I currently work at the packaging company Plastique as an Industrial Packaging Designer. My role at Plastique involves designing packaging solutions for thermoformed plastic and natural fibre. I am responsible for progressing projects from initial ideas and designs, through to prototyping and into full scale manufacture. This regularily involves; sketching ideas, creating CAD models of products and packaging, producing high qualityquality rendered visuals, making detailed tools ready to be machined, testing of prototypes, and making CAD alterations based on testing. My position also means that I participate in daily planning meetings to discuss the design team workload and to help solve general production problems. I have worked with many brands to create innovative designs with many having gone to market; Reckitt Benkiser, TomTom, Beiersdorf, Gillett, PfiPfizer, Sainsburys, M&S, Pret a Manger, EAT, Graze and many others.

During my time at the University of Nottingham, I achieved a First Class Masters Degree in Engineering, in the subject of Product Design & Manufacture. The course involved a substantial amount of manufacturing detail, from material properties, processes and construction, as well as looking at economies of scale. The course also looked into product marketability, branding, usability and ergonomics, and the use of rapid prprototyping. Overall the course was a mix of conceptual design practises together with real-world engineering knowledge.

The following portfolio of my work begins with a detailed look at my final major degree project, followed by some more examples of my university product design work, and finally looking at some packaging projects I have worked on during my current job.

Josh AkriggDESIGN PORTFOLIO

E: jpakrigg@gmail.com M: 07479494553W: www.coroflot.com/jpakrigg

For my final major project at University, I began by looking into improving safety in the tree surgeon profession, which still suffers several serious injuries & fatalities each year. A major reason for these injuries is corner-cutting through fatigue, which is caused by the physical effort of initially climbingclimbing the tree while carrying many kilos of additional equipment.

A solution to this already exists in the form of motorised rope ascenders which are used by the military & in construction, but these devices are large, heavy and poorly positioned for use by a tree surgeon. Reducing the size & weight of such a device so that it can fit on a climbing harness would grgreatly improve the appeal to tree surgeons, and using it would reduce fatigue and accident rates.

The ARC features a lighter and smaller brushless motor, and a case that curves to the shape of the body so it can fit close to the harness. The quick change rope latch reduces the time to secure the rope to the device & change ropes during a climb. The integrated control dial means the ascent & descentdescent speed can be adjusted to the users preference and to suit the conditions.

The attachment straps ensure that the device can fit to the majority of existing harnesses that are used by tree surgeons. The battery pack is separated from the main device, so that it can positioned on the harness to equalise weight distribution, and can be easily removed and replaced when it runs down. down.

University Major ProjectAssisted Rope Climber

Assisted Rope Climber - Tree Surgeons Josh Akrigg

My research began by looking at the existing motorised ascenders on the market, and finding out why they were not appropriate for tree surgeons. They are unsuitable mainly because of their size and weight, and how they are positioned in front of the user which obscures their line-of-sight. Tree surgeons need to be able toto have good sight-lines to manoeuvre through the tree canopy, so the ascender would need to be repositioned on the body, and made smaller and lighter if possible. These sketches show the development of several concepts; the backback idea would have moved the bulk of the device out of the way, but make it more difficult to control thethe rope. The seated idea would have greatly reduced fatigue, but tree surgeons need to have their legs free to move through the branches. Having a smaller device around the waist with a separate battery pack was the best way forward.

Here is the development of the outer size of the device through handmade models. The rope attaching device was also developed with rapid prototyping, and the full sized ascender is shown here in a real colour z-corp model.

Assisted Rope Climber - Tree Surgeons Josh Akrigg

Front and top view of the finished device

An exploded view showing all of the internal components, including the motor, gearing, chassis and external injection moulded casing

Assisted Rope Climber - Tree Surgeons Josh Akrigg

Assisted Rope Climber - Tree Surgeons Josh Akrigg

The brief for this project was to create a product that was more efficient at using energy and finite resources, while trying to promote a change in attitude towards making people more conscious of how they use the planets resources. I settled on creating a range of headphones that could be easily repaired when they broken, and could be upgraded with better parts when it becomes technologically obsolete.obsolete. This would stop people buying a whole new set of headphones when one small part has broken, or when they want a new feature that their old ones don’t have. Headphones have also become a fashion statement, so it was important to allow people to freshen up the appearance of the headphones with new shapes, colours and even 3D printed designs of their own.

Modular HeadphonesRSA 2012

Modular Headphones - 2012 RSA Project Josh Akrigg

Using a standard clip-on feature, many different shapes and designs of outer casing can be used to make the headphones more unique for each user. Different colours, materials, graphic decals etc. can also be used, as well as encouraging a community of user designed cases that could be 3D printed. designed cases that could be 3D printed.

All of the separate parts that can be disassembled and replaced in the headphones.

Things like the headphone speaker can be swapped out for bigger and higher quality parts. When these are delivered to the user, the old parts could be sent back to be repaired and re-used to stop any electronic waste ending up in landfill.

Modular Headphones - 2012 RSA Project Josh Akrigg

This project began with each product design student being paired with an architecture student who was working on their final project. My job was to help them complete their project by designing an element of their building, while trtreating them as if they were a client of a design consultancy. Part of my architects building involved cleaning canals and rivers, and generating power that the public could use for free. My brief was to design a structure that would physicallyphysically change depending on the amount of power available and to give the public a convenient way of using it. My solution was to have the petals on the outside of the structure expand when power was available, like a lotus flower, and to hhave lockable power banks on the inside for people to charge their devices.

