Jonas Collins

Virginia Tech Sophomore

Packaging Systems and Design

jacc72003@gmail.com

About Me

My name is Jonas and I'm a student at Virginia Tech studying Packaging Systems and Design. I've always had a passion for the design process.

I enjoy developing creative solutions to defined problems because I like forging my own path given a specific end goal. This, coupled with my CAD experience in high school and aptitudes of ideaphoria and structural visualization led me to packaging.

My portfolio showcases a variety of projects completed for class and competitions. Peruse my creations to see how my skills will benefit your company.

Projects

Semester Redesign Project

This is my redesigned perfume carton as seen below. As I mentioned there, I completely rethought the theme and changed the graphics entirely. At this time, I had become interested in Great Blue Herons, in awe of such a large majestic bird being a common sight in lakes and rivers right here in Virginia. I also noticed that they are common subject of artwork, specifically paintings hung in coastal hotels. With that, I decided to base the package off of a beach house and implement the heron as the logo a simple yet recognizable logo. I used the materials tool in Adobe Illustrator to set a wood texture background which I colored blue. I also placed most of the text inside white outlined boxes to look like windows. The palette is monochromatic, providing a sophisticated look, except for the two splashes of orange denoting important, product-specifying information.

Album Cover Redesign

This graphics based project involved creating an alternate design for a music album of my choice. I decided to redo Jason Isbell's Southeastern, a beautiful and compilation about finding sobriety, falling in love, and confronting death. I spent a lot of time grappling with how to visually represent these intricate themes. I settled on a less is more approach, depicting a magnolia flower growing out of a bottle of Jack Daniel's whiskey. This is tied into Isbell's prior habit of drinking whiskey during shows as well as the lyric in Cover Me Up "'till someone needs medical help or the magnolia's bloom," in which magnolia flowers may represent the flowers placed on the casket Isbell would have ended up in had he not committed to rehab. I've interpreted this visual as a symbol of duality and hope, representing how something beautiful can come out of an ugly past. Alternatively, it could be viewed as appearing healthy on the outside despite that image being supported by maladaptive behaviors. I like that this cover is ambiguous enough to be interpreted in many different ways, allowing it to be impactful to individual experiences just like the music it illustrates.

Perfume Carton

This project was based around creating a package for a perfume bottle. I went with the first idea I thought of which was to make a Japanese themed package shaped like a shrine. Structurally, this required cutting slitted windows into the front and creating a gabled roof which was more challenging than I expected. I opted for a Houlihan style bottom capable of holding a heavier product without opening than a slit tuck bottom. This was more complex and difficult to execute than I initially thought, and having observed packages with similar bottoms since, I have more ideas of how to improve the strength and ease of assembly of this carton.

While I was pleased with the look of this package, I realized that the theme was poorly researched and mostly based on my limited knowledge of the Japanese culture. Furthermore, I was dissatisfied with the quality and realism of the marketing text. This led me to decide to tweak the structure and redesign the theme entirely.

Chocolate Wraper

This was the first project for my Design Fundamentals in Packaging class which was focused on graphics. The first version on the left utilized lines to create an interesting visual effect. However, due to not having any significance towards the product, I later opted to create a pattern of faint raspberry outlines as seen in the image on the right. This project represented a significant improvement in the quality of my graphics, with advancements such as utilizing image tracing, using greater text contrast, and boldly placing graphics outside of color boxes.

Red Oak Cutting Board

This was the final project for my Wood Design and Craftsmanship class. The main purpose of the project was to practice the process of safely machining wood. We started with rough sawn red oak planks. First, we cross cut each piece on each side with the radial arm saw to remove undesirable sections and create a perpendicular angle between the both cross section faces and one tangental side. Second, each piece greater than 4" wide was rip sawn in half with the band saw.

Next up was the infamous jointer. We used this machine to create a 90º angle between one radial surface and one tangental face. Next, each piece was fed through the planar multiple times to smooth any imperfections on the larger faces and form parallel faces. Then, we moved on to the table saw to clean up the remaining rough surface and make the final set of parallel sides.

