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Design for Manufacture: How Companies Are Saving Money and Launching Their Product More Quickly

By Tiffany Mercer Robbins on Oct 25, 2021

In every industry, there are hurdles to getting a new product to market. This is especially true in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. They are highly regulated—and not just the products, but the packaging too! As a result, it can be easy to default packaging design to follow the status-quo, bypassing the opportunity for innovation. This is where Oliver Design can help. Mark Foster, General Manager, and the Oliver Design team know these industries inside and out. Because of their niche expertise, they can push the envelope while still designing for manufacture (DfM), which is the foundation of all their work. DfM is an extremely important concept, but one that is often overlooked in packaging. It has a long history of simplification in the manufacturing process. In the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, efficiencies are extremely important, and packaging should never delay when a product is launched to market. DfM can help with that. In this interview, Mark Foster answers questions about DfM, specifically the common advantages, benefits, and challenges. Q: What do you mean when you say design for manufacture? FOSTER: Design for Manufacture is exactly what it sounds like—designing with the manufacturing process in mind. This ensures your sketch... Read more »

There’s Treasure Everywhere at The Design Center

By Tiffany Mercer Robbins on Oct 17, 2021

Among the Design Center’s vast collection is this South American painted textile from as early as the 12th century. Jefferson’s textile and costume collection features 150,000 pieces with some objects dating back to the 4th century. For curator Jade Papa, some of the most rewarding parts of her job come from discovering hidden treasures in the vast textile and costume collection at Jefferson’s Design Center. And with some 150,000 pieces housed in the mid-20th-century ranch home on the edge of East Falls Campus, these special moments come frequently. The other day, Papa was combing through boxes of South American pieces—part of the University’s effort to categorize and digitalize the collection’s non-Western objects—when she spied a large piece of woven cloth in a natural tone. Papa had a feeling something stood out with this textile covered with painted designs of people and fish. After researching the fabric, she discovered it came from the Chancay culture, circa 1100-1400. Design Center curator Jade Papa sets up an 1880s bustle dress, part of the “Behind the Seams” exhibit at Hayward Hall. “We’re always making new discoveries, so it’s almost like we’re getting new stuff,” Papa says. The museum-quality collection spans the world and stretches back in time. Its... Read more »

O&N Celebrates 40 Years of Support

By Tiffany Mercer Robbins on Oct 16, 2021

2021 marks the 40th anniversary of O’Donnell & Naccarato, or O&N as we are commonly known.  Our structural engineering practice has grown from a 3-person company in 1981 into a national firm of over 80 people spread over four offices.  O&N has provided structural solutions for buildings across all construction market sectors with projects located throughout every part of the United States. Over these past four decades, we have remained committed to our mission – offering a progressive design and team-oriented approach to provide structural engineering services that contribute to the success of our clients, employees and community. In this 40th Anniversary year, we reflect on the ways we have supported many incredible projects, clients, community members and staff. First and foremost, we honor the foundation that Bill O’Donnell and Pete Naccarato laid for us as well as the legacy we are charged with honoring as we look towards growing our firm in the future.  Bill and Pete combined a passion for developing client relationships with a focus on quality and creative engineering to provide solutions for clients that not only help complete very successful projects but also strengthen those relationships. This passion and focus are embedded in the O&N... Read more »

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