Comments

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  Jardy

  11 years ago

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  I along with two classmates designed something like this at university. The problem with this design is that the person opening a soda bottle will continue squeezing the cap as they rotate it thus deforming it on the long run.
  
  A better design is needed.

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  Sam

  13 years ago

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  There isn't a product in existence that doesn't need more design.

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  Paul J

  13 years ago

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  "Woah there, Tom. It's ALWAYS about the consumer. You can make the most secure, theft proof package in existence, but if the consumer doesn't buy it, it means less than nothing."
  
  I'm with Tom... The product is about the consumer... The packaging needs to be about the journey, not the destination.
  
  If a product gets damaged because, for example, a rail car coupled at 14mph (possible, but not as likely as say 7mph) and the product is cosmetically damaged as a result - product is not going to sell. Shipping containers get dropped, forklift operators bang up pallets, trucks hit crazy potholes, etc. Designing to handle these things is NOT about the consumer.
  
  Packaging design can be really clever when the sales end has high overhead. I really like the packaging my phone came in (Evo 4G). It's a paperpulp tray with lid and paper sleeve. I didn't even know you could add such a fine texture to paperpulp. Since the boxes are always behind lock and key and require a salesperson to handle the transaction, anti-theft requirements are minimal and the packaging designers can focus on shipping survival and aesthetics.
  
  Also,
  
  @Aedhan - like cameras, the best one is the one you have on your person. This is why people have more than one.

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  Aedhan

  13 years ago

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  Dont we have enough bottle openers and things like this by now... it seems like everything (shoes, pants, belts, swimsuits, key chains, etc...) have these when the real demand for them isn't really that high. Doesn't each person just need one at most?
  
  This is an over designed and overly abundant product. Designers should focus their skills on new designs and products, rather than the overdevelopment of a product that doesn't need more design.

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  Tom Mc

  13 years ago

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  The *product* is all about the consumer. The packaging is a vehicle to make sure it gets from factory to your hands without being damaged, lost, or stolen. This is reality whether you want to admit that people can't keep their hands to themselves or not ruin things that aren't their own.
  
  I as a consumer will continue to buy good products knowing that packaging has to do its job in order for me to be able to buy it. Too much pilferage on shelf means a company loses money - whether that's the retailer that stops carrying it, or the manufacturer who stops making it altogether. We're in the business of designing objects and experiences that appeal and are useful to people, and packaging contributes to that experience as much as it can, HOWEVER - all is moot if the packaging isn't doing its job.
  
  Packaging's role to "facilitate selling" is secondary to product protection. Look at any packaged pharmaceutical or medical device - even those in the consumer arena.
  
  Give me an example of a "stupid thing" that companies do because consumers do not make it obvious they do not like said actions.

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  Adam

  13 years ago

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  "Consumers should stop being so sensitive. Not everything is about you. We as designers try to make it that way but it just doesn't always work out!"
  
  Woah there, Tom. It's ALWAYS about the consumer. You can make the most secure, theft proof package in existence, but if the consumer doesn't buy it, it means less than nothing. The main purpose of any product is to be sold. Packaging is supposed to facilitate this. Everything else is secondary to the need to be sold.
  
  Consumers should always be 'sensitive,' as you put it, because this drives companies to stop doing stupid things, and they can't just sit around and be complacent.

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  Tom Mc

  13 years ago

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  Twist ties are an economic form of packaging - if your labor costs nothing, like in China.
  
  I work for a company that produces thermoformed blisters, printed cards, heat seal tooling and sealing machinery. I can tell you the majority of packaging that's "difficult to open" by the average geriatric is done that way at the customer's (our customers, not the end-users) request. We build RF tools to weld plastic clamshells together so the only way they are coming apart is with brute force or a very sharp object. The amount of pilferage in the marketplace is staggering, and this is the chief reason why packages are hard to get into. For every package you may buy, a few get stolen or willfully damaged to get at the contents. Thieves will use lighters, razor blades, icepicks, EMT scissors..you name it - just to get at a burner phone or bluetooth accessory.
  
  Whenever we are offered the opportunity, we design with the end-user in mind, but most times, companies (and their retailers - some of which have a lot of pull, IE: Walmart) are willing to sacrifice your comfort to save money on lost or damaged products. That's just how it is, and there's not a whole lot we as designers can do about it except:
  design retail space that is super-secure
  advocate online outlets
  advocate laws to shoot at thieves
  do the best we can to compromise in both arenas.
  
  As for rigid packaging - those inductance seals used to never have those little wings to grab, or the butterfly that pops up - those are innovations that make it easier for people to open. Crown closures were designed for application speed, cost, and sealing ability. The tabs on scored-top cans have to sit flat because they are essentially riveted on (not with rivets, but with a post die-formed in the lid).
  
  Consumers should stop being so sensitive. Not everything is about you. We as designers try to make it that way but it just doesn't always work out!

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  Matt

  13 years ago

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  "Ironically, look at how the Multi Opener itself is packaged. You'll need a pair of snips to cut those plastic ties."
  
  Those are most likely twist-tied in the back of the package, circumventing the irony.

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