Re: Product packaging

On 5/15/2025 9:57 AM, Theo wrote:

I've not designed anything like this, but could you separate the human
contact surfaces from the functional part, with the contact surfaces being
easily washable?

The devices are small.  So, separating the "interactive" parts
from the "structural" is sort of like splitting hairs.

eg plastic-only front panel (no electronics) pops off and is dishwashable,
reattaches to the body of the unit which is not subject to cleaning.  Old
Nokia phones had removable covers that could pop off and be separately
washed.

But a (legacy) phone is almost "huge", in my context.  Think more
in terms of smart-watches -- but with the addition of haptics
(beyond the crude "indicators" they currently support).
I've been trying to look at things that are "handled", a lot, to see where
they tend to "look grungy".  E.g., my mice collect crud at the seams
between the upper and lower case parts, around the edges of the buttons,
ON the scroll wheel, etc.
(Smart) Phones tend to get cleaned without our even being aware of those
actions; how often do you wipe the face of the phone (with your hand,
a cloth, against your shirt, etc.)  As we are looking AT the "active surface"
all the time, it seems like we avoid letting it get too "gross".

The double duty of the cover is that it's also the device's outward 'dress'
- you make the body out of boring black structural plastic and
then use the cover for the device's designed look and feel.  You can spend

Good point.

the money printing a nice plastic cover instead of making the whole thing
have a nice look, eg making it out of machined aluminium, or having to make
the whole thing IP68.

I've tried to make the obvious design choices to avoid perforating the case
unnecessarily (e.g., wireless interfaces instead of wired).  And, leveraging
any perforation for multiple purposes.
I'm considering making devices with different interface modalities in the hope
of making some further optimizations.  But, that leads to having different
models for different populations.  And, either overstocking some models
in excess of demand -- or, (worse) understocking them.
It also speaks to your commitment to accessibility; once you "admit" to
different products for different "needs", you're reinforcing the pidgeon-holes.