Innovative Packaging Design
Designed for: Procter and Gamble
Procter & Gamble challenged our team of six to reimagine the packaging experience for one of their consumer goods from the ground up, with a final recommendation and working prototype due at the end of the quarter.
As one of the leads on the project, I ran user research, developed dielines, and managed the team's timeline and cross-functional alignment from research through final pitch.
Note that because this project is under NDA, specifics have been omitted.
User research
After leading the first two in-home visits, it quickly became clear we needed to focus on people's subconscious actions. Consumers rarely noticed the packaging experience unless it was particularly excellent or terrible.
During the later central site visits I led, we focused on emotions associated with opening type, what makes a package keepable, and dangerous workarounds. That work grounded our design requirements in real consumer behavior.
Rapid Prototyping
A constant tension we faced while working on packaging concepts was maintaining the balance between desirability and feasibility. I could very easily create a prototype which users would love but that would be difficult to manufacture, and vice versa.
To address this, I maintained communication with P&G stakeholders to ensure alignment on manufacturing capabilities, and with Northwestern stakeholders to stay aligned on the project's direction and scope. I also pushed the dieline iterations in SolidWorks and on the laser cutter across three design reviews, aiming for a solution that didn't force a choice between the two.
Delivery
We concluded the quarter with a design that we knew was feasible to manufacture and, we believed, desirable to use. We communicated this to P&G through an executive summary, a pitch video, and a working physical prototype.
We got our answer quickly, when P&G opened the box and there was an audible gasp. We ended the quarter by handing off the dielines and user data for P&G's internal development.
