NEWS
Sit and stand while working…move!
Is it time to invest in making your home or office workstation more ergonomic? If you are one of the 80% of people that experience neck or lower back pain from working on a computer, then you will be doing yourself a favor. And those headaches…they could be coming from your neck.
Recent research from the Univ. of Waterloo points to sitting for 30 minutes and standing for 30 minutes.
https://tinyurl.com/yym6a872. To avoid postural fixity, the ultimate goal is to change postures regularly.
How to do that?
At Design Interface, we started inexpensively with the Home Concept Speedy Stand-up Desk, shown in the illustration. After a year of moving a wooden box around, it was time to upgrade. The next step was to add the Duet Sit-Stand Arms to our keyboard trays. Our final upgrade was to mount our screens to articulating arms to get them at eye level. Each of these moves was after one of us sought medical attention for pain!
Another easy option is a desk riser, it sits on top of an existing desk and raises the keyboard and monitor, some for as low as $160. Humanscale.com offers one of the most beautiful designs.
There’s much more to any ideal ergonomic set-up. Here’s a useful checklist: https://tinyurl.com/y3x78vsb.
Or contact me at Design Interface for help with an individualized workstation assessment.
~ Carla (Ergonomics + Design instructor, Cleveland Institute of Art)
P.S. Oh and one more thing…stop working with your laptop on the couch or bed. Your spine will thank you.
Electric Truck Being Made in Ohio
Northeast Ohioans are excited to finally see the old Lordstown automobile plant coming to life as it ramps up for the production of a brand new electric pickup truck. Called the Endurance, it will be powered by a motor inside each wheel and is expected to have a range of 200 miles and about 600 horsepower. The company making it, Lordstown Motors, said it will hire nearly 1500 workers and hopes to deliver it by September 2021.
The plant was previously operated by GM Motors making the Chevy Cruze for over five years, but eventually shut down in 2017 due to slow sales. All the equipment was left inside and is being repurposed to produce the Endurance, including making the truck’s batteries and motors. CEO Steve Burns plans to market the truck to fleet customers, stating “There is nobody with a full-size truck for workers priced in this range ($52,500), and it is hard to get a lane to yourself in modern-day automotive. Nobody’s playing in this lane right now and we plan to claim it, own it and lead it.“
Design Interface in the CIA Faculty Exhibition 2020
We are proud to be included in the CIA Faculty show with NED basketball training system. The Never Ending Defender allows basketball players to train on their own, especially important in this time of COVID-19. Adrian Slattery was the lead on this project, he teaches Materials & Processes in the Industrial Design (ID) Department. Other team members were Doug Halley and Carla Blackman. She teaches Ergonomics & Design in the ID department.
A tradition that spans more than eight decades, the CIA Faculty Exhibition is a celebration of art, design, and their makers. It provides an opportunity for the public to view new works from our world-renowned faculty.
Public appointments are available Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am to 5pm beginning Friday, October 23. Groups are limited to five people. All visitors are required to wear masks at all times while in the building. Please contact nwoods@cia.edu to schedule a visit. The show will be on view through Friday, January 29.
Why is Subscription Box Packaging Important?
Packaging is extremely important in the world of subscription boxes, the look and feel of the box matters just as much as its contents. Whether you’re looking for monthly shipments of clothes, makeup, beauty products, candy, healthy snacks, prepared meals, or even kid stuff, there’s literally a box for everyone. The appeal is not the fact that the box is delivered to your door, but the unique retail experience it offers. When surprise and delight are the main drivers of this market, some subscription box packaging has been made to tell a story as you unbox. So it is important to give a lot of thought to your subscription box packaging design, and how the different custom options can work for your brand.
Some of the ways these subscription boxes capture the customer are through custom printed boxes which allow them to show off their personality and brand identity. Custom tissue paper also provides a great opportunity to continue the brand narrative on the inside of your package. Custom stickers are a great focal point in packaging design, they create brand awareness for a low cost. Custom packing tape also is a great option for external branding if custom boxes stretch your budget too far. You can use it to seal up your boxes, but also as decoration for plain packaging.
I was awed when I saw how many subscription boxes exist.
