Freehand
The original prototype
Freehand worked on a principal of proportional fill. Inside the unit were three holes. Two would lead out the spout for dispensing and the third would go into an indicator window displaying how much had been poured when the bottle was tilted. When returned to a vertical position, the indicator would drain resetting the system.
Intuitive Problems
Problem one was getting customers to understand what it was. Management thought the existing prototype could work if we could create instructions that were simple and easy. After conducting consumer testing, it became clear that no matter what graphics we put on the bottle, consumers would never look at them until they had failed. At that point, it was already too late. The customer would have already tilted the bottle a few times, saw the indicator fill and THEN open the cap getting detergent all over their hands.The solution looking back was obvious. Keeping the customer from viewing the indicator before opening the cap would prevent the mess.
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Improvements
The second step was making sure the indicator was a dominant design element and easy to read. Once we began sketching the new direction, I was able to integrate the cap into the body and merge the two inner parts into one cutting the part count in half. I also tested a matrix of internal geometries to optimize venting, flow and accuracy. I built two work model sets for in home use testing, one for a new Method 10X concentrated detergent and one for Crystal Light Nectar drink mix.
Learnings
In the end, while we were able to fix the intuitive issue, improve accuracy by 25%, improve aesthetics and reduce the part count and cost by half. Unfortunately, the economic issues in the aftermath of 2008 and some upper management issues kept this from being a commercial success. Still, I'm really proud of the work we did and the takeaways going forward led to many much more successful product launches.