Dear Paramount and Warner Brothers,

We are students from the Academy of Global Studies at Austin High School, in Austin
Texas. Our names are Willa Roberts, Heide Ellis, and Emma Nations. In our geometry class, we
were tasked with redesigning a product of our choice in order to make the packaging more space
efficient and effective without impacting the size of the actual product itself. We chose to
redesign the DVD case of Grease, as DVD cases often appear to use an excess amount of plastic
and have a high amount of unused space in the interior. Our redesign of the product makes it
much more earth friendly and efficient, keeping both you, the manufacturer, and customer's
perspectives in mind.
Part of the assignment was to analyze the original packaging, as well as our prototype of
the redesigned package. In this analysis we calculated the volume, surface area, and both used
and unused air space of the product as well as our prototype of a new design to show exactly
why and how we redesigned the product. We concluded that the original packaging had a surface
area of 578 cm, a volume of 256.5 cm, and a substantial 74% of unused air space. This means
that only 26% of the interior space is actually being used! Our new prototype drastically reduces
the amount of unused air space and amount of plastic used. We created a much smaller package
by cutting down the plastic used on the top and bottom of the case. Rather than the rectangular
case most DVDs are sold in, our new design is a square case with curved edges to mimic the
shape of the DVD. This significantly reduces the amount of plastic necessary to make the
product. Also by cutting down on all of this plastic, the amount of unused air space decreased by
18%. Our new design according to the prototype has a surface area of 477.65 cm, a volume of
124.2 cm, and only 47% of unused air space.
While change can be hard, our changes to the product will benefit your company in the
long run. Our design is unique and innovative, as well as environmentally friendly which will
appeal to the consumer, likely resulting in increased sales. There is also a benefit to you, the
manufacturer. In the prototype we created, the amount of plastic needed was decreased by 18%
and the amount of unused airspace was decreased by 27%. Cutting down the amount of plastic
will not only save a significant amount of money, but also create a much more earth friendly
product. This design has never been done before, making it innovative, new, and unique. We
hope you consider our new design and please feel free to respond with any comments or
questions! Thank you.