Jonathan Smith

Research - Brief: Develop the Next Generation Easy Grip Cup in 18oz. and 12oz. sizes Optimize the grip/texture so that it clearly conveys a premium look yet still disposable using a H.I.P.S. material (High Impact Polystyrene) in Red or Blue. After the kick off meeting I began gathering cups from retailers, Jewel, HEB, Albertsons, Sams, Cosco, and franchise stores, Burrito Bowl, McDonalds, Sonic, etc. Patent searches of competitors products was also a part of my research phase.

Understanding User behavior - When developing product that will be held in your hand it is important to research how people hold those types of products. An internal study/party was put together as a blind study into how users hold their beverage containers. I also conducted d web survey looking for images of people holding beverage containers in different situations.

Exploration thumbnail sketches - During the research phase where I conducted observational and generative research in how beverage containers are held, the different materials and textures used, as well as establishing a situational awareness for a future presentation, I was sketching ideas I had. This is one of my ideation/thought pages.

Refined ideation sketches 1 - Once I had had explored a number of concepts in thumbnail form, I moved on to sketching them in a larger fashion. These are still exploratory sketches that were developed to further refine my ideas. This phase was accompanied by meetings with Marketing and Engineering.

Refined ideation sketches 2 - Here some of my more refined exploratory sketches have been rendered in various colors using Sketchbook Pro.

Refined ideation sketches 3 - Here some of my more refined exploratory sketches have been rendered in various colors using Sketchbook Pro. I am beginning to get closer to solidifying a direction both engineering and marketing are agreeing with.

On the shelf! - Here is the final product on the shelf. Much to my surprise as I was not a PACTIV when this project was wrapped up! The sketches you saw were developed by me in 2006 and I took these pictures a week or so after the final product was introduced to the south eastern market in 2009. The images were taken at a Wal-Mart in Georgia.

On the table! - Here is an image of the final product. A much larger surface area is textured so as to increase the gripping area and reduce the slipping that can often occur once condensation has built up on the outside of the cup. Its stature is wide and squatty. In doing so the foot print has increased which increased stability and the wider look of this rendition imbibes the feeling that a greater amount of liquid can be held within its bounds.