The Package

Chris Ebbert, Otago Polytechnic/ Product Design


The Package


The Package has nothing to do with bubble wrap. Instead, it describes the bare basics of your product, including all the necessary technical considerations. It is extremely advisable to get the package together in great detail and with merciless attention to:

• Legislation (“what does the law require for this product?”)
• Ergonomics (“what does human interaction require of this product?”)
• Manufacturing Restraints (“what can be built?”)
• Marketing Brief (“what exactly am I asked to create?”)

A package can be accomplished in written form, but it is better when accompanied by graphic evidence. Multiple plots of a well-built CAD model are best. It is a good idea to have the package signed by your client or supervisor as a legally binding product development contract to avoid future trouble. Whenever a deviation from this document arises, have your client or supervisor sign a respective document. Keep all of them. Nothing is more destructive to your work than outsiders messing with your basics once you’re halfway through designing the product, as it undoes everything you’ve achieved. If there is a signed package, this won’t happen as easily. Plus, any nasty surprises won’t be pinned exclusively on you, as your signature proves another party was informed.

How to compile a package

In the olden days, which is to say until about 2000 in most places, the package used to be a so-called “full-scale tape”. It was typically a side view of an object or vehicle, pinned to a wall covered with vellum, executed in full scale, with the help of special, thin, self-adhesive tape which cost a fortune. On that tape drawing, measurements could be taken for the verification of compliance with norms and standards, and mannequins could be positioned.

These days, we can do a lot better than that. The best approach is to build a CAD model with a mannequin, in which everything complies with the norms and measurements which may apply. It gives you a perfect, three-dimensional “skeleton” of your future product, which you only need to “dress” as soon as you know how to. That information will usually come in just about when you’re done building the CAD model.

What programs do we use to make a package, and how do we use them?

• Adobe Photoshop: Use it to spiff up the package with a few well-placed airbrush strokes or colour coding if you wish – purely decorative, and save it till the end, please.

• Adobe Illustrator: For its line drawing capabilities. It lets you do Bezier-curves, which are beautifully controlled, crisp curves, executed in any colour or brush tip you can imagine. They add an element of confidence and skill to your outputs that will gain you the respect of everyone.

• Solid Works or Rhino: Build your package in it if you can.