Photos and information from the following sites:
https://urbantastebud.com/
https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2019/03/dollar-shave-club-shave-starter-set-review-coupon-march-2019.html
https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2020/02/freshly-review-feb-2020.html
https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2020/04/society-socks-review-apr-2020.html
https://www.mysubscriptionaddiction.com/2019/04/basic-man-review-april-2019.html
mbrio Pregnancy Earbud Adapters + DI Package Design
Expectant Moms can now share music with their baby in the womb through mbrio earbud adapters. DI worked with mbrio to develop the package design. It started with Jonathan Klinger and his design for the mbrio earbud adapters. We advised him that the package would be the “Silent Salesperson” communicating the product’s features and benefits.
It’s a premium box that holds 2 earbud adapters for pregnant women to clip onto their waistband. We designed the Instructions for Use (IFU) to show how it’s used. We rendered the outside illustration using SolidWorks, Keyshot and Photoshop. The back icons were developed to illustrate each feature: SoundSafe Design, Patented Technology, SkinSafe Materials, Waistband Clip and mbrioMusic Compilations. Line drawings were crafted in Illustrator with page layout in InDesign. The finished package has a silk-touch finish and slides together easily. Visit: www.mbriotech.com for more information.
Need new, innovative package designs? Contact us at www.designinterface.com or call 440-871-0600.
Top 5 Questions We Get About Product Design
We often receive calls from people who are interested in learning more about our product design capabilities. As you will see, coming up with a new product idea is just the first step of the invention process. Here are five important points to consider before moving forward.
I have a new product idea – now what?
Start with a simple Google search to see if any similar idea already exists – you may be surprised! If you find that indeed you have a unique idea that deserves a closer look, you can meet with Design Interface for a free consultation. Rest assured your idea will remain confidential – we sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before discussing anything and will never share your idea with anyone. Design Interface has over 30 years experience of developing ideas into real consumer products and can advise about your next steps.
My invention was drawn on a napkin – can you help?
Some great ideas start out on a napkin but you’ll need something more presentable to show others. We can create one or more finished drawings that capture your design intent.
Can you make a prototype of my idea?
Yes, in most cases a working prototype is a good idea to evaluate a design and uncover areas for improvement. Prototypes can be very basic, made from simple materials for instance, to understand whether the idea will work. Alternatively, a more finished prototype can be exhibited at trade shows or demonstrated to investors. The cost can range widely depending on how simple or complex the idea being prototyped.
Do I need a patent?
You should consider talking to a patent lawyer before you get too far into the development process. A good lawyer can perform a patent search to see if similar ideas already exist and to offer legal advice. It may make sense to obtain a design or utility patent to protect your idea before moving forward. Design Interface can create any patent drawings you may need.
How much will this cost to develop a new product?
Most inventors are surprised to learn that bringing a product to market can be rather costly. A small plastic part for example can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars. It must be designed, engineered, and manufactured. Then there are also marketing costs (packaging, branding, advertising, brochures, perhaps an e-commerce website). Additional business fees (legal, fulfillment, sales, etc.) may apply as well. It all depends on the size and complexity of your idea.
Our Colorful New Website Is Now Live!
Communication During Social Distancing
As designers we work best with good communication skills with your team. But with social distancing taking place and masks required, how do we keep the design flow strong? As places are re-opening there are ways, we can create a system to be more efficient in a work environment. Like using color bracelets to identify how lenient you are to talk to others. At DI we are wearing masks and wiping down surfaces to keep each other safe. We encourage the red bracelet. What can you come up with?
(Photo from Ryanne Armand on Linkedin)
Diversity in Design
At Design Interface, we support all BIPOC and want more diversity in the design community. This article The American Institute of Graphic Arts wrote about why diversity and inclusion is important. Designing for inclusivity is keeping in mind all types of people, not excluding any group; age, ability, race, gender, economic status.
(Image by AIGA Chicago)
2020 Color Trends From Shutterstock
Every year we anticipate a color of the year from Pantone, but, I also discovered that the color of the year crosses over to other industries like Shutterstock. Shutterstock appreciates how essential color is to design, marketing, and everything in-between after all we constantly look for the best image or background to use in our designs. To come up with their colors of the year they sorted through customer downloads and analyze color pixel data from those images. This year Sutterstock’s three bold, saturated hues to trend in 2020 are Lush Lava, Aqua Menthe, and Phantom Blue. To find out more about these colors go to, https://www.shutterstock.com/blog/trends/2020-color-trends.
An extra bonus that you will discover in the article are the hottest color trends of the year from around the world.
