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" partsfrom 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 morein 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 wherethey tend to "look grungy".  E.g., my mice collect crud at the seamsbetween 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 thoseactions; 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 spendGood 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 caseunnecessarily (e.g., wireless interfaces instead of wired).  And, leveragingany perforation for multiple purposes.I'm considering making devices with different interface modalities in the hopeof making some further optimizations.  But, that leads to having differentmodels for different populations.  And, either overstocking some modelsin excess of demand -- or, (worse) understocking them.It also speaks to your commitment to accessibility; once you "admit" todifferent products for different "needs", you're reinforcing the pidgeon-holes.