery checkout lines? A plastic bar? A thingy in the checkout line? A divider? A cuboid? This ubiquitous neutral plastic bar doesn't have a fixed name but creates firm divisions and respected boundaries–it functions as an indicator of personal space within a public context.

Inspired by deep sea animals’ aposematic features which work to simultaneously warn and repel predators, Checkout Line Ecology is a collection of objects that reimagine the grocery checkout line as a uniquely dynamic habitat. Incorporating cast glass and silicone, Checkout Line Ecology combines bright colors and irregular movement to reimagine the checkout environment.

Checkout Line Ecology

Packaging for individual squishy

Sketches for color/form/pattern

Material test for the dividers