That led us to the most fun part: selecting, arranging, and gluing the boards. We opted for the most interesting pieces. As you can see, there are several knots as well as a beautiful section of spalted wood where black mold has outlined some of the grain. We arranged the planks in a gradient from most gray to the reddest.

To glue the pieces together we laid the boards on metal pipes perpendicular to the grain, creating a flat surface that would also allow the glue to drip through. We applied wood glue liberally and smeared it with a finger, quickly thereafter, aligning the planks and clamping them together.

Once the glue had cured, we scraped the excess off and ran the board through the planar again to remove any residue and smooth the lips created by slight variations in board thickness. To finish, we sawed off the final uneven edge created by differing board lengths, sanded all six sides, routed the edges, and applied a thin coat of mineral oil. With that, we had a gorgeous, one of a kind cutting board.

Kizingo Bowl and Spoon Pack

This was the final project for my principles of packaging class. The prompt was to create a unique package for a set of toddler training spoons and the accompanying bowl using only recyclable materials.

The spoons are a very unique, complex shape which made securing them a challenge. I chose to create an insert with cutouts the same shape as the spoons and bowl to hold them steady. To accomplish this, I used the intersect and cross section tools in Artios CAD, drawing a line across the spoons where I wanted the paperboard to be removed, and let the software do the rest.

This design worked quite well in the first prototype. The spoons enter from the backside and can only pull so far through because they expand towards their base and can't fit through the hole. The only modification I made was adding the small half circle flange to hold the spoons down.

After everyone in my class presented their packages, we all voted for whose was best in three categories: innovation, structure, and graphics. Mine won best structure and missed out on best graphics by just one point. I am very proud of this unique design, and I have yet to see a solution similar to it.

Candle Carton and Insert

The goal of this project was to improve an existing tea light carton. Specifically, we were to include a sleeve and a plastic insert to aim the product at a more premium market.

The insert posed the greatest challenge. We cut sheets of clear plastic and molded them around a provided template using a thermoforming machine. It took many trials to determine the ideal time to heat the plastic for to adhere to the template without burning it. If not heated sufficiently, the corners would round and prevent the tea lights from sitting all the way in their slots.

48 Hour Repack Coke "Gift Lift"

The final cutout of the package dieline before assembly

This is the project my four teammates and I submitted for the 2024 48 Hour Repack, answering the Share a Coke two pack prompt.

This was my first experience going through the entire design process from brainstorming to physically cutting out and folding our design, a process I thoroughly enjoyed.

I also gained a new perspective about how I work and learn. Prior to this project, I believed that group projects were not for me.

However, thanks to my hardworking, creative, and motivated peers, I now look forward to the next time I will get to work in a group.

I expected that we would struggle to delegate tasks and one person would end up taking over.

However, our strengths were diverse enough that we naturally drifted into our respective grooves and we ended up using our time very efficiently.

Additionally, I found the time restraint to be energizing and motivating, a valuable insight into the conditions under which I thrive.

Dragon Fruit Shipper Package

For this project, I was tasked with creating a package to ship dragon fruit from farms in Central America to markets overseas. Constraints included adhering to FEFCO standard footprints, tabs and slots for stacking, openings for airflow, a 1 inch crumple zone in each corner, and adjustable dividers to accommodate fruit of varying sizes. The package is made from standard c-flute corrugated for strength and impact resistance.

Speaker Consumer Package and Shipper

This was the final project for my freshman year CAD in packaging project. I was given a 3D model of a soundbar with two surround sound speakers to be sold as a home theatre combo. Throughout the semester, I went through the entire package design process, beginning with a market analysis to assess the competition and a proposal presentation, followed by designing an insert to secure the speakers and the consumer box that contains them in ArtiosCAD. I then designed graphics for the consumer box in Adobe Illustrator before finally creating a shipper box in Cape Pack and palletizing them in the most efficient pattern.

Get in touch at jacc72003@gmail.com

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