High Quality Pen

The client is a worldwide label in the fashion industry and is widely regarded as a manufacturer of stylish, high quality fashion accessories and personal effects. The client was developing a new range of writing instruments to coincide with the second millennium. The client did not have spare capacity in its own product development team and required a design house to assist.

The client had prepared a series of concept sketches and a description of the unique features the range would have. Their own engineers would resolve the nibs and ink mechanisms because this was very specialised work. 

Their own manufacturing team would take the products into production. The brief was to develop the sketches to a series of visual and mechanical prototypes for approval of the mechanical and writing characteristics of the concept. 

The first stage was to prepare block models of the basic shape for balance and 'feel' testing. This required several iterations involving very slight adjustments in the body shape. The optimum shape was then specified in 2D. 

The next stage was to develop the retractor mechanism for the belt clip. The client wanted the clip to retract flush into the cap profile and be released by twisting the top of the cap. The pen and pencil nibs would also extend out of the main body when the clip was flush and retract when the clip was out. 

The mechanism was developed and built as a fully working 'see through' prototype. This was accompanied by correctly balanced actual size visual models of the new range. This included carbon fibre and lacquer versions. The model was supported by detailed drawings which were used by the client to develop the range to manufacture and onto the market.