This document gathers the work made bewteen the 1st of May of 2015 and the 1st of July of 2016. The purpose of this document is to explain to those who are curious how the design has changed in one year and which restrinctions affected the design decisitions. Due to the start-up spirit of Things of Tomorow, the products kept suffering drastic changes every month. In spite of that, the analysis that was made at my arrival was always kept in mind, and all the design propositions have always been made following the restrinctions and the characteristics that were stablished in the beggining. In this report, the reader will be able to see which was the situation of the company when I arrived and how the Seekios, its accessories and the packaging have been changing through my stay as well as why I took the design decision that led to the final design. In the first few pages I will talk about the company, the situation at my arrival and the objectives (these last ones will change thougout the document depending on the product and the time). The organization of this document has been divided into three parts: Seekios’ accessories (which were my first mission in Things of Tomorrow), Seekios’ and its accessory’s design and finally, the packaging design. There are a total of thirteen chapters in this document. Two working methods have been used to the completition of the different tasks. Firstly, the double diamond diagram was used for the Seekios’s and its accessories. Starting with the discover and define phases which would then work as the main pillars of my whole work, and finishing with the develop and deliver phases which have been constantly changing. Secondly, for the packaging design a classic working method was used, going through the phases of analysis, creation, implementation and finally re-design (caused by the BP meeting and the technical restrictions that SGS Solutions pointed out). Please note that this document is a compilation of all the previous documents of the Weezo, the Seekios and its accessories, it resumes the work that I made and it centres in explaining how we got to this design. That said, this is not a technical document, this document does not explain anything about the PCB nor the programming. It’s a document which explains the connexion between the company, the user, the product and its history.
INDEX
Company Product Timeline
Seekios’ accessories Chapter 1: Discover 1.1. Previous accessories 1.2. Market analysis 1.3. Buyer/user analysis 1.4. Use analysis 1.5. Conclusions Chapter 2: Define 2.1. New accessories 2.1.1. Brainstorming 2.1.2. Conclusions 2.2. User 2.3. Use 2.4. Tendency 2.4.1. Name 2.4.2. Colours 2.4.3. Materials 2.4.4. Forms 2.4.5. Bi-colour 2.4.6. Textures 2.4.7. Feelings 2.4.8. Reference products 2.4.9. Positioning Chapter 3: Pocket 3.1. Develop 3.1.1. Objectives 3.1.2. Conceptualisation 3.1.3. Concept evaluation 3.1.4. Concept development 3.1.4.1. Concept A 3.1.4.2. Concept B
3.2. Deliver 3.2.1. Design timeline 3.2.2. Specification tables 3.2.3. Material selection 3.2.4. Characteristics 3.2.5. Functioning 3.2.6. 3D view 3.2.7. Blueprints 3.2.8. Prototyping Chapter 4: Watch 4.1. Develop 4.1.1. Objectives 4.1.2. Conceptualisation 4.1.3. Concept evaluation 4.1.4. Concept development 4.1.4.1. Concept A 4.1.4.2. Concept B 4.2. Deliver 4.2.1. Design timeline 4.2.2. Specification table 4.2.3. Material selection 4.2.4. Characteristics 4.2.5. Functioning 4.2.6. Comparison 4.2.7. 3D view 4.2.8. Blueprints 4.2.9. Prototyping 4.2.10. Production Chapter 5: Secure 5.1. Develop 5.1.1. Objectives 5.1.2. Conceptualization 5.1.3. Concept evaluation 5.1.4. Concept development 5.1.4.1. Concept A 5.1.4.2. Concept B
5.2. Deliver )LQDO VNHWFK 6SHFLILFDWLRQ WDEOH 0DWHULDO VHOHFWLRQ &KDUDFWHULVWLFV )XQFWLRQLQJ &RPSDULVRQ ' YLHZ %OXHSULQWV 3URWRW\SLQJ Chapter 6: Bike 6.1. Develop 2EMHFWLYHV $QDO\VLV 3UHYLRXV FRQFHSWV &RQFHSW $ &RQFHSW % &RQFHSW & &RQFHSW '
Redesigning Seekios Chapter 7: Seekios V1 7.1. Develop 7.1.1. Objectives 7.1.2. Conceptualisation 7.1.3. Concept evaluation 7.1.4. Concept development 7.1.4.1. Concept A 7.1.4.2. Concept B 7.2. Deliver 7.2.1. Design timeline 7.2.2. Specification table 7.2.3. Material selection 7.2.4. Characteristics 7.2.5. Functioning 7.2.6. 3D exposion view 7.2.7. 3D view
SGS UPDATE Chapter 8: Seekios V2 8.1. Develop 8.1.1. Objectives 8.1.2. Conceptualization 8.1.3. Concept evaluation 8.1.4. Concept development 8.1.4.1. Concept A 8.1.4.2. Concept B 8.2. Deliver 8.2.1. Design timeline 8.2.2. Golden number 8.2.3. Specification table 8.2.4. Material selection 8.2.5. Characteristics 8.2.6. Functioning 8.2.7. Comparison 8.2.8. 3D view 8.2.9. Explosion view 8.2.10. Prototyping 8.2.11. Use environments 8.2.12. Rib & nose design 8.2.13. Production Chapter 9: Seekios' accessory 9.1. Develop 9.1.1. Objectives 9.1.2. Conceptualization 9.1.3. Concept evaluation 9.1.4. Concept development 9.1.4.1. Concept A 9.1.4.2. Concept B 9.2. Deliver 9.2.1. 3D views 9.2.2. Prototyping
Packaging Chapter 10: Analysis 10.1. Objectives 10.2. Target audience 10.3. Brand identity 10.4. Distribution channel 10.5. Distribution countries 10.6. Trends 10.7. Market research 10.8. Meaning of colours 10.9. Packaging materials 10.10. Possible shapes 10.11. Legislation 10.12. Final strategy Chapter 11: Creation 11.1. Identification 11.2. Functionality 11.3. Personality 11.4. Navigation 11.5. Decision making diagram 11.6. Conceptualization 11.7. Concept evaluation 11.8. Concept development 11.8.1. Concept A 11.8.2. Concept B 11.8.3. Concept C 11.8.4. Chosen concept variant 11.8.5. Chosen concept art 11.8.6. Concept final art 11.8.7. Family packaging 11.8.8. Family packaging concept 11.8.9. Family packaging art 11.8.10 Final propositions
Chapter 11: Implementation 12.1. Art 12.1.1. Seekios 12.1.2. Secure 12.1.3. Pocket 12.1.4. Watch 12.2. 3D models 12.2.1. Seekios 12.2.2. Secure 12.2.3. Pocket 12.2.4. Watch 12.3. Primary, secondary, tertiary packaging 12.4. Storytelling 12.5. Features 12.6. Guidelines 12.6.1. Seekios 12.6.2. Secure 12.6.3. Pocket 12.6.4. Watch 12.7. Unpackaging 12.8. Future lines 12.9. Last words
Company
Things of Tomorrow is a small Start-Up company formed by currently 12 members (july 2016). Funded by Stéphan Arnas in 2015, the main product is the Seekios. A small GPS tracker that helps locate children, pets and elderly people as well as your personal objects like the car or bike. This product is not new in the market, GPS trackers have already existed for at least 8 years. In spite of that, this product will try to make itself a place in this industry by being the best among all the other competitors. It is intended to have 7 different use modes which the user will be able to choose with an application in their smartphone and unlike other competitors, this product wants to be created with a big battery autonomy in mind. As I said, this kind of trackers have been for sale for a long time, but the quality of them lacks in lots of aspects: battery only lasts 1 day, GPS signal only updates every hour, they are expensive and they have a monthly fee and in the worst cases, the product’s supports are not adapted to their uses or they simply don’t work as they should. Due to being a Start-Up company, the money resources were not big. New investors had to be found each month in order to continue developing the project and if that wasn’t enough, the team had to answer to the investors’ wills, doubts or opinions. Conciving a product under such circunstances has not been easy, thereby causing constant delays and changes in the products.
Product
When I arrived to the company the product that they had was this one shown here. The colour was still not decided, they were thinking of using black or white and there were still lots of elements which needed some deep thought. In spite of that, there were already some basic things chosen: like the GPS module, the SIM module, the IQ charger (which would afterwards be ommited)... On the X part of this document more information can be read about the re-designing process of the Seekios (former Weezo) as well as about some technical extra information which changed after the meeting with SGS solutions (a company which would later on help Things of Tomorrow with the PCB).
Redesigning the accessories of the
Seekios
Chapter 1: Discover
Previous accessories
This is a bracelet support for the Seekios. It is made of 2 materials, metal and plastic. It follows a classic watch design style with a mix of a sporty bracelet. The bracelet has 2 buttons (for which the function is not specified). The bracelet also lacks a closing device and the fact of making the upper part of metal suggests that it will be heavy and expensive to produce. Finally, ignoring the fact that the function is not specified, including a technological component to the bracelet will increment the price of the production.
This is a collar support for the pets. The render suggests that it is made of metal and plastic. The first thing that comes to mind is the lack of versatility of the product. Taking into account the different neck sizes of the dogs and cats, this support it not adaptable at all. The fixation system of the Seekios is also not specified, and the deformation capability of the plastic material has to be really high. There’s not any known material which can deform so much and yet strong enough to keep stiff after the deformation.
Previous accessories
This is the bag accessory for the Seekios. The main idea is to be able to use this product in your travel suitcase. It seems to be made of plastic. The first thing that can be seen is that the support is too square. In spite of having an aerodynamic shape in both ends, the laterals are made with a straight cut. The support is easy to produce, but the visual aspect reminds of a socket and the fact of having such a straight cut to the sides only makes it uncomfortable for the user. The Velcro strap is a nice touch, but questionably strong enough to hold the accessory in place.
This is the 4th and last accessory, it is intended to be used exclusively in the car. The render suggests that it might be made of metal. The 2 cables in the right are intended to be connected to the battery of the car. The visual aspect of the support lacks completely of design, and the fact of having to make an installation to the car might be something that not lots of people are willing to do (due to the fact that the buyer would have to go to a specialist for the installation). If this happened, it would also have to be taken into account the resistance of the Seekios to the heat as well as a holding system for this accessory.
