John Almstead

I am responsible for ensuring the disciplined and consistent approach to the process of design from 2D to 3D into production. Asset creation and management of all the C&D categories, brands and product applications while driving cales and business growth and establishing strong partnerships with external agencies and suppliers in developing best-in-class designs and solutions. Skilled in consumer insights, within the (CPG), Medical Packaging, experience design, design strategy, design thinking and project management. Work closely with product managers, developers, and other stakeholders to define design requirements, align on product strategy, and ensure seamless integration of design with development. I bring 20+ years of knowledge within the industry of consumer packaging, and design for manufacturing to unsure that what we design can be built. Professional skills include, SolidWorks, Adobe Creative Suite, Concept development, Consumer insights, Design Thinking and Design leader and project management.

At Comar, product development thrives on strong, long-term relationships with both customers and industry regulators, ensuring we stay in tune with ever-evolving market demands. As Head of Industrial Design, I spearheaded a wide range of projects aimed at enhancing existing packaging and designing highly specialized solutions that set our customers apart in their industries. From initial concept development to design, engineering, modeling, prototyping, and sampling, I guide our team through every phase of the process to bring innovative products to life. As a leading injection and blow molding company, Comar offers some of the most distinctive custom molding solutions in the market. With a strong focus on growth, standardizing best practices, and fostering cross-functional collaboration, I also played a key role in launching our internal Innovation Studio, IDworks. This space fosters creative partnerships with customers and internal teams, driving innovation and ensuring we continue to lead in our field.

Creating new and innovative products for the Personal Care [Design] group. Engineering design agency models with Unigraphics to manufacturers specifications while preserving the integrity of the original design Developing parametric CAD models that are prototyped in-house and then tested on our pilot lines The categories that I am responsible for are: Early design facilitation, Ideation sketching Visualization / VR
Opportunity scoping Technical sketching, Intelligent & Responsive CAD Models retaining design intent – Faster decision making
Produce Accurate & Robust Advanced Surface Geometry – Quality surfacing for packaging

Instruct a dynamic night class on the Basics of Siemens Unigraphics (CAD), a 3-credit design studio, where students have access to personalized workspaces, and computer design studio, a clean room for large-scale mock-ups, a fully equipped model shop, and a professional-grade photography studio. The course is enriched by guest lectures from industry-leading designers, providing students with a hands-on, cutting-edge education that bridges theory and real-world practice.

Brand/Product development, Developed brand strategy
Concept Consulting, including design and manufacture strategy development.
New concepts for Toy/Pet and home goods
Give onsite and offsite design and manufacturing strategy.

Led the creative team through all stages of design development and execution, producing innovative solutions across multiple Conair divisions, including Personal Care, Cuisinart, Interplak, Professional, Rusk, Consumer Electronics, and Toiletries. Spearheaded the creation of engineering tooling packages for international vendors and collaborated closely with the engineering team to construct breadboard models, ensuring functionality and product safety. Developed over 250 new concepts in 2003 for the New Product Department while working in a high-pressure environment to meet tight deadlines. Additionally, traveled to Europe, China, Hong Kong, and Costa Rica to collaborate with global design offices on product concepts.

Developed point of purchase displays for clients such as: Clarks, Brookstone, and Disney Created engineering drawings for developing efficient ways to set up the assembly lines Designed instruction booklets for each of our products Started an in-house silk screening line