Architecture Consultant

Architecture Consultant Josh Akrigg

This project was started by a medical company that wanted to change how anesthetic drugs are administered. They had already developed a ‘Rainbow’ system, where each anesthetic drug was colour coded depending on how it is used. My job was to incorporate this system into a plastic tray that would be used during surgery. The first consideration was that the coloured sheet would need to be sealed inside the tray so it could be cleaned and reused, and also that the tray which makes contact with the syringes needs to be disposed of after each use. As this project involved collaborating with the medical company and testing with anesthesiologists, the design phase was quite long and went through multiple iterations. multiple iterations.

After the design had been finalised, all of the trays were prototyped using resin tooling so they could be tested in hospitals. This allowed the whole Rainbow system to be approved before proceeding to Full Production Tooling. The two sizes of tray are now being supplied to several NHS trusts and is progressing through the FDA approval process to be sold in the USA. Along with designing the tray system, I also designed the Working Instructions sheet that is supplied with each delivery to explain how the system should be properly used.

UVA Medical - Rainbow Trays Josh Akrigg

This shows the current way that many anaesthetic drugs are prepared for surgery. Many different types of drug are kept in the same tray, and there is no separation for drugs that are used at different times during the surgery.

"Anaesthetic practice is unique because anaesthetists are personally responsible for all steps from drug preparation to drug administration, removing many barriers against medication error that would normally be in place in other healthcare environments." Iain Moppett, Associate Professor & Honorary Consultant Anaesthetist

The first generation of the tray had location points on the sidewalls and strengthening features in the corners. The base trays would be heat-welded together to make it reusable. The sheet sandwiched between them would be based on the AAGBI and RCoA colour coded critical care system for drug labelling.

In order to make sure that the top tray is only used once, the side walls and corners were deliberately weakened so that it would crumple after one use. The location points were also changed to the corners to make it more easily identifiable, and the coloured sheet changed to being folded so it can be seen from the side.

UVA Medical- Rainbow Trays Josh Akrigg

Here are the final designs for all the trays. The large Rainbow Tray is used in normal surgery, with the drugs placed left to right in the order they are used during the surgery. There is a small Local tray for administering local anaesthetic, and a small Emergency tray for use in A&E.

These pages represent the working instruction sheets that are supplied with every delivery of trays. I developed the best way of explaining the method of using the trays, soso it could be understood without needing to know English, as the trays may be sold in numerous countries.

UVA Medical- Rainbow Trays Josh Akrigg

This is the range of new SatNav inserts with curved tops that follow the contours of the devices

For this concept, the attached cables are hidden behind the instruction manual and allows for a smaller cheaper insert

This was the initial design for a new SatNav, with folding end-caps to secure the device

This is the final approved design, with photos of the prototype sample

After recently taking over the design responsibilities for all the TomTom packaging projects, I have worked on five new projects at different stages of development. The first was for a new-to-market SatNav device, which is currently progressing to full prproduction tooling stage. The next was an update to TomToms standard range of devices; these are three different sizes of device, which all need to fit inside the same overall pack size. These are currently at prototype stage. The most recent designdesign was for a new device with a permenantly attached cable, which needed a solution that would hide the cable to make the finished pack tidier and more presentable. This is currently at the initial design stage.

TomTom - Various Projects Josh Akrigg

This project involved working with Virgin Media to create a new complete pack for Virgins TV and Internet packages. They wanted something that would be opened like a book-style presentation case rather than the usual poly-bag wrapped products in a standard carton box. To achieve this, I had to work with Smurfit Kappa, the box supplier, to design a cacarton that my forming could snap into and stay rigidly held inside it. I also had to liaise with the cable suppliers to design the pack in such a way as to be easy for them to wind up the cables without damaging them, and be quick to load them on a packing line. Finally, the pack needed to pass a strict drop testing program without damaging the devices.

Virgin Media - Wifi Router & TV Box Packaging Josh Akrigg

There were 3 or more stages of development before my involvement in the project. When I took over, the focus switched away from having a generic solution for both the Wifi box and TV box to having bespoke designs for both devices. This was because of the worry of the devices being damaged in transit.

The solution for both the Wifi box and the TV box follow the same principles; the main device goes in the right hand side while all the cabling goes in the left side, but is covered up with an extra card flap to make the initial presentation of the box neater.

Virgin Media - Wifi Router & TV Box Packaging Josh Akrigg

Virgin Media TV box pack and cabling, including the large Isolator cable that needed a special cavity to stop the fibre-optics from being damaged by being wound too tight.

Virgin WiFi router and cabling, with options to fit European and UK plugs, and various lengths of data cable from 1m to 5m.

This pack is a combination of both the TV and WiFi packs, for when someone is having the full packaging installed at the same time.

Virgin Media - Wifi Router & TV Box Packaging Josh Akrigg

A concept for a unique salad bowl and dressing for EAT that would differentiate from the competition

A new on-shelf concept for M&M’s to allow for good visibility of the product, while also being instantly recognisable

For pharmaceutical company Pfizer, several innovative concepts were presented for a new medical device

A project for Adidas to produce a unique pack for top-of-the-range football boots

Many concepts were created for an on-the-go snacking pot, specifically for nuts

A fully contained postal pack for custom engraved spoons, made for Kellogg’s cereals

Various Packaging Projects Josh Akrigg

Various Packaging Projects