Market analysis
The Trax was first presented in Kickstarter as an innovative product. It is centred on children and animals, and it’s the most direct competitor to the Seekios. In spite of having a nice visual aspect and merchandising, most of the users agree that the complements provided by the Trax are not well designed. The problem relies on the use that animals make of this product. The Trax escapes from the case because of the elasticity of the material, and the company doesn’t provide any good fixation complements. Both of the accessories of their product are made of weak silicone, which results in the loss of the Trax. In spite of the lack of design of this product, the Pocketfinder is by far one of the favourite trackers used by parents, adults and pet owners. The accessories are cheap and really basic, but they complete the task. Apart from the accessories that are integrated into each pack, they also have a tab on their website where they sell all the different accessories. Here they sell extra silicon cases, nylon cases, charging dock and custom skins for the cases. The silicon cases are cheap (10$ for 4) but they can’t be used with pets. In order to be able to use this product with the pets or in bags the second nylon case (10$ for 2) would be needed; which in conclusion, apart from buying the product also forces the user to buy nylon cases. This is the third and last competitor to the Seekios that will be analysed. Amber AlertsGPS just focuses on children, and therefore, it has a really good integrated feature where the children are able to call their parents in case they get lost or feel threatened. They sell them in 4 different colours, which helps with the user-product feeling. Apart from that, the product is quite big and the consequence can be seen in the bundles that the company sells: the carrying pouch is too big for a kid to carry and the coloured faceplate is uncomfortable for kids to wear. In spite of having a good product, the difficult use of its acessories has as a consequence a loss in the value.
Market analysis
This product is part of the Pocketfinder family. It is made of ABS plastic, and it needs to be connected to the battery in order to be able to work. It has a battery of 700maH that lasts up to 6 hours. This could be an inconvenient due to the fact that if the car is not on, the user is not able to receive any signal from the product. Apart from that, a monthly subscription for this product is also needed. This characteristic runs against the Pocketfinder company because for every support the user buys, a new subscription has to be made. Finally, the location is updated every 60s, which makes the battery last longer but does not give a real time update.
The BrickHouse HTC car tracker is one of the favourite ones for the car users. It is also made of ABS plastic and it also needs to be connected to the battery in order to work. The battery of this product lasts up to 12 hours after shutting down the car, which creates the same inconvenience as for the Pockerfinder. The difference between this and the previous product relies on the subscription and the position update. This product does not have a monthly subscription fee, and plus, the position is updated every 10s.
Market analysis
While doing the research of the different products, a third competitor was discovered: bike trackers. The Seekios does not own right now any device to compete against this category, and therefore, it would be a nice thing to include it in the product family. In the following picture, 4 different products can be seen, all of them have a GPS signal system integrated into them as well as AI. This means, that if the bike is being robbed, if the lock is being forced or if the lock is being moved when it shouldn’t it will give a notification to the buyer. Apart from that, specifically for the model in the top right, the user is able to know at every moment where his bike is as well as let other people know where it is. Due to this mentioned characteristic, the company decided to add a “sharing” characteristic to the product by creating a “Bla Bla Car” system but with bikes.
Market analysis
More than a watch, this is a wrist support for the GPS tracker of the BeLuvv company. It is made of silicone, and the only objective of it is to hold the BeLuvv support in place. It is cheap and easy to produce and in spite of not having the function of a watch, its cheapness balances the lack of it. According to internet reviews, parents do not want beautiful accessories, but accessories that work. This company decided to ignore the design of the attachment and instead they centred on getting a useful accessory and a properly working GPS tracker. The Tinitell is still a device to be developed, but it already receives a good market demand. This company, instead of charging fees, just limits itself to sell the product. Once the product is bought, the SIM card to be put in it is completely in your hands. The battery lasts up to 150 hours, and as far as it can be seen in the picture, the materials will probably be an elastomers and hard plastics. They centre completely on kids, and their objective is to make the product attractive for them. They sell them in 4 colours and the price of them is 130$. Filip was one of the first watch trackers to hit the market. It has a screen where the hour is displayed as well as a small text (such as an SMS or an incoming call). The smartest feature of this watch is its wristband. If the wristband is unlocked or cut, the parent will get a notification on his mobile phone telling him where the band was cut. Also, if the kid feels threatened, he can always press the red button, and the bracelet will contact with the 911 services as well as the parents. When a parent answers the phone, the device will continue transmitting voice until the parent hangs or tells the watch that there’s nothing wrong. Materials are hard plastic, silicone and glass.
Market analysis
Tractive is one of the best-sold items for tracking animals in the industry. It is small and light. The accessories of this product are easy and cheap to produce and geo-localization works instantly. The only problem that users have with this product is its battery (which only lasts 36 hours). The company centred on making an easy to carry product for any type of animal (instead of making a big support that cats or small dogs are not able to wear). The design is simple but functional, and the colours are something not so important due to the fact that the product is for animals and not for humans.
This is a tracker developed by an Australian company named Pod. This accessory’s characteristics are really similar to the ones of the tractive. The big difference between both of them relies on in the design and in the charging method. This tracker has a USB port attached to it, which means that no cables are needed in order to charge it. Apart from that, this device has its own attachment brace, which adjusts to the different widths of the different collars. A simple design, but completely functional.
Tagg is the last competitor to be analysed, and it is specifically created for dogs, moreover, big dogs. It is resistant to water, dust and mud. It is resistant to blow and its accesory helps in making really difficult to lose it. The main problem of this device is that it’s too big. If the dog is small or if the owner has a cat, this support will block the movement of the neck, making it really difficult for the animal to move. It is cheap, but yet really centred in one only use. Another thing to highlight is its charging dock in which no cables are needed.
Buyer/user analysis
The pet owner will be a person living alone or in a couple who has a big house with a garden. The pet will have the freedom to move from the different places of the house and will have the habitude of escaping from the windows or doors. Also, it must be said, that in the case of being a dog, the owner will probably leave him in the garden or take him for a walk without a leash (which is why normally get dogs lost or robbed).
The parents will be parents of a single child. They live in a rough neighbourhood or they’ve heard of someone whose kid was once kidnapped. They are people who are afraid of having their kids kidnapped and the simple idea of it freaks them out. They expend lots of time out with their kids in the parks and similar places, but they do not want to have an eye in them the 100% of the time. As both of the parents work the kid normally has to go to school alone, and this idea does not please the parents. The cases of kidnapped children keep increasing and this is why parents want to know where their kid is at every moment.
Buyer/user analysis
The bicycle owner usually goes by bike to work and to buy the groceries, but he doesn’t like to feel worried about getting it robbed. He also uses his bike to travel across the country and it’s a way of living for himself. He wants to have the security that if he leaves his bike locked in a place for 2-4 days nothing will happen to it.
The car owner is someone who in spite of not having the most expensive car in the market still wants to feel protected. They are people who tend to travel a lot or that live in the centre of the city and are forced to park their car in the outskirts of the city.
The traveller will be a user who travels a lot. If he uses the plain, he will want to know if the luggage arrived or not. They feel uncomfortable thinking at every second where their bag is. They cannot allow themselves to lose the luggage due to all the important things that they have in their luggage. If the traveller is a backpacker, it means that he has all his belongings in the bag and that he can’t allow himself to lose his bag.
Use analysis
Use analysis
Conclusions
There are lots of different products in the market to compete with, and it’s obvious that competing against all of them it’s not an option. The actual accessories for the Seekios lack of coherence between them (for example, most of the characteristics are identical in the watch and pet concepts). The company needs to choose a main user for its product, the principal characteristics and the appropriate accessories. In order to achieve this, in the next chapter, a brainstorming will be made with all the important characteristics concerning the auxiliary devices. This brainstorming will be useful to completely understand this market analysis that has been made as well as which is the way that the company has to take right now.
Chapter 2: Define
New accessories Brainstorming Suitcase Motorbike Bike Car Wrist Neck Arm
Leg Necklace Truck Tag Bag Camping trailers Other valuable objects Light Versatile Resistant Cheap Long battery life Adjustable Easy to use Durable Safe Aerodinamic Ergonomic
Uses
Properties
Bike** Car
Materials
New support brainstorming
Accessories’ competition
Plastic Metal Silicone Rubber Electronic mat. Glass Ceramic Sporty people Families Adults Teenagers Car lovers Users Animals Kids Old people Travellers Endangered animals
Our supports Bag
Pet
Kids
Watch
Car
Pet
Watch
Pocket case * Secure
Pocket Bike *the pocket study case will be the Trax attachment **the bike study case will be the Linka lock
New accessories Conclusions
As it can be seen in the diagram in the left, in the brainstorming, 5 categories were taken into account: users, materials, uses, properties, competitor’s supports and our supports. The first analysis consisted in identifying the different categories to which our complements affected. In order to do this, each accessory has been assigned a colour to be used in the other categories. Once the different colours were assigned to its properties, uses, materials and users; 2 more colours have been given to the competitor’s accessories to which we cannot compete (bike and pocket case), and the same as in the previous case has been made. From all this brainstorming, the following statements can be said: -The bag and car accessories affected almost the same categories, and that’s why both of the complements have been transformed into one. -The pet, watch and pocket case accessories affected almost the same categories. After seeing the categories where the pocket affects, it has been made the decision of deleting the pet complement and creating a more general accessory that will be known as “pocket”. -The lead user in which the product colours, shapes and material will centre will be the families, followed by adults, teenagers and kids (all of them members of a family). -The previous accessories could not compete in the bike industry, and that is why a new bike category has been created. This complement will not be as strong as the specified supports for bikes, but it will give the product a wider range of use. -The most important properties to take into account when the product is intended to be created are the following: durability, easy to be used, resistance and ergonomics. -Finally, the new product family is more centred in the intended user (families) and leaves aside the general terms in which the previous accessories were created.
User
Use
Tendency Name
The Genuine Organic tendency searches an equilibrium between the natural forms that can be found in nature and the comfort and simplicity of the minimalism. As the Seekios is a product which can be used by kids and animals, sharp shapes must be put aside. Also, as the product will be touched and used by hands, the texture will have to be soft. Apart from the texture, as the product will be used by kids and animals, the materials will have to be resistant to fall and impact as well as to water. Finally, the user needs to feel comfortable and attracted to the product. In order to achieve that, a mix between clear and natural-autumn colours will be developed, creating in this way the perfect accessories for the family.
Tendency Colours
Tendency Materials
Tendency Forms
Tendency Bi-colour
Tendency Textures
Tendency Feelings
Tendency Reference products
Tendency Positioning
Important note to the reader: please note that the following designs on chapter 3 were made with the Seekios V1 design on mind.
Chapter 3: Pocket
Pocket Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the last product must have (taken from the brainstorming): resistant, light, polyvalent, easy to use, cheap, durable and ergonomic. Apart from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be deter-mined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -Conceptualise and evaluate the products taking into account the mentioned product characteristics. -Choose and develop 2 concepts to the 50% (establishing materials, fabrication, size and how it works). -Completely develop one concept. -Make the 3D of this concept and the needed renders. -Contact with the different companies in order to make a first rapid prototype and test its functionality.
