Re: Product packaging

Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid> wrote:

I suspect most folks don't design handheld devices?  Or,
wearables?  But, for any who *do*, can you shed some light
on how your packaging decisions are made -- along with
the expected lifetimes of the affected products?  (i.e., if
something will be discarded before it "wears", then the
decision is largely moot)

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?

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.

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
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.

Theo