XM Satellite Radio:
A Packaging Process Overview
Packaging is a part of modern life. This article, an insight into the design of a consumer package for satellite radio provider XM, includes many aspects of a typical package development process. In the interest of time, we’ll skip research, diagnostic and technical methodology phases and concentrate on the basic iterative process steps in this article.
Contracted as a co-branded piece with equipment manufacturer, Delphi, the XM package is designed to contain a variety of product configurations while meeting the requirements of multiple retailers.
Thumbnails
(above: click for larger view)
The first stage of the package design process is broad idea generation with an eye toward reasonable possibility through the use of quick sketches called thumbnails—essentially a Brainstorm session on paper.
Even in this early ideation phase, function and manufacturing objectives established in earlier logistic explorations are at the forefront of the design rationale.
A plump and friendly ovate design—suitable for both pegged and stand-alone shelf display—captured the team’s attention. It features an interchangeable outer shroud designed to accommodate variable messaging and XM product differentiation.
Rough Refinements
(above: click for larger view)
Of the 32 initial thumbnails, five are selected for tighter “rough” conceptual sketches. The rough design stage serves several purposes. Roughs allow the customer to collaborate in a conceptual dialog with both Brainstorm and their own internal team.
In addition, roughs allow the design team to further reconcile a host of issues—from substrate selection to detail and aesthetic considerations. Increasingly the form is discussed with a heightened sensitivity to relative manufacturing requirements and capabilities.
Although computer-generated designs are great for visualization, introducing them too early in the development process can consume allotted resources and generate fewer options. Furthermore, their finished look can ignite concerns about exhausting budgets without the benefit of conceptual buy-in.
Design Control Drawings (DCD)
(above: click for larger view)
DCD drawings are to final fit and finish what roughs are to concepts. In this case, the forms are expressed as orthographic projections, i.e., front, right side and plan (top) views.
The primary intent of this phase is to convey relative proportions and relationships between forms within the package, i.e., to “control” the design. A rough and wispy hand drawn line could mean anything to a packaging engineer. Conversely, detailed and dimensioned schematics begin to define a working reality.
Of course, many issues were addressed during the XM DCD phase: Drop test considerations, proper cavity allowance for nested accessories, marrying the outer shroud with the stand-alone clamshell, substrate selection and opacity levels, inherent multi-part clamshell tooling considerations, etc.
Rapid Prototyped 3D Model
(above)
Project participants hailed from several continents. So, to help bridge geographic and language-based barriers, we produced a quick 3D model based on data and dimensioning extrapolated from the vector-based DCD drawings. The model proved a useful discussion tool in describing general functions of the package.
Aesthetic and Messaging
(above: click for more initial design examples)
Although this article primarily explores the physical form development of a package, the aesthetic process is important enough to warrant an article of its own.
Some aspects of messaging development begin as early as the thumbnail stage. However, on many levels, full graphic exploration doesn’t begin until a form factor direction is set. At retail, messaging and brand continuity are crucial.
A Finished Package
(above: click for larger view)
Although concessions were made along the way, the completed two-part package is remarkably similar to the original concept design in form and function.
Click here for more about Brainstorm.
Tags: Design, Retail Inspiration, Featured, Consumer Electronics, Products, Healthcare, Branding, Process, Packaging, Tips, Industrial Design
April 4th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
[…] .think » XM Satellite Radio: A Packaging Process Overview Good Packaging Primer. (tags: packaging design retail xm) Posted by bartcaylor Filed in Uncategorized […]
April 5th, 2007 at 3:47 am
Fascinating stuff! I never really considered how that whole process evolves into a sleek shiny final product package. I wonder how many man-hours went into that?
April 5th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
More than one, less than a million.
May 31st, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Very interesting. I’d like to hear more about some of the retailer requirements, or more specifically, why so many manufacturers go with what you call a “clamshell” design and others call “blister pack”.
My family has a strict rule about not purchasing merchandise packaged this way. The packaging is extremely difficult to open, often causing injury. There is usually more material in the packaging than is necessary, and it is much more difficult to recycle in our area.
May 31st, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Fascinating. Is any consideration given to the environmental impact of the packaging? Or for that matter, how easy it is to open without cutting yourself?
May 31st, 2007 at 6:05 pm
@Mark, @Captcha: Packaging engineers take many, many factors into consideration when choosing materials for any packaging project. Although we’re not privy to how or why XM’s engineers chose the substrate, we do know that they were looking for cost-effective, flexible packaging that could pass a drop test with a myriad of disparate-shaped electronic components inside. The package also needed to allow product and inventory tag visibility. In addition, XM needed to guard against shrinkage (theft) as the product passed from manufacture to retail. The same package you find difficult to open guards well against loss.
We agree with you. We’d like to see environmentally-friendly, recyclable packaging become the norm.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Interesting stuff, Ed. Thinking about (a) the other comments here, (b) your own support for environmentally-friendly packaging, and (c) the likely increasing costs of plastic going forward (because of increased costs of petrochemical feedstocks), I see this as a prime entrepreneurial opportunity: to find a mode of packaging that accommodates all the needs you talk about — display, different configurations of goods, protection against theft, etc. — while ALSO addressing concerns about recyclability, ease of opening for the end user, and so on.
My guess is that SOMEBODY’s gonna crack this nut. When they do, they’ll make a lot of money.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I am business development manager at a packaging company (www.abc-packaging.com) and I found this article really informative and an interesting source of information especially DCDs.