Conceptualisation
Concept evaluation
Polyvalent Cheapness
Productability
Design
Ergonomy Resistant
Concept development Concept A
The selected first proposition is the one that will probably be developed. In spite of its cost to produce, the form really explains the personality of the Seekios. The hole under it grants the possibility of attaching this complement to a dog’s neck or to a kid’s wrist. As a plus, the possibility of adding the watch function will also be taken into account, giving in this way an added value to the final product. A support that adapts to everything and everyone.
Concept development Concept A
Concept development Concept B
The second proposition plays with a visually simpler concept. Easier and cheaper to produce than the previous concept this one centres in the use. Adaptable to every single use or user, and with a more “home-made� look, this one aims to be a design that centres in simplicity at its best. With its lateral closing style, the rope attached to it will never get loose. Also, the twisted closing style helps in creating an easy to use and affordable concept.
Lateral cut A-A Shows how the rope is hold into the assembly
A
A
Concept development Concept B
Pocket Deliver
Design timeline
The design of the pocket has been changing over time. Bellow, the 3 first versions plus the latest one can be observed. The idea on including a watch to the pocket was soon discarded due to the fact that it would only make the final product thicker and it wouldn’t bring any kind of improvement. As it can be seen, the design of the pocket has been changing to a more beautiful and organic design that combines both: the identity of the brand and the innovation.
V3 V2
V1
V4
Specification table
Specification table
Material selection Pocket
As the material for the accessory has to be elastic, the category of materials that we will be working in will be the Elastomers. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. From these materials, in order to get the cheapest result as possible, only 4 will be chosen: Polyisoprene, Natural Rubber, Butyl Rubber and Butadiene. Firstly, natural rubber is what is used to make synthetic rubber, as well as butadiene, a gas, which apart from being used in the production of synthetic rubber is also used in the production of different plastics. Finally, butyl rubber is what is used to make the wheel tires, gloves‌ This kind of plastic deforms too much, and, therefore, it won’t be taken into account. None of those materials can be used to build the pocket, but Polyisoprene is by far, from the 4 of them, the one which suits best the specifications. This is due to the fact that Polyisoprene belongs to the family of Synthetic rubbers, which is what watch straps are normally made of. In spite of knowing that the material will be Synthetic rubber, there are lots of different rubbers in the market, and therefore, in order to achieve the best possible result, tests will be needed.
Material selection Pocket case
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Polymers. Once that chosen, in the second stage the specifications of the Pocket case have been included, which means: opaque, resistant to heat, resistance to UV and electricity insulator. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. As it can be seen, only 3 materials have been left: ABS, POM and Phenolics. After looking the information of the 3 of them, POM has been discarded (due to the uses that it normally has). Leaving only 2 possible options: ABS or Phenolics. According to the CES programme: ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is tough, resilient, and easily moulded. It is usually opaque, although some grades can now be transparent, and it can be given vivid colours. ABS-PVC alloys are tougher than standard ABS and, in self-extinguishing grades, are used for the casings of power tools. ABS allows detailed mouldings, accepts colour well, and is non-toxic and tough enough to survive the worst that children can do to it.
Characteristics
In the table bellow, the positive and negative characteristics of the Pocket can be seen. The final product is easy to use and completely customizable (due to the fact that the possibility of commercialising the pocket in different colours is possible). Adaptable to many different uses and users, this light accessory is resistant to fall and blow. It can be worn on either a collar or on a wrist. By choosing plastic materials, this complement will be resistant to water. On the negative side, this design does not completely optimise the material, due to the fact that there is some material loss in 2 sides. The chosen design makes this concept expensive and difficult to be produced. Injection moulding won’t be an option unless the pocket and its case are sliced by the middle. Casting will be the easiest way of producing this, which will increase the cost of the final product. By choosing plastics, the final design is non-recyclable. The ABS and rubber are 2 materials that go into the category of Plastic Nº7, the most difficult plastics to be recycled. Finally, as the chosen material is plastic, the final product will not be resistant to flames. As it can be observed, this concept has lots of positive sides, but the fact of having such a complex piece will increase the cost exponentially. It would be interesting to think of a change in the design in order to make this piece easier and cheaper to produce.
Positive Intuitive use Customizable E Polyvalent Light Resistant to fall and blow Resistant to water
Negative Material loss in the sides xpensive to produce Non-recyclable Non-resistant to ames
Functioning
The Pocket can be used in any way that the user thinks of. It’s suitable for humans and also animals, as well as objects. The Pocket can be placed on a key ring, wrist and ankle, if desired it can even be used as a necklace. It can also be attached to the pet’s strap or the own leg of the animal. The user is able to adapt the Pocket to his needs. Apart from that, the use is really intuitive. On the left side, the Pocket has a stripe from where the Seekios is introduced. The fact of having such an elastic material as the Synthetic Rubber makes the placement of the Seekios really easy for any kinds of user (even for persons with Parkinson or little kids). Then, the rubber part of the pocket is placed inside the case. The case will hold tightly the pocket and the Seekios in place. If that wasn’t enough, the Pocket is fully customizable. The protective case can be sold in different colours, and the strap or key ring that the user decides to attach to the pocket will be completely in his hands (as long as it fits the 30mm hole placed bellow). This complement will be sold as an add-on that the user will be able to decide if he wants to buy it or not. The main advantage of this product is that we don’t impose a use in the users, we let them chose a way of adapting this product to their needs. In spite of that, by making the product so polyvalent, it won’t be perfectly designed for one specific user. If the user wouldn’t feel comfortable with this product or if he wanted something which lasted longer, which was lockable or only designed for humans, he would have to buy the Secure, Watch or Bike accessories.
3D view
R3
6,80 22,50 20 15
2
1
5 ,4
R0
30
50
45 47,50
7,
23,75
R21
B B
47,50
40 45
5
,7
R2 3
1,25
2
10,25
R3
A ,2 5
A R4
5 ,2
R4
16,75
45°
1,50
R2
4,25
Blueprints B-B CUT
4
R3
A-A CUT R0,15
Prototyping
The first prototype of the Pocket was made the 1st of September. The company that took charge of it was Undo Prototipos, a Spanish company located in San Sebastian. The total cost of the prototype was 157â‚Ź. The concept that was used for this prototyping was the V3 version of the Pocket. After the concept arrived we realised that there were some flaws to be corrected. The first mistake was that the walls of the Pocket case were too thin. It was easy to break, and if it would be attached to the collar of a dog it would break into pieces way too easily. Moreover, the decision of widening the hole where to introduce the pocket was also not a good move. The material was too weak, and the final result was a floppy easy to break prototype.
Prototyping
After solving the problems of the previous version, the V4 was created. The second prototype was made the 19th of January. The company that took charge of it was Honpe Technology, a Chinese company. The total cost of the prototype was 137,5$. The pocket case of the new version has thicker walls (1,25mm, against the 0,5mm of the previous version. Also, the chosen material was not a soft as the previous one (a rubber with the IRHD Range of 70 against a rubber with the IRHD Range of 30). Apart from all the mentioned points, the upper and lower parts of the case have been connected to each other in order to add stiffness to the final product. As it can be seen, the new prototype already looks more consistent than the previous version. More difficult to break and also tighter, this prototype fulfils the expectations that we had with this product. In spite of that, the obtained product is difficult to be produced, which suggest that some changes might have to be done in order to be able to commercialize it cheap and beautiful.
Important note to the reader: please note that the following designs on chapter 4 were made with the Seekios V1 design on mind.
Chapter 4: Watch
Watch Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the last product must have (taken from the brainstorming): resistant, light, adjustable, easy to use, cheap, durable and ergonomic. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -Conceptualize and evaluate the products taking into account the mentioned product characteristics. Also, as the final product wants to be as cheap as possible, the material that will be used for the prototyping and, therefore, the conceptualisation, will be the rubber. The reasoning behind this selection is explained on the 46th page, but a new explanation will be again added in this part of the report. -Choose and develop 2 concepts to the 50% (establishing materials, fabrication, size and how it works). -Completely develop one concept. -Make the 3D of this concept and the needed renders. -Contact with the different companies in order to make a first rapid prototype and test its functioning.
Conceptualisation
As it has been explained before, the material used in the conceptualization will be the rubber. This means that the basic structure of the bracelet will keep being the same, but what will change will be the shape given to the place where the Seekios is placed.
Concept evaluation Button access Holding
Productability
Design
Company identity Resistant
Concept development Concept A
This proposition is simple but always effective. With a hole where the Seekios can be observed, it completely follows the personality of Things of Tomorrow as well as the organic design.
Concept development Concept A
Concept development Concept B
This second proposition is more daring than the previously mentioned concept. With a more organic design, this prototype pretends to give a unique look to the accessory.
Concept development Concept B
Watch Deliver
Design timeline
The design of the watch has been changing over time. Bellow, the 3 first versions plus the latest one can be observed. The idea of including a real watch to the accessory was soon discarded due to the fact that bringing this concept to reality would only complicate the production and make it more expensive. As it can be seen, the design of the watch has been changing to a more beautiful and organic design. The main difference comes from the 3rd to the 4th version, where the strap is designed with a specific angle instead of completely straight in order to make it easier to produce.
V3 V2 V1 V4
Specification table
Specification table
Material selection Watch
As the material for the accessory has to be elastic, the category of materials that we will be working in will be the Elastomers. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. From these materials, in order to get the cheapest result as possible, only 4 will be chosen: Polyisoprene, Natural Rubber, Butyl Rubber and Butadiene. Firstly, natural rubber is what is used to make synthetic rubber, as well as butadiene, a gas, which apart from being used in the production of synthetic rubber is also used in the production of different plastics. Finally, butyl rubber is what is used to make the wheel tires, gloves‌ This kind of plastic deforms too much, and, therefore, it won’t be taken into account. None of those materials can be used to build the watch strap, but Polyisoprene is by far, from the 4 of them, the one which suits best the specifications. This is due to the fact that Polyisoprene belongs to the family of Synthetic rubbers, which is what watch straps are normally made of. In spite of knowing that the material will be Synthetic rubber, there are lots of different rubbers in the market, and therefore, in order to achieve the best possible result, tests will be needed.
