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Oleksandra is a freelance product designer. Eleven years ago, Oleksandra embarked on her fashion journey, establishing a bespoke, locally-made clothing brand. Through this venture, she delved deep into the intricacies of product development, working closely with local manufacturers and catering to clients with diverse body shapes and fabric preferences. This hands-on experience became the cornerstone of her expansive knowledge base, enriching her understanding of every aspect of the fashion supply chain.
Today, Oleksandra has turned her journey into a freelance career. She partners with fashion brands of all sizes, from small startups to big mass-market brands. Her expertise spans product development, manufacturing management, and stringent quality control measures, offering a holistic approach to fashion design that ensures excellence at every stage.
In this case study, we explore how Oleksandra uses Techpacker to manage her freelance projects and efficiently collaborate with multiple clients.
Efficient client management
As a freelance product designer juggling multiple clients simultaneously and efficient organization is paramount to Oleksandra's workflow. With numerous tech packs to manage, maintaining a structured and easily accessible system is crucial for staying on top of her workload.
Before transitioning to Techpacker, Oleksandra's main methods for storing product development data for each client were through the freelance platform and computer storage. However, this approach led to a plethora of scattered data that was often difficult to locate. She frequently found herself scrolling through numerous messages and emails to find references to materials or sketches.
"Techpacker offers a solution perfectly tailored to my needs. The platform allows me to categorize my work into folders, each clearly labeled with the client's name. Within these folders, I can store multiple files, ensuring that all relevant documents and resources are consolidated in one place." - says Oleksandra.
"Moreover, Techpacker provides a convenient feature that enables me to onboard clients seamlessly. By adding them to specific folders, I can grant them access to relevant files while maintaining confidentiality and privacy for other projects. This ensures that communication and collaboration with clients remain smooth and secure throughout the design process." - says Oleksandra.
Workflow efficiency with Techpacker’s connect cards
Here is a recent case that Oleksandra had: one of her clients has a kids' romper available in 15 color variations, each featuring different colors and prints. While the spec sheet remains identical for all 15 variations in measurements, style details, and Bill of Materials, the design details and colors vary. This translates to managing 15 separate tech packs, each requiring meticulous attention to detail.
"Previously, if a change was needed – say, altering the garment length or switching packaging materials – I would find myself navigating through each tech pack individually, a time-consuming and potentially error-prone process. However, with Techpacker's Connect Cards, I can now sync essential information across all 15 tech packs effortlessly." - says Oleksandra.
For instance, when the decision was made to transition from plastic to paper packaging, updating this information was as simple as modifying a single Connect Card. Instantaneously, all corresponding cards across the 15 tech packs are automatically synchronized, eliminating the risk of oversights and significantly streamlining the entire process. This level of efficiency not only saves time but also ensures seamless collaboration and precision in every aspect of product management.
"Techpacker's Connect Card feature has revolutionized my workflow, saving me valuable time and streamlining the product development process for my clients. As a freelance product designer managing multiple projects simultaneously, efficiency is key, especially when it comes to product management tasks post-design phase." - says Oleksandra.
Utilizing Techpacker's libraries for fast product design
Before integrating Techpacker into Oleksandra's product design process, brainstorming sessions were often followed by a tedious organizational challenge. They'd gather as a team, ideate, sketch, and outline the scope of work. However, managing this wealth of information was far from seamless. Documents were scattered across Oleksandra's computer or uploaded to Dropbox, resulting in a disorganized array of files and folders.
This lack of structure led to inefficiencies when revisiting previous concepts or reusing information. Formatting and copying data into spreadsheets became time-consuming tasks that hindered productivity.
"Techpacker's libraries feature was a game-changer in our workflow. Now, all our product design essentials, from fabric swatches to fit details and sketches, are neatly organized in unified libraries. Whether creating materials or fit libraries for new designs, Techpacker provides a visually intuitive interface that simplifies access to past ideas." - says Oleksandra.
"With a few clicks, I can effortlessly incorporate library cards into tech packs, streamlining the process and ensuring consistency across projects. Thanks to Techpacker's libraries, our design process has become not only more structured but also significantly more efficient." - says Oleksandra.
Unified storage solution with custom sections
As a product designer immersed in a sea of design data, managing various elements like tech packs, fit sheets, costing tables, artwork specifications, sourcing information, and quality control measures is essential. Previously, without a centralized storage solution, Oleksandra's data was scattered across different platforms including Adobe Illustrator, her computer, Dropbox folders, and Google Drive.
Techpacker emerged as the versatile solution Oleksandra needed to consolidate all her product development needs. A key feature Oleksandra utilizes extensively is Techpacker's custom sections, which serve multiple purposes in her workflow:
- Fit Sheets: Upon receiving physical samples, Oleksandra creates fit sheets within Techpacker. These sheets include measurements of the sample compared to those in the tech pack, highlighting any discrepancies based on predetermined tolerances.
- Purchase Order Sheets: To place orders with retailers.
- Print Details: Custom sections are also used to document print specifications, including measurements and Pantone color numbers.
- Packaging Details: Oleksandra utilizes custom sections to store packaging specifications such as measurements, materials, weight, and artwork details.
- Updates: To streamline communication with factories, Oleksandra creates custom sections with tables listing recent edits and update dates. This allows factories to quickly identify changes without reviewing the entire document, enhancing efficiency in the revision process.
"Through Techpacker's custom sections, I've established a unified storage space for all my product development needs, facilitating seamless organization and communication throughout the design process." - says Oleksandra.
"I often need to share a specific piece of data with the factory, for example, a pre-production sample fit sheet. In this case, I add a Fit Table to my tech pack and enter the measurement and my notes. Then I generate a doc with Techpacker's doc view select only the information that I need to show and share it directly with the factory. This way the fit sheet remains the part of the tech pack in my system and I don't need to create a separate doc only to share it with the factory." - Oleksandra
Optimizing core style management
"Techpacker has transformed the way we manage core styles for some of my clients' collections. These staple designs, cherished by their customers, undergo seasonal reinventions with new colors or prints. However, managing these variations efficiently posed a significant challenge until we discovered the power of Techpacker's intuitive features." - says Oleksandra.
Attempting to compile all colorways into a single tech pack quickly became impractical due to file size constraints and factory confusion. Instead, Oleksandra adopted a strategy of creating standalone tech packs for each color variation, resulting in a more streamlined production process. However, this approach necessitated a considerable amount of copying and pasting, which was both time-consuming and tedious.
On Techpacker every design detail is represented as a card, making it incredibly easy to duplicate and transfer essential information between tech packs. When it's time to introduce a new colorway for an existing shirt, Oleksandra simply creates a new tech pack, incorporates sketches featuring the new color or print, and seamlessly copies over existing measurement and materials cards. This streamlined process not only saves valuable time but also ensures precision and consistency across all variations.
