Snap Funnel®

In partnership with Snap Funnel®, I assisted the founder in pursuit of the mission to improve the experience of powder fitness supplement management and use while also addressing the dilemma of singe-use plastics — ‘up-cycling meets personal nutrition’.

From product development, to prototyping, design for manufacturing (DFM), and brand development — I helped transform a POC prototype into a fully-manufacturable product and establish the Snap Funnel® brand strategy.

  • Snap Funnel®: Product Development

    A novel funnel design was developed to retro-fit onto both a variety of standard bottle-types and gallon water jugs — a tapered inner nozzle and an outer snap-fit collar were integrated into the design to provide a secure and water-tight connection, ultimately providing the user with hands-free and mess-free powder transfer.

    The production funnel design was made from food-grade silicone rubber using a LSR molding process.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

    *Image: US PATENT US9845233B1)

    Patent Link

  • Snap Funnel®: Product Development (Cont.)

    (ABOVE) 3D-Printed Development Prototype demonstrating liquid transfer, powder transfer, and mechanical compatibility with a common HDPE gallon jug.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Packaging Development

    Various packaging design directions were explored during development: (LEFT) An early die-cut paper packaging concept inspired by origami — designed to conform to the product, enabling nesting for reduced-volume retail display and transport, (CENTER) A reusable zip-pack pouch which served as the final packaging option, (RIGHT) An alternative die-cut design suited for retail pegboards.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Visual Brand Development

    The Snap Funnel® logo was developed by synthesizing the ’S’ letterform with the geometric cross-section of the funnel in its negative space —communicating both the product name and a subtle cue to its functional design.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Development Sketches

    Development sketches illustrating feature evolution and pre-production refinement of the Snap Funnel® LSR design. Final production revisions incorporated a bump-off feature that replaced the undercut created by the gripping teeth around the circular bottle top seal to simplify tooling.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Development Prototypes

    Iterative 3D-Printed Prototypes for Functional Testing — (From Left to Right) Client-provided POC prototype to functional 3D-printed TPU designs for pre-production spec. refinement.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Packaging Development (Cont.)

    (DETAIL) ‘Option A’ Snap Funnel® packaging concept mockup — pictorial instructions were printed on the inside of the packaging to educate consumers about product use and up-cycling practices.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design

  • Snap Funnel®: Pre-production LSR Compression Mold

    An image of the LSR compression mold tooling used to produce the initial run of pre-production samples.

    Relevant Skills: Industrial Design, Product Development, Design for Manufacturing (DFM), Functional Prototyping & Testing, User Research & User-centered Design, CAD, MFG Liasoning, Patent Drawing Creation, Brand Strategy & Development, Logo Design, Packaging Design, Website Design