Material selection Watch’s clip
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Polymers. Once that chosen, in the second stage the specifications of the clip have been included, which means: opaque, resistant to heat, resistance to UV and electricity insulator. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. As it can be seen, only 3 materials have been left: ABS, POM and Phenolics. After looking the information of the 3 of them, POM has been discarded (due to the uses that it normally has). Leaving only 2 possible options: ABS or Phenolics. According to the CES programme: ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is tough, resilient, and easily moulded. It is usually opaque, although some grades can now be transparent, and it can be given vivid colours. ABS-PVC alloys are tougher than standard ABS and, in self-extinguishing grades, are used for the casings of power tools. ABS allows detailed mouldings, accepts colour well, and is non-toxic and tough enough to survive the worst that children can do to it.
Characteristics
In the table bellow, the positive and negative characteristics of the Watch can be seen. The final product is easy to use and completely customizable (due to the fact that the possibility of commercializing the watch in different colours is possible). Adaptable to the different wrist sizes, this light accessory is resistant to fall and blow. The company identity is reflected perfectly with this daring and young design. By choosing plastic materials, this complement will be resistant to water. On the negative side, this design could be not as resistant as other closing styles. With the “spider web” style of the watch, the material is thinner, and, therefore, easier to break. The chosen design makes this concept’s mould expensive to be produced, in spite of that, if large production quantities are chosen, the cost of each watch will be less expensive. By choosing plastics, the final design is non-recyclable. The ABS and rubber are 2 materials that go into the category of Plastic Nº7, the most difficult plastics to be recycled. Finally, as the chosen material is plastic, the final product will not be resistant to flames. As it can be observed, this concept has lots of positive sides, and the only important negative part could be that the production of the mould is going to be expensive. But, with high watch quantities, this cost could be reduced. Everything will depend on how many watch concepts we want to produce.
Positive Intuitive use Customizable E Light Resistant to fall and blow Resistant to water
Negative Could be weak in the upper part xpensive mould design Non-recyclable Non-
Functioning
The Watch’s principal use is in the wrist. The user is, of course, able of using it wherever he sees convenient. As far as we know it can even be placed in a bicycle, skate, motorbike or an animal’s leg. The purpose with which it has been designed though it’s only the wrist, and therefore, any damage that is caused to the support by other uses is not included in the future warranty. Apart from that, the use is really intuitive. The Seekios is introduced from below, and then, the Watch is attached to the wrist by choosing a size and closing it with the green clip. The design of the wristband makes it adaptable to any kinds of user (even for persons with Parkinson or little kids). The upper hole of this accessory allows the user to have a fast access to the device’s button. If that wasn’t enough, the Watch is fully customizable. The strap will be able to be sold in different colours as well as the clip. In the future, users might even be able to design their own clips at home and printing them in 3D. This complement will be sold as an add-on that the user will be able to decide if he wants to buy it or not. The main advantage of this product is that due to its lightness, the user won’t even feel that he is wearing something. It is cheap, and the beautiful design makes it look as an accessory more than as an object. The use is closed to the wrist, but as it has been said bellow, the user will be able to adapt it to anything he can think of under his own risk. If the user wouldn’t feel comfortable with this product or if he wanted something which lasted longer, which was lockable or more polyvalent he would have to buy the Secure, Pocket or Bike accessories.
Comparison
When I first arrived at Things of Tomorrow the idea of the company was to create a watch accessory with a screen display on it. The idea was also to include a heartbeat tracking system in order to help the user monitoring his pulse. All this wanted to be mounted under the Seekios, which was going to lock in the top of the bracelet. This idea was soon left aside due to the fact that creating this support would be expensive and would also double the size of it. The company’s Start-Up origin meant that the accessory to be created had to be as cheap as possible. It is because of this that the decision of working with Elastomers was taken. Elastomers are easy to work with and offer good results. For the 3rd version, an already created model was taken as an example, which meant that the created product was more likely to be produced. Finally, after the company left to China, the prototypes they brought showed that a last change would be needed in order to make it producible in big quantities. Bellow, a photo of the old and new designs can be observed. As it can be seen, the new design follows a more beautiful and organic form. Without any sharp edges, this concept adapts to kids and adults. Apart from that, the material is also nice to touch and feels good on the skin. This new design breaks the form of the Seekios and it adds a unique look to the company. A young and playful design that will catch the eye of the buyers.
3D view
Blueprints 46
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Prototyping
The first prototypes of the watch were made around the month of June-July. These prototypes were produced by a 3D printer. The quality of these prototypes wasn’t high, but it was enough to realize which were the flaws of the design... We tested with 3D printed rubber, but the result wasn’t as good as we expected. The materials were too strong in spite of being elastics, the final layer was not smooth at all, and trying to cover the upper and down part of the centre, where the Seekios was placed, was not working at all.
Prototyping
After lots of tests, the V4 version came into the game. In spite of only having 4 versions listed, it must be said that there was lots of testing made: slight changes in the design, more curved shapes, wall thicknesses... The 4 version listed are the ones which brought the biggest changes between each other. After making lots of tests, we still had a doubt in the head “Will the rubber deform too much when twisted in the wrist?”. The solution to this problem came directly from China, from where Stéphan and Renaud brought a bracelet accessory that was shaped in a V form. By making the shape of the Watch in V, the probability of having a high deformation decreased. By this means, the 4th version was born. This version was also produced by Honpe Technology, and the cost of this prototype was 260€, and the obtained result was a very high-end quality prototype.
Production
For the production of the Watch, 2 companies have been taken into account. The company of Easy Touch (which only makes high-volume production), and the company of Honpe (which made the prototypes and can also take charge of the production of the parts). As an example of the cost, the price per unit will be taken into account. The price/unit will depend on 3 factors: the cost of the mould. the quantity that is demanded and the price/unit (which will vary depending on how big the demand is. As it can be seen, the prices of Honpe are higher than the ones proposed by easy touch. There is only one situation in which we should consider working with Honpe, and that situation is if we decide to make less than 1000 examples. In this case, the production of the watch would still be in Easy Touch, but, on the contrary, the production of the watch clip would be cheaper if it was done by Honpe.
Important note to the reader: please note that the following designs on chapter 5 were made with the Seekios V1 design on mind.
Chapter 5: Secure
Secure Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the last product must have (taken from the brainstorming): resistant, long battery life, easy to use, durable, aerodinamic and ergonomic. Apart from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be determined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -Conceptualise and evaluate the products taking into account the mentioned product characteristics. The battery length has to triple the battery of the Seekios, and an attachment system will also have to be implemented in order to be able to place the product on different surfaces. -Choose and develop 2 concepts to the 50% (establishing materials, fabrication, size and how it works). -Develop one of the 2 concepts. -Make the 3D of this concept and the needed renders. -Contact with the different companies in order to make a first rapid prototype and test its functionality.
Conceptualisation
As it’s necessary to fit a 3000mAh battery (or even more) inside this accessory, the size of it will be more considerable than from the ones of the Watch or Pocket. Different shapes and sizes have been made, all of them taking into account that a big battery will have to fit inside. Some of them have a hole, in order to facilitate the attachment. Others, on the other hand, simply have scotch or velcro to attach them to different surfaces.
Concept evaluation
Inner space use Cheapness
Design
Productability
Ergonomy
Resistance to impact
Concept development Concept A
This proposition works with simple and organic shapes. With a hole in the bottom to place the Seekios and place in the top to place the extra battery, this proposition is a really interesting option to take into account.
Concept development Concept A
Concept development Concept B
This second proposition centres in functionability. The idea was to make the product as small as possible and to make the best of the innter space. The Seekios is placed on the top, and bellow there is plento of space for a 3000mAh battery.
Concept development Concept B
Secure Deliver
Final sketch
The final design of the secure has finally been a combination of both of the previous propositions. It was important to make space for the battery in the inner part of the secure, but it was also important to make an aerodinamic design to be able to place the secure in different places. This design combines the inner space of the second proposition with the aerodinamic design on the first proposition. Finally, the design has also been made ergonomic for the hand.
Specification table
Specification table
Specification table
Material selection
For all of the 3 parts, the category of materials that we will be working in will be the Polymers. Once that chosen, in the second stage the specifications of the clip have been included, which means: opaque, resistant to heat, resistance to UV and electricity insulator. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. As it can be seen, only 3 materials have been left: ABS, POM and Phenolics. After looking the information of the 3 of them, POM has been discarded (due to the uses that it normally has). Leaving only 2 possible options: ABS or Phenolics. According to the CES programme: ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is tough, resilient, and easily moulded. It is usually opaque, although some grades can now be transparent, and it can be given vivid colours. ABS-PVC alloys are tougher than standard ABS and, in self-extinguishing grades, are used for the casings of power tools. ABS allows detailed mouldings, accepts colour well, and is non-toxic and tough enough to survive the worst that children can do to it.
Characteristics
In the table bellow, the positive and negative characteristics of the Secure can be seen. The final product has an intuitive use, it’s ergonomic (which means that it adapts to the shape of the hand), it has a long battery life (due to the 3000mAh battery), thanks to the clip this support can be placed on windows, cars, doors or even suitcases and finally it’s also resistant to fall, clow and water. On the negative side, this design still has some inner space loss on the frontal part. This space has been lost in order to be able to create an aerodinamic design as well as a more beautiful esthetic. It’s not recyclable and it’s also not resistant to flames. Due to the 3000mAh battery, this support is also heavier. As it can be observed, this concept has lots of positive sides, and the most negative part is that there is some space loss on the front. It wasn’t possible to make a better inner space use because then we would end with a non aerodinamic or aesthetic design, and the design is almost as important as the characteristics of the product. It also needs to be said, that this proposition is not finished, so, in spite of not being a negative aspect, it would still be needed to create the attaching system between the Seekios and secure.
Positive Intuitive use Ergonomic Long battery life It can be placed on different surfaces Resistant to fall and blow Resistant to water
Negative Some material loss on the front NonNon-recyclable Heavy (because of the battery)
Functioning
The Secure is an accessory created to be used in lots of different environments. It can be used in cars, in suitcases, in backpacks, in motorcycles, in doors, in windows... The only limitation is the imagination of the user. The Secure has an opening on the back, and on this opening a clip can be attached. This clip can either be attached as velcro or sticked to a surface with the 3M system. The packaging will have 5-6 clips included on it, so that the user can place the clips on different places. Apart from that, the use is really intuitive. The Seekios is introduced on the hole. On this hole, there will be a mechanism which will hold on place the Seekios. Later, if the Seekios wants to be taken out, it will just be neccessary to press on a specific point of the accessory. The user will be able to check at every moment the situation of the battery on the Seekios and the Secure. If the battery of the secure runs out, the user will just have tpo charge the Secure again. The green colour has been used for this proposition, but alike the Watch accessory, this one can also be customizable. The top part of the Secure (the white one) will always have to be kept the same. But if the company wants to, the colours can be changed to any of the colours which appear on the brand identity. This complement will be sold as an add-on that the user will be able to decide if he wants to buy it or not. The main advantage of this product is that it triples the length of the battery, the user won’t have to worry about the battery if he decides to park his car in a place for a long time, if he leaves his house for holidays or if he is going to travel for 3 months. It is cheap and resistant. If the user wouldn’t feel comfortable with this product or if he wanted something which looked more like an acessory, which was lockable or more polyvalent he would have to buy the Watch, Pocket or Bike accessories.
