Technologies for positioning designs on virtual surfaces associated with product customization

1. A computer-implemented method of placing visual content on a virtual surface for customizing a physical product, the method comprising:

accessing, by a computer processor, an electronic document comprising the visual content and specifying a set of page boxes having a set of page box parameters;

identifying (i) a surface trim box defining the physical product placed on the virtual surface, the surface trim box having a set of sizing parameters defining a surface aspect ratio, and (ii) a document trim box included in the set of page boxes of the electronic document, the document trim box having a set of sizing parameters defining a document aspect ratio;

calculating, by the computer processor, a difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio;

determining that the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio exceeds a threshold;

calculating (i) a second difference between an aspect ratio of a page content bounds of the electronic document and an aspect ratio of a surface size of the virtual surface, and (ii) a third difference between an aspect ratio of a bleed box included in the set of page boxes of the electronic document and the aspect ratio of the surface size; and

determining which of the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio, the second difference, and the third difference, is the smallest.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for each scaling mode in a set of scaling modes, calculating (i) a first scaling factor needed to match the document trim box to the surface trim box, (ii) a second scaling factor needed to match the page content bounds to the surface size, and (iii) a third scaling factor needed to match the bleed box to the surface size.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein the set of scaling modes comprises: over-scaling, under-scaling, centering, and stretching.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2 , wherein each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes has a first alternate corresponding to the smallest of the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio, the second difference, and the third difference, and a second alternate corresponding to the smallest of the first scaling factor, the second scaling factor, and the third scaling factor, and wherein the method further comprises:

for each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes, scoring each of the first alternate and the second alternate based on at least one configurable threshold.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 , further comprising:

based on scoring each of the first alternate and the second alternate, determining at least one alternate having the highest score.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

for each scaling mode in a set of scaling modes, generating a preview image by applying the scaling mode to the visual content of the electronic document; and

displaying, in a user interface, the preview image corresponding to each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6 , further comprising:

receiving, via the user interface, a selection of one preview image displayed in the user interface.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:

mirroring at least a portion of the visual content to fit a bleed box included in the set of page boxes.

9. An electronic device for placing visual content on a virtual surface for customizing a physical product, comprising:

a user interface for displaying content;

a memory storing non-transitory computer executable instructions; and

a processor interfacing with the user interface and the memory, wherein the processor is configured to execute the non-transitory computer executable instructions to cause the processor to:

access an electronic document comprising the visual content and specifying a set of page boxes having a set of page box parameters,

identify (i) a surface trim box defining the physical product placed on the virtual surface, the surface trim box having a set of sizing parameters defining a surface aspect ratio, and (ii) a document trim box included in the set of page boxes of the electronic document, the document trim box having a set of sizing parameters defining a document aspect ratio,

calculate a difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio,

determine that the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio exceeds a threshold,

calculate (i) a second difference between an aspect ratio of a pace content bounds of the electronic document and an aspect ratio of a surface size of the virtual surface, and (ii) a third difference between an aspect ratio of a bleed box included in the set of page boxes of the electronic document and the aspect ratio of the surface size, and

determine which of the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio, the second difference, and the third difference, is the smallest.

10. The electronic device of claim 9 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

for each scaling mode in a set of scaling modes, calculate (i) a first scaling factor needed to match the document trim box to the surface trim box, (ii) a second scaling factor needed to match the page content bounds to the surface size, and (iii) a third scaling factor needed to match the bleed box to the surface size.

11. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein the set of scaling modes comprises: over-scaling, under-scaling, centering, and stretching.

12. The electronic device of claim 10 , wherein each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes has a first alternate corresponding to the smallest of the difference between the surface aspect ratio and the document aspect ratio, the second difference, and the third difference, and a second alternate corresponding to the smallest of the first scaling factor, the second scaling factor, and the third scaling factor, and wherein the processor is further configured to:

for each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes, score each of the first alternate and the second alternate based on at least one configurable threshold.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

based on scoring each of the first alternate and the second alternate, determine at least one alternate having the highest score.

14. The electronic device of claim 9 , further comprising:

a user interface;

wherein the processor is further configured to:

for each scaling mode in a set of scaling modes, generate a preview image by applying the scaling mode to the visual content of the electronic document, and

cause the user interface to display the preview image corresponding to each scaling mode in the set of scaling modes.

15. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive, via the user interface, a selection of one preview image displayed in the user interface.

16. The electronic device of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

mirror at least a portion of the visual content to fit a bleed box included in the set of page boxes.