Comparison
The secure is the combination of the car and bag accessories. As the main user of this product is a Family, having an specific object which would only be used on a car made no sense. The user wants to be able to use each of the accessory in many different environments, he is not interested in things which only have 1 function. Basically, the Secure is an improvement of the bag accesory. The car complement was useful for car lovers, but the user that we are focusing on is a person which will buy the Seekios as a solution to all his problems, and thereby, the accessory that we design, will also have to be polyvalent. If a person wants to use a tracker only on the car, then, this person will be able to check better alternatives in the market. But for the Seekios, thinking of a car alternative was expensive and out of the user that we work in (families). With that on mind, the main change between the Bag and the Secure is its design. Putting aside rough angles and sharp edges, the Secure uses organic shapes and round corners to achieve a more bauti-ful and more user centred design. The gray colour is also subtituted by a much happier and dynamic colour, the green colour that the company uses on their logo.
3D view
Blueprints
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A-A CUT
Prototyping
The first prototype of the Secure was made the 1st of September. The company that took charge of it was Undo Prototipos, a Spanish company located in San Sebastian. The total cost of the prototype was 109,5â‚Ź. The concept that was used for this prototyping was the V1 version of the Secure. This design had lots of corrections to be done (the walls were only of 0,5mm, there was still not a fixation system created for the Seekios, the tests with the batteries was also not done, which meant that the shape did not take into account the technical limitations). In spite of that, this first prototype was made as a way of visualizing the product in real life and to be able to show the advances of the project to investors.
Important note to the reader: please note that the following designs on chapter 6 were made with the Seekios V1 design on mind.
Chapter 6: Bike
Bike
Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the product must have (taken from the brainstorming): resistant, adjustable, easy to use, durable, safe and ergonomic. Apart from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be determined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -Make a market and product analysis. This accessory is not like the previous ones, unlike them, this one has to be safe and very resistant. It will have to be resistant enough so that it can’t be broken with the hands or a hammer. At the same time, it has to protect the Seekios inside it from flames and hit. It will be needed to check different closing systems. -A small analysis of the previous concepts will also have to be made in order to see what fails in them and what needs to be improved. -Conceptualise the products taking into account the mentioned product characteristics.This accessory can’t be easily removed due to the fact that the user won’t be paying attention to the bike at every second. This product has to protect the bike when the user can’t protect it, therefore there is quite a big probability that the product will be made of metal. -This product will only be a concept. Therefore it will only be developed until the development phase, in the future, if this concept wants to be developed it will need to be made the deliver phase.
Analysis
Previous concepts
Before my arrival to Things of Tomorrow the company had already worked on 3 different propositions. These propositions can be seen bellow, chronologically ordered from left to right. All these propositions have one thing on common: they are difficult to be produced and they have an agressive design. They use black and sharp edges as well as an elitist design. They forget about the main user and they only centre on quality. In order to obtain the best possible solution, 2 things must be done. Firstly, the black colour has to disapear, and instead, green or white need to be used. Secondly, the design has to be more organic. This can be obtained by eliminating sharp angles and “square� designs. The third proposition is quite close to the company values, but the metallic stipes on the rings create a high class product. If we want our user to but these products it will be really important to not transmit any high class values. In spite of that, the product will still have to look solid and resistant to hit and fire.
Concept A
This first proposition takes as an inspiration the designs presented on the market analysis. The cable would act as a lock, and the Seekios would be protected by the green metallic part. This round design is resistant and simple.
Seekios
Hard plastic Metallic cable
Concept B
This second proposition uses the design of the analysis phase as an inspiration. The Seekios is placed inside and it’s then locked by the bar where its positioned. The negative aspect of this design is that the products is not flame protected, and the Seekios could still be broken with a knife or a sharp object.
Metal
Seekios
Concept C
The third proposition is quite agressive, but it’s also at the same time the most functional and easiest one. By putting a lock on one of the holes, the user is able to block the position of the Seekios inside it. As well as the previous concept, this one is also not protected to flames or sharp objects.
Metal
Seekios
Concept D
Finally, the fourth proposition is an imporvement of the third proposition that Things of Tomorrow had before my arrival. In this design, the Seekios is completely protected to flame and to hit. The metallic cable is also difficult to break.
Metallic cable
Seekios
Hard plastic /Metal
Redesigning the Seekios and its accessories
Chapter 7: Seekios V1
Seekios V1: Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the product must have (established by the company): resistant, easy to use, durable, waterproof, dust-proof, it must have a button, LEDs or lights and it needs to adapt to accessories. Apart from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be determined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -The Seekios has to be an improvement of the previous design. -The shape needs more edges and curves. It needs to add a dynamic design to the Seekios. -The Seekios also needs to have a touch of colour. According to the tendency, it is very important for the product to be white with a small detail on green. -If possible, it will also have to look like the old version, but this doesn’t mean that the re-designing process should only be limited to it. It is important to experiment with other shapes and forms.
Conceptualisation
On the beginning there were more than 40 different design propositions for the Seekios, but after a fast analysis only 7 were left. These propositions were kept due to the unique aspect that they propo-sed. What Things of Tomorrow asked was a refinement of their current design, but this ocassion couldn’t be missed to experiment with other shapes and forms.
Concept evaluation Button LEDs
Productability
Design
Company identity Adaptability to accessories
Concept A
This first proposition is the favorite design of the company. As it was said in the beginning of this chapter, the company was already thinking about a round design. This design works perfectly with the ideology of the company as well as the hopes and concepts that the company had already established.
Concept B
This second concept could be considered a V2 version of the Concept A. A 360ยบ cut around the Seekios has been added to the exterior surface. This ring around the Seekios has been created in order to make easier the Seekios-Accessory attachment. The problem of this design is that the Seekios will need to be bigger than the Concept A.
Seekios V1: Deliver
Design timeline
Bellow the 3 different versions of the Seekios V1 can be checked. The V1 listed bellow is the version that the company had when I arrived. The V2 is the version that I proposed to the company, and the V3 is the improvement of the V2. In the final version, a curve was added to the part of the button in order to add smoothness and beauty to the design.
V2 V1
V3
Specification table
Specification table
Specification table
Specification table
Material selection Seekios top & bottom
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Polymers. Once that chosen, in the second stage the specifications of the clip have been included, which means: opaque, resistant to heat, resistance to UV and electricity insulator. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. As it can be seen, only 3 materials have been left: ABS, POM and Phenolics. After looking the information of the 3 of them, POM has been discarded (due to the uses that it normally has). Leaving only 2 possible options: ABS or Phenolics. According to the CES programme: ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is tough, resilient, and easily moulded. It is usually opaque, although some grades can now be transparent, and it can be given vivid colours. ABS-PVC alloys are tougher than standard ABS and, in self-extinguishing grades, are used for the casings of power tools. ABS allows detailed mouldings, accepts colour well, and is non-toxic and tough enough to survive the worst that children can do to it.
Material selection Button & ring
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Elastomers. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. From these materials, in order to get the cheapest result as possible, only 4 will be chosen: Polyisoprene, Natural Rubber, Butyl Rubber and Butadiene. Firstly, natural rubber is what is used to make synthetic rubber, as well as butadiene, a gas, which apart from being used in the production of synthetic rubber is also used in the production of different plastics. Finally, butyl rubber is what is used to make the wheel tires, gloves‌ This kind of plastic deforms too much, and, therefore, it won’t be taken into account. None of those materials is resitant enough, but Polyisoprene is by far, from the 4 of them, the one which suits best the specifications. This is due to the fact that Polyisoprene belongs to the family of Synthetic rubbers, which is what watch straps are normally made of. In spite of knowing that the material will be Synthetic rubber, there are lots of different rubbers in the market, and therefore, in order to achieve the best possible result, tests will be needed.
Characteristics
In the table bellow, the positive and negative characteristics of the Seekios V1 can be seen. The final product is easy to use and it has an attractive design. As it has a very small size, this product can be hidden anywhere and it won’t be noticed (in the pocket of a trouser, in a bag, in the bike...). It’s also resistant to fall and blow as well as water. On the negative side, the walls of this design are too thin. With only 0,5mm, the resistance of them is not really high. To fix this situation, everything that is needed is to increase the width to 1,5mm. Untile the Concept B on page X, this proposition doesn’t have a hole or a rail to make the placing of the accessories easier. This design also lacks of a small hole to place the Seekios in a keyring for example. By choosing plastics, the final design is non-recyclable. The ABS and rubber are 2 materials that go into the category of Plastic Nº7, the most difficult plastics to be recycled. Finally, as the chosen material is plastic, the final product will not be resistant to flames. As it can be observed, this concept has lots of positive sides, and the only important negative part could be that it doesn’t have a hole and/or taht it doesn’t have a rail or guide to help positioning the product in the accessories.
Positive Intuitive use Ergonomic Small It has an attractive design Resistant to fall and blow Resistant to water
Negative The walls are too thin NonNon-recyclable No hole for placing an accessory
Functioning
The Seekios’ idea is to be able to place it anywhere: in the pocket of your trousers, in the car, inside a suitcase, under the seat of a bike... The uses are limitless, the only limitation is the users' imagination. Its round and small design makes it go unnoticed no matter where is placed. Thieves won’t be able to locate if it’s well placed. Apart from that, the use is really intuitive. There are 4 LEDs on the top which show the situation of the battery, the energy consumtion, the charging percentage... The function of the LEDs is still to be defined. When the user presses the button placed in the top of the Seekios once, the tracker will switch on or off. Depending on the quantity of presses, the company wants to attribute different uses to each of the different configurations. The green rubber ring could also vary its colour, making the Seekios customizable. The colours might be able to be used to identify the different memebers of the family as well as the different Seekios. It is cheap, and the beautiful design makes the Seekios adaptable to anyone and anywhere. As it doesn’t have a hole, the use of the Seekios will always have to be made by placing the Seekios in a closed or tight space (otherwise it might get lost). If the user wants something which lasts longer, which is lockable, which can be worn on the wrist or which can be attached to a keyring, he would have to buy the Secure, Pocket, Watch or Bike accessories.
3D explosion view
3D views
SGS update
In the month of February, the company started working on the PCB with a German company named SGS Solutions GmbH. This company started analysing the product and its functions, and at an early stage they stablished that it was not possible to make a round Seekios because the GPS antenna had to be to at least 10mm of distance from the other elements of the PCB. A part from that, the GPS antenna also had to be to 10mm of distance from the battery. Therefore, the round design was soon discarded. On the next step, in order to make the Seekios as small as possible, the German company proposed to make the PCBs in 2 parts. With this proposition, the thickness of the Seekios was of 30mm, which in my opinion was way too thick. Therefore, I contacted the German company in order to make the PCB in only 1 piece. The PCB continued evolving for the whole month, and after 1 month of continuous development, the final PCB was stablished to 65mm. In order to develop the PCB and the design as good as possible, after 12 different versions of the Seekios, I made a trip to Germany where I met with Michael Lange, the boss of SGS Solutions. Together, we managed to adapt the design of the Seekios to the final PCB and therefore create the first prototype.
Chapter 8: Seekios V2
Seekios V2: Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the product must have (established by the company, which are the same as in the Seekios V1): resistant, easy to use, durable, waterproof, dust-proof, it must have a button, a hole for a keyring and it needs to adapt to accessories. Apart from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be determined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -There has to be a space between the batteries and GPS antenna. -The shape needs to follow and organic and clean design which will make the user want and desire the product. -The Seekios also needs to have a touch of colour. According to the tendency, it is very important for the product to be white with a small detail on green. -It would also be interesting to improve one of the previous negative aspects of the Seekios V1, and that would be to include on the design a hole to be able to attach a keyring. -Finally, this design has to support the PCB created by the German company, which means that for the final design it will be necessary to work together with the German company on finding a middle point between design and technical limitations.
Conceptualisation
After some hand sketching, instead of making the concepts in Illustrator like in all the previous designs, the company decided that they wanted some fast 3D models to show to the investors. At first, on all these models, the idea was to hide the LED lights under the casing. In the future, showing or hiding the LED light openings is an idea that comes and goes with all the different versions.
Concept evaluation
Button Hole
Productability
Design
Company identity Adaptability to accessories
Concept A
This first proposition is the favorite design of the company. As it was said in the beginning of this chapter, the company was already thinking about a round design. This design works perfectly with the ideology of the company as well as the hopes and concepts that the company had already stablished.
Concept B
This second concept could be considered a V2 version of the Concept A. A 360ยบ cut around the Seekios has been added to the exterior surface. This ring around the Seekios has been created in order to make easier the Seekios-Accessory attachment. The problem of this design is that the Seekios will need to be bigger than the Concept A.
Seekios V2: Deliver
Design timeline
In the 2 following pages, 8 of the most important versions can be checked, and finally, in the third page the final Seekios design can be checked.
V1
V2
V3
V4
Design timeline
V5
V6
V7
V8
Design timeline
Final design
Golden number design
Specification table
Specification table
Specification table
Specification table
Material selection Seekios top & bottom
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Polymers. Once that chosen, in the second stage the specifications of the clip have been included, which means: opaque, resistant to heat, resistance to UV and electricity insulator. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. As it can be seen, only 3 materials have been left: ABS, POM and Phenolics. After looking the information of the 3 of them, POM has been discarded (due to the uses that it normally has). Leaving only 2 possible options: ABS or Phenolics. According to the CES programme: ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is tough, resilient, and easily moulded. It is usually opaque, although some grades can now be transparent, and it can be given vivid colours. ABS-PVC alloys are tougher than standard ABS and, in self-extinguishing grades, are used for the casings of power tools. ABS allows detailed mouldings, accepts colour well, and is non-toxic and tough enough to survive the worst that children can do to it.
Material selection Button & ring
The category of materials that we will be working in will be the Elastomers. After making the first filter in the CES programme (applying the information of the Specification table) the following materials have been obtained. The graph has been classified from the cheapest and lightest material to the heaviest and most expensive. From these materials, in order to get the cheapest result as possible, only 4 will be chosen: Polyisoprene, Natural Rubber, Butyl Rubber and Butadiene. Firstly, natural rubber is what is used to make synthetic rubber, as well as butadiene, a gas, which apart from being used in the production of synthetic rubber is also used in the production of different plastics. Finally, butyl rubber is what is used to make the wheel tires, gloves‌ This kind of plastic deforms too much, and, therefore, it won’t be taken into account. None of those materials is resitant enough, but Polyisoprene is by far, from the 4 of them, the one which suits best the specifications. This is due to the fact that Polyisoprene belongs to the family of Synthetic rubbers, which is what watch straps are normally made of. In spite of knowing that the material will be Synthetic rubber, there are lots of different rubbers in the market, and therefore, in order to achieve the best possible result, tests will be needed.
Characteristics
In the table bellow, the positive and negative characteristics of the Seekios V2 can be seen. The final product is easy to use and it has an attractive design. In spite of not being as small as the previous version, this design is also very small, which means that it can be hidden anywhere and it won’t be noticed (in the pocket of a trouser, in a bag, in the bike...). It’s also resistant to fall and blow as well as water. This design also includes a hole for the keyring, which is something that the previous version did not include. Due to the technical limitations of the PCB, the design of the Seekios had to be made bigger than its previous version. In spite of that, as it was mentioned in the paragraph above, this design is still quite small. By choosing plastics, the final design is non-recyclable. The ABS and rubber are 2 materials that go into the category of Plastic Nº7, the most difficult plastics to be recycled. Finally, as the chosen material is plastic, the final product will not be resistant to flames. As it can be observed, this concept has lots of positive sides, and the most important negative aspect is that this design is bigger than the V1 version. In spite of that, that characteristic of the design wasn’t in my hands. It was a technical limitation which could not have been changed.
Positive Intuitive use Ergonomic Small It has an attractive design Resistant to fall and blow Resistant to water Hole for placing keyring
Negative The design is bigger than V1 NonNon-recyclable
Functioning
The Seekios’ idea is to be able to place it anywhere: in the pocket of your trousers, in the car, inside a suitcase, under the seat of a bike... The uses are limitless, the only limitation is the users imagination. Its egg shape and small design makes it go unnoticed no matter where is placed. Thieves won’t be able to locate it if it’s well placed. Apart from that, the use is really intuitive. There are 4 LEDs on the top which show the situation of the battery, the energy consumtion, the charging percentage... The function of the LEDs is still to be defined. When the user presses the button placed in the top of the Seekios once, the tracker will switch on or off. Depending on the quantity of presses, the company wants to attribute different uses to each of the different configurations. The green rubber ring could also vary its colour, making the Seekios customizable. The colours might be able to be used to identify the different memebers of the family as well as the different Seekios. It is cheap, and the beautiful design makes the Seekios adaptable to anyone and anywhere. Thanks to the recently added new hole, the use of the Seekios will be able to vary from close spaces to keyrings or any kinds of hook. The other accessories have been deleted from the product catalogue, and therefore the only extra attachment that the user will be able to use is the casing which already comes inside the packaging. This casing will be used to attach the Seekios to belts or animal leashes.
Comparison
If we compare this version of the Seekios with the previous round version, the first difference is clear. The size of this Seekios is bigger than its older brother. As it has been said through this document, this design change was not an option (for further information check SGS Update). In order to achieve a perfect harmony in the design of the Seekios, the idea of developing the concept with the golden number rule was taken. By this means, the proportions of the design as well as the distribution of the different parts of it was made taken into account the golden number coeficient. The final result is a visually nice and peacefull design which has been a great success in kickstarter. It also needs to be mentioned that the new version of the Seekios has something that its previous version didn’t. It has a hole in the top which makes it easy to be attached in keyrings, in hooks, in backpacks... It’s no longer necessary to place the Seekios in a placed space, thankt to its design, the placement of the Seekios it’s easier than before. It can also be observed that the previous version of the Seekios had 4 LED lights, whereas its younger sibling only had 3. This decision was made because of 2 main reasons. First reason is that the company only wanted to use 3 colours (yellow, red and green), so it meant that it didn’t make any sense to have 4 LED openings. Secondly, the quantity of LEDs was changed to 9 instead of 12, (3 of each colour instead of 4 of each colour) in order to save some battery.
3D view
Explosion view
Prototyping
Use environment
Rib and nose design
Production
For the moment, the production of the Seekios is taking place in China. A chinese company named MineWing has started making some mechanical improvements to the Seekios. The company has managed to create a product which is 100% IP67 protected as well as a functional button. They’ve already made some tests in order to check if the design works or not, and, they have even started making some other tests with the PCBs.
Chapter 9:
Seekios’ accessory
Seekios’ accessory Develop
Objectives
The objectives are divided into 2 categories. In one part there are the characteristics that the product must have: resistant, easy to use, durable, waterproof, dust-proof, it must have a hole for the button, a hole for a belt and it needs to make the GPS antenna work better. A part from that, the fabrication characteristics also have to be determined, which will be: cheap and easy to produce. In the other part, there are the objectives of this part of the project, which are the following: -When the Seekios was designed, one mayor problem was observed. The GPS antenna was placed on the opossite side of the LEDs and button. Which means, that in the current design of the Seekios, the antenna is facing down. Taking this into account, the objective of the accessory is to make the GPS antenna face outside again. -The accessory will need to be like a second skin to the Seekios. Which means that the material of this accessory will probably be rubber or silicon. -In order to make the accessory as stiff as possible, it would be interesting to mix rubber and ABS in the same design. The rubber would work as a second skin, and the ABS will be used on critical places. -Finally, the design will need a kind of hole or gap in it in order to let a belt pass through.
Conceptualisation ABS / PC RUBBER
Hole for magnet (located behind the Velcro, on the other face)
Velcro
Hole for button and LEDS Frontal view
Conceptualisation
ABS / PC Hole for magnet RUBBER
Velcro
lateral view
Hole for button and LEDS
Hole for USB charging The rubber case has an extrusion that goes through the hole of the Seekios. Then, the rubber case can be tied with itself by putting the hole through the “tongue� which goes through the hole.
Conceptualisation
Magnet
ABS / PC
la vie tera w l cu
t
Velcro The case will be in one only part and in ABS/PC. The velcro part won’t be removable, and the magnet will have a hole in the inside part of the case, behind the scratch. The magnet will hold in place due to the pressure bewteeen the Seekios and the casing.
4 holding points
Velcro Hole for magnet Hole for button and LEDS Frontal view
Conceptualisation
ABS / PC
Hole for magnet
Velcro
Clipping system in the USB hole to keep the case from moving
Hole for button and LEDS
It has the option to attach a belt
Conceptualisation
Hole for positioning the rubber part ABS / PC Hole for magnet
Velcro RUBBER Hole for USB charging
Conceptualisation Velcro
Magnet
RUBBER
ABS / PC
There are 2 plastic plates which the user can choose to place in the hole. One with velcroand the other one with a magnet. Both of the pieces are identical, wich means that they only need 1 mould to be made.
Closes with the system of the Seekios watch
Conceptualisation View from the lateral
Velcro
This closing system creates a clean enclosure which will not allow the Seekios to exit.
Magnet
The upper case, would have a hole under the velcro strap. The magnet would be palced inside this hole during the production.
By using a clipping system the user is able of pressing in the tips of the clips to separate the upper and lower cases. (see detail bellow).
Hole for button and LEDS
F View from the lateral
ABS / PC
Conceptualisation
ABS / PC RUBBER
Magnet
Hole for USB charging
ABS / PC Velcro
The connexion between the upper and lower parts of the case is made with this “clipping” system. As the rubber is an elastic material, there won’t be any problems to place the extrusion through the holes.
Conceptualisation This part is the same as in the 9th proposition. First the magnet is placed, and the the velcro part is placed over it.
Velcro Hole for magnet and magnet
ABS / PC This part here is a clipping system between the upper and lower parts of the case. It holds both of the cases together
Concept evaluation Button acces Productability
Belt hole
Design
Company identity Antenna signal
Concept A
Concept B
Seekios’ accessory Deliver
3D view
Prototyping
Packaging design for the
Seekios
Chapter 10: Analysis
Objectives
This project has 4 main objectives or constraints. -Analyse the different market tendencies and determine which one suits the best for the company. Once that is done, conceptualize the different packaging styles according to it. -The product will have to be able to be seen in the packaging (therefore, a plastic material will be needed in order to protect the product from external threats). -Create a navigation map between the different products. This map consists of making the different packaging according to one thematic (therefore obtaining a family of products that the user will be able to distinguish by a number, colour or font). -Create the art of the packaging accordingly with the enterprise’s attributes.
Target audience
Brand identity
Distribution channel
The chosen place to sell the product will be FNAC. FNAC (which means Fédération Nationale d’Achats des Cadres) is a French company specialised in electronic devices, computers, photographic items, books, music and video. Founded in 1954 by André Essel and Max Thèret, it’s the leading company in France selling electronic products where they own 113 stores. Apart from that, this company also works in Spain (25 stores), Portugal (22 stores), Brazil (12 stores), Belgium (9 stores), Switzerland (5 stores), Morocco (1 store) and Qatar (1 store). Instead of making a picture research on the internet and deducing from these pictures the store distribution, the store located near the Jean Jaurès Metro station in Toulouse will be observed and studied. The important things to be taken into account from this store will be: how French products are represented (are they in a special place?), where are the trackers located, how many people check the tracker zone in 10 minutes, the age of people checking for the tracker devices…
Distribution channel
In the store, the GPS trackers and generally all the “smart” devices, are located near the mobile phones, in the second floor. They have an own category known as “Objets Connectés”. The first thing that attracts the user to this zone is the presentation stands of the different products. Each company has a stand where the products are displayed as well as a small description of the functionalities of the product. Once the buyer gets attracted to these stands, the first packaging that screams for attention is the one designed by Belkin known as WeMo. This product family gets the attention of the user by using a light green colour. The second thing that pops into the mind is the quantity of companies using the white colour in their packaging. Most of the companies try to contrast this white colour with orange, black, blue or even brown. Black doesn’t seem a suitable option due to the fact that the FNAC shelves are grey, and the packaging camouflages in it, losing importance, and, therefore, the presence of the product. The only French product that I was able to find was the Wistiki, which was kind of hidden between the different products. In spite of that, the product transmitted properly the values of the brand, making a small packaging, but effective where the consumer is able to know what he is buying and what it looks like. In the 15 minutes that I spent in this zone, 27 people got attracted to this zone, 19 looked at 1 product (that was normally from the family of the “nest” or “myfox”), 5 looked to more than 1 product, only 1 stayed long enough to look all the different products of this category and none of the consumers bought any product. The first thing that consumers felt attracted to was the visual aspect of the object (because of the stand), then they searched this product under, and if they felt attracted to the packaging, they took it and looked at the specifications. The age range of the user was between 25-50 years. In conclusion, apart from a creative packaging, it could also be interesting to add a stand in FNAC in order to let consumers interact with the product. If that’s not possible, a packaging like the one that Wistiki has would also work fine.
Distribution countries
FNAC has stores in 7 countries apart from the ones located in France, taking into account that the product wants to be commercialised in Europe, this packaging will specifically be designed for France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Switzerland. The 4 countries belong to the European Union, and therefore, the cultural values in these countries will be similar. The packaging will first be introduced in the stores in France, and after that, we should wait for a feedback. If the feedback is positive, the commercialisation in the Spanish and Portuguese stores will be held. Changes in the packaging won’t be needed for the commercialization of the product in the western European countries, and due to the fact that the 3 country’s borders are next to each other, in spite of having different lifestyles, the values are the same (in regards to society, religion and family).
Trends Recycling
This trend has been going on for a while, and it seems, that in the following years it will continue growing. People are more and more aware of the world’s situation every day (the climate change, pollution, lack of resources…) and they want to make a change in their lives. These consumers already consume as little as possible in water, electricity… They recycle, and they want to know, that the product they are buying doesn’t have negative consequences in the environment. In spite of having a technological product as the main item of the company, creating a green packaging could improve how the brand is received by other people and therefore, increase the sales.
Trends Old School
It is not new that the 60’s and 70’s are back. We live in a world where old school has become cool and hipsters are an everyday life thing. People have started to buy things because of its unique view or characteristics. They want to have outstanding products in order to be able to show them to their friends, and here is where packaging can make a job. By creating a unique packaging the user will feel more attracted to it, therefore increasing the sales. In spite of that, creating a packaging for this tendency could be a risky move due to the fact that it’s new and that it can change any day.
Trends Text
In a world where the consumers seem to get way too much information, a new tendency has emerged. A tendency that says as much as possible using the least quantity of words. Against all this massive consumerism this trend focuses on getting to the user just the information he needs. This style forgets about all the characteristics of the product and just focuses on what the consumer needs to know. The information is written in a simple way, and the consumer will be able to see and read what he needs. Transparent packaging and simple fonts help the user in a market saturated with colour and shape. This trend would stand out from all the other products in the market, and it could be a really innovative packaging.
Market research
Meaning of colours
Cheerful attention getter. Associated with liveliness and being energetic. Use in light doses. Energetic warmth and ambition. Denotes new beginnings, enthusiasms and creativity. Emotionally intense. Associated with boldness, love and life. Denotes warning and is known as a colour that encourages appetite. Symbol of nature and organic materials. One of the easiest colours on the eye and is normally associated with safety, optimism, growth, harmony, wealth, luck and stress relief. One of the most used colours. Is often associated with tranquillity, depth, honour, trust and productivity. In spite of that, it is also known as a sad colour. Historically connected to royalty, nobility, power and wealth. It’s known as an artificial colour and it is normally related to feminine aspects of the life. The colour of femininity, love, romance and tenderness. Also known as calming. Solid, dependable, confident and reliable. It is normally related to earth, and depending on the use, it can be both conventional and sophisticated. In spite of that, it is also related to boredom. Conservative, traditional and serious. It is sometimes used as a support for stronger colours. It communicates authority, security and stability. Power, authority, sophistication and elegance. It is also related to evil, taboo, depth and gloom, making it a difficult colour to work with. Purity, cleanliness, sterility and youth. It’s the absence of colour. It’s used to explain simplicity, goodness and hope.
Packaging materials
Possible shapes
Legislation
CE MARKING This is probably the most widely used and recognised marking required by the EU. Found in all “New Approach” legislation with a few exceptions, the CE marking demonstrates that a product meets all essential requirements (typically related to safety, health, energy efficiency and/or environmental concerns). THE WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT DIRECTIVE (WEEE) This directive is designed to tackle the rapidly increasing waste stream of electrical and electronic equipment, and complements European Union measures on landfills and waste incineration. Increased recycling of electrical and electronic equipment, in accordance with the directive requirements, limits the total quantity of waste going to final disposal. It indicates that the product is not to be discarded with normal household waste. It is a required mark on batteries. In instances where this symbol cannot be displayed on the equipment itself, it should be included on the packaging. RECYCLING The “Mobius loop” (sometimes known as the “chasing arrows”), based on an international standard, may be found on products throughout Europe and is meant to help consumers identify and participate in recycling schemes for product packaging and materials. As well as being used on printed packaging, the chasing arrow symbol is sometimes featured in the moulds of glass, metal, paper, or plastic products.
Legistlation
PLASTIC RECYCLING
GREEN DOT The Green Dot system is a scheme in which participating bodies coordinate the collection, sorting and recovery of used packaging. This system is actually administered according to national packaging laws (adhered to by packaging manufacturers, fillers, retailers and importers), and it should be noted that all participating national systems operate independently. The umbrella organisation, PRO-Europe, is responsible for managing the Green Dot labelling system in Europe. BARCODES Barcodes are not legislated by the European Union; neither are they legislated by its member states. It is rare, however, to see products without barcodes. The code system and its use are governed by voluntary industry agreements. Competing systems exist, and importers and distributors can provide advice on this subject.
Final strategy
For the final strategy, the main goal will be to be able to create a product that reflects the identity of the company. In order to do that, the brand identity will be the most important thing to be taken into account. The probability of creating a packaging that plays with the logo name or colours would also be interesting. It will also have to be taken into account, that as this product is going to be displayed in the FNAC, the packaging doesn’t necessarily need to show the product itself due to the fact that the product is displayed in a stand near the packaging, therefore, the user is able to touch and test the product live. It must also be taken into account, that the main users of this product are the families, and therefore, the visual identification of the product can’t be aggressive nor neither too mature. The objective is to have a colourful but yet mature enough packaging so that families feel identified with the product. In order to achieve that, colours, pictures and fonts will play a really important role. Finally, establishing an only tendency limits the creativity and closes the conception process. In order to achieve the best possible result, the 3 tendencies will be used and even mixed among each other in order to achieve a product that apart from being visually attractive, also adapts to 2 or 3 different tendencies, in this way expanding the commercialization field.
Chapter 11: Creation
Identification
An important thing that needs to be established is the “What factor”. What does the brand sell? What category does it play in? What does the user expect from it? Etc. Once these questions are answered, the next step will be able to be taken. Things of Tomorrow sells safety, confidence and relax. The brand wants to let the users know that it’s OK to feel worried, but that they don’t need to carry on with that feeling. It wants to let the user know that if he wants, he can start relaxing and taking care of other things. At the same time, the brand doesn’t want to treat the users as persons who want to control everything, in fact, it just wants to help people in their everyday life. This brand competes in a category known as “Objets Connectés”. In the analysis that was previously made in FNAC, one big conclusion was taken, and this was that the product had to have the white colour included in its packaging. No colour transmits the safety, confidence and relaxation as good as the white does. Also, the competitors had similar packagings, which at least always included: a photo of the product, the company name, colours of the company and a small definition of what the product was. The characteristic which changed between the products was the support colour used along the white, which helped the user look to one part of the stand or to another. When the user buys the product he expects a good quality product with an easy to open packaging. People are bored of plastic packagings that need scissors to be opened, in the ecologically responsible world that the society is being developed in, going green helps the user-company feedback in a positive way. It is also helpful to the user to be able to touch or see the real size of the product, which in the case of FNAC could be either showed in a stand or by making an open packaging. Using cardboard or ecologic materials instead of plastics will also be economically beneficial for the company.
Functionality
In spite of the difficulty, creating a functional packaging helps to establish an emotional bond with the packaging and by consequence with the brand. If the users perceive a connexion with the brand, the positive feedbacks will increase, and by consequence, the sales. Creating a functional packaging for the range of the products of the Things of Tomorrow company won’t be an easy task due to the fact that the products inside are itself the support. If the functionality can’t be changed, the second option to be taken into account will be the end of life of the product. Talking with ecologically responsible companies can help developing a packaging that won’t affect the environment.
Personality Quality
For families Future thinkers
Made by young people
French
Navigation
The product navigation can be done in many different ways. As an example: putting numbers to the different products or keeping the packaging shape or exterior art can be really helpful. Creating a navigation system between the products is important in order to make the users understand that everything belongs to the same family. A cohesion between the different packagings is a must in order to not lose the company identity. A very common technique is to keep the unique shape of the product or packaging in all the family. This marketing technique is used by well-known companies such as H&S. They keep the basic characteristics of the design (blue cap, white body) and what changes between the different products is the sticker. In the case of Things of Tomorrow, this option will probably not be viable due to the fact that it is intended to have a square or rectangle packaging. The navigation of the product of Things of Tomorrow will probably be made by using different size packagings that respect a visual coherence between them. Either by adding the company logo in the same place in all the packagings or by putting the same colour around the corner, all the packaging MUST be catalogued as a whole pack.
Decision making diagram
Conceptualization
Concept evaluation
Trend Safe
Navigat.
Prod. VisR
ecycl. Atraction
Concept development Concept A
Concept development Concept B
Concept development Concept C
Concept development Chosen concept variants
Concept development Chosen concept art
In order to develop the concept art of the back part of the packaging a series of descriptions must be established. 2 ideas have been taken into account. The first idea was to centre the packaging in the characteristics of the product: battery life, how to charge it, protection systems... The second idea was to centre the description behind in the use: how it works, the applications, the users... By centring the packaging design in the characteristics, the user is able to know the basic things about the product. The purpose is to use a minimalist design and to answer the following questions: how long will the battery last? Will it break if it touches the water? Can it be shared? If the packaging design is centred on the use, the probability of connecting with the user in emotional level increases. The user will feel identified by the packaging because it will explain to him how the product works as well as why he needs it. Both of the ideas work, but yet only one of them will be more suitable for the company. In order to decide, concepts of each of the ideas will be developed. And each of these concepts will be evaluated according to the following categories: characteristics, use modes, user-friendly, emotional level, company identity and design. For the frontal part of the packaging, there’s only one idea: make it minimalist but not too minimalist. Too much minimalism would create a product that is not aimed for families but for elite users. The characteristics to be taken into account in this category are not many: name, description, design and product.
Concept development Chosen concept art Frontal design
Concept development Chosen concept art Back design
Concept development Chosen concept art Back design
Concept development Final concept art
Concept development Family packaging
Now that the art for the main packaging is selected, the design of the other 3 packagings can be started. From the previous phase, 2 concepts were chosen. You will be able to see these concepts in the next 2 pages. Along with the 2 chosen propositions, there is also a design proposition for the rest of the packagings. The proposition in next page is a simple but always effective packaging. With a lateral, frontal and under opening the buyer will be able to see without limits the product he is buying. A family cohesion is also obtained by making the same opening in all the packagings, obtaining a simple but yet effective packaging. On the negative hand, though, this packaging is also way too classic. There’s not anything new in it that will drag the user to it. It will need to be checked if what we are searching for is for something simple, but which works, or if we want to innovate in the market. The proposition after the one in the next page plays with the user in a more joyful way. With a packaging that adapts to the different forms of the products, the user is able to feel a deeper connexion with the packaging. Less mature than the previous design, this one communicates a more human aspect. Although, using this packaging style could also be risky due to the fact that the user might feel that it’s too childish. Also, the opening of these packagings is smaller than the previous ones, which gives less view area to the buyer. In resume, choosing the packaging on the left is going classic yet safe; but, by choosing the packaging on the right, we are innovating and at the same time risking ourselves. It will also have to be taken into account the family packaging art (the renders after the sketches). But no final proposition will be shown until the implementation part, where apart from saying the final proposition: the different characteristics, art, guidelines etc. will also be shown.
Concept development Family packaging: concept
Concept development Family packaging: concept
Concept development Family packaging: art
Concept development Family packaging: art
Concept development Final 2 propositions
Here are the 2 final propositions. It can be seen that both of them explain more or less the same things. In both of the packagings the characteristics are shown as well as a small definition of the product. The results shown here are the conclusion of weeks and weeks of work by Benoit and me. These propositions are both influenced by my ideas and Benoit’s ideas, and both of them were perfectly working propositions. But at the end, one had to be chosen.
Chapter 12:
Implementation
Art Seekios
Art Secure
Art Pocket
Art Watch
3D model Seekios
3D model Secure
3D model Pocket
3D model Watch
Primary, secondary and tertiary packaging
The tertiary packaging is only supposed to be a box. These boxes will have to be personally created for the company. The sizes of height and depth keep always the same, the only changing factor is the length. The shipment quantity always keeps the same, 40 examples per box.
Primary, secondary and tertiary packaging
To explain the primary and secondary packaging, a scheme will be used. This scheme will correspond to Seekios support, but the same distribution will be applied to all the other packagings.
Storytelling
Storytelling
Features
These packagings unite the young spirit around the company of Things of Tomorrow and a unique identity that stands out from the all the other competitors in the market. With the card of being a start-up in the sleeve, taking a chance on a daring packaging design is always easier than if the company is an already well-known multinational. The packaging consists of 2 pieces (apart from the box where the packagings will be distributed and shipped). The first piece is completely made of cardboard. Printed only on one face and which works as the protective case that surrounds the product. A case whose function is to inform and attract the user. The second part of the packaging comes once the first layer is taken off. On this one, the user will be able to see a transparent plastic box and inside it a green coloured cardboard that is used to emphasise the Seekios (or other supports). The Seekios (or other supports) will be placed in a plastic tray in order to limit the movement of the product whilst being transported or checked in a store. Its frontal and lateral openings help the user making an idea of how the final product looks. It is not new in this market, when companies decide to sell their items completely closed, to only show a photo of the product. We thought, that using a packaging like the mentioned one could lead to misunderstandings, and therefore, we thought that showing the item is as important as using the good explanations. In the back-face of the packaging, the user can observe the functionalities of the product (in the case of the Seekios) and the characteristics (in the case of the supports). In the future, some changes might be added to these designs, but the idea will keep being the same. To conclude, a nice and beautiful navigation has been obtained between the different packagings, making them easy to spot in the market and easy to recognize the company identity.
Guidelines Seekios
Guidelines Secure
Guidelines Pocket
Guidelines Watch
Unpackaging
The following explosion view explains how each of the different parts of the packagings interact between each other as well as how the future packaging will be unpacked.
Future lines
Now that all the previous concepts have already been established there is only one thing left to do, see what the future actions will be and which the next steps to be followed are. -The first thing that will have to be made is a real life prototyping of the already proposed packagings. Before asking for any prints or any further information on the materials that will be used, it will have to be checked either if the packaging is suitable for the products or not. In order to do so, we will either contact the services of a company; or we will produce it ourselves. If the packaging prototype doesn’t fit our needs a dimensional re-design will be needed. Once that is made, we will be able to proceed to the next step. -In spite of not being obligatory, it would also be interesting to give the packaging to different users to see how they react to it, how they interact with it, how they use it, what they do with it... User testing always helps in acknowledging if the planned uses and interactions are the same as the ones obtained with real testers. -Once the packaging’s form is confirmed, we will need to contact a company which will help us produce the packaging. There are lots of things that will have to be taken into account such as the printer’s properties, ink properties, material characteristics, the cost of packaging production... Ink testings will be needed in order to achieve the desired colours. Communication between a designer and the manufacturing company will be essential in order to achieve the best possible result. -New printing guides will be needed when the production of the packaging comes out. In spite of already having a guideline, this one can only be useful for testing. In the future, new guidelines will be created by the designer which fit the needs and characteristics of the producing company. -Finally, during all this prototype production, a law expert will also be needed in order to conceive the appropriate logos that will have to be included in the packaging as well as an exam to prove if the product and the packaging are adapted to the European standards.
Last words
Today, 7th of January of 2016, this project has been concluded. This does not mean that the project is finished, though. As I said in the previous page, there is still a long way to continue. Sizes might be changed, designs will not keep the same, but what has been written to this point will keep unchanged. If any changes have to be made to the design, this will be the document which will point to the good direction. Future changes, developments, improvements, prototypes... Or whatever is further developed will be attached to this report as an annex or as a jointed document, including the date, changes and a relationship of the index points to which it affects. As it was written in the beginning, the purpose of this work was not to create one definitive packaging design but the first version of it. The work in these 61 pages will have to be completed in the future with the possible advances that this project will have (prototypes, tests, design changes...). To conclude, what you see in this picture below is the latest version of the packaging family. A design which transmits one of the most important characteristics of Things of Tomorrow: youth.