Things get messy!! Try These DIY Boxes

Disclaimer: Hold on, you might get lost while reading this case study as I have covered in very deep and in comprehensive manner by exploring of all aspects, which may result in a lengthy read. However, I assure you that the insights gained will be valuable.

Your feedback is highly appreciated. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into this !

Background

As learners at Growth School, each member of our group was assigned to a particular space in the house. As per the task rule we have to fight for the spaces to opt out, I had various options like the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom etc.

But why did I choose the storage area??

So, I noticed something that caught my attention about the storage area. It’s like, most of the things in our surroundings are all set and organised, but the storage area? It’s a hot mess!! seriously. Got me thinking, why can’t we just tidy it up like everything else?

But wait!!
We already have many storage solutions for our mess, so why do we need a different one??

This is different, let me tell you …

Imagine a scenario where you need a storage solution for various items such as mechanical tools, electrical tools, leftover wires, clothes, or even old books. It’s frustrating when you can’t find a container that fits the available space or meets your specific needs. But what if there was a unique solution that could provide customizability both in terms of size and availability of space!!

The basic idea is inspired by the interlocking blocks found in mats, this idea introduces a unique puzzle-like structure for storage boxes. Each box features cut-out or zigzag edges that perfectly align with the corresponding edges of other boxes.

So this is the solution!? 🙄 what is the main problem we are solving here? :

🔍 Let’s now dive into the core problem space

This section takes a deep dive into understanding the core problems space and articulating the diverse pain points of the users.

During the research (Secondary Research), I explored various sources on the internet to understand the common problems faced by users in relation to storage. Based on the findings, I identified three major areas and marked them as the keyword that is mentioned below:

Keyword 1: Storage Habits and Organization
The behaviour and practices individuals employ when storing their belongings, as well as the systems and methods used to maintain an organized storage area.

Keyword 2: Accessibility and Identification
The ease of accessing stored items and the ability to quickly identify and locate specific items within a storage area.

Keyword 3: Challenges and Annoyances
The difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations that users encounter in relation to their storage arrangements, including issues with organization, cleanliness, and usability.

Let’s expand the keywords and ask questions….

To find out more, I have to do the research as I mentioned above to understand more about user’s needs, pain points and experiences in their home storage area.

So to do this on my own, I conducted User Interviews (Primary Research) that allows me to understand user’s thinking in a broad manner.

Note: To find out more deep insights, I developed a strategy where I created keywords related to the topic (as I mentioned above), formed a story around them, and derived a set of questions from that narrative. By asking these questions, I was able to obtain meaningful answers and a deeper understanding of the users’ experiences.”

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Throughout the interview, I had many micro questions but I’ll mention the main or root questions that formed the foundation of my interviews. These root questions could then be further expanded upon with additional micro questions to delve deeper into specific areas of interest. This approach allowed me to gather comprehensive insights and gather detailed information from the users.

So let’s dive deeper into the user’s perspective…

Imagine this: 📦 You’re standing in front of your cluttered storage room or space, desperately trying to find that one item you need. You search through boxes, move things around, and waste precious time searching. Frustrating, isn’t it 😩? But fear not, here to help you! 💪

But you may ask why to do this!

In order to better understand these storage room problems and find practical solutions, we’re going to delve into the user’s perspective. By looking at it from their point of view, we can truly grasp their frustrations, goals, and the root problem at hand. This will help us define the main problem and find a solution that really works for them. So, let’s step into their shoes and explore their experiences together.

Now that we’ve met our user personas, we can really dive into their world and understand what they’re going through. These personas give us a glimpse into the lives of real people facing storage challenges, just like you and me. By putting ourselves in their shoes, we can see the complete picture and get a clearer understanding of the problem at hand.

Alright, now with these personas and multiple problems or insights, we can define the root problem once and for all and then we will find the perfect solution.

What does a theory say — You cannot solve all problems at once!!

So, here I am using a technique to define or identify the root problem by narrowing down the insight and user persona with the help of bucketing into three aspects, i.e.,

Key Learning:
Users struggle to locate items in storage areas due to poor organization, random placement, and a lack of proper identification. Small items are particularly challenging to find within the cluttered spaces.

Why:
The difficulties arise from disorganized storage, inadequate labelling, limited accessibility or hidden items due to insufficient lighting. Cleaning heavy items and reaching belongings behind other objects pose additional challenges.

Consequence:
If left unaddressed, these issues will continue to frustrate users, waste their time, and create a sense of disarray in their living environments. The physical demands of cleaning and the inefficiency of accessing items can further impact the usability of storage areas.

Alright, we’ve nailed down the main root problem in a broader and more general sense. Now, here’s the cool part: by defining the problem like this, we open up the doors to a whole bunch of creative ideas. We can brainstorm different solutions and come up with some genius ways to tackle this issue.

So, get ready to put on your thinking cap because we’re about to dive into some exciting part - ideation, and find the perfect fixes for all those storage room struggles. Let’s do this!

Alright, listen up! I know reading through all that research stuff might make you feel like dozing off. I mean, who wants to be bored, right? But hey, trust me on this one — it’s taken us a whole month to gather all that packed up data and make sense of it. So buckle up because we’re about to embark on a roller coaster ride of epic proportions! 🌪️💥

Talk is Cheap, Show Me the Fix 😂!

The moment we’ve all been waiting for! After going through the whole process of selecting the space, diving into user research, and empathizing with storage-related emotions, we’ve arrived at the thrilling phase of ideation. It’s like that moment when you’re ready to unleash your inner coding genius. 💻

For me its designing — its ideating. Let’s rock! 🚀

Sorting Out the Gems from the Crazy Ideas!

Mentors Tip: Embrace the Madness and Unleash Your Inner Idea Guru!

Alright, let’s dive into the wild world of ideation! 🚀 I came up with multiple ideas for storage room and spaces. Some may make total sense, while others might be a bit, well, out there. But hey, remember this: none of your ideas are bad.💡

Now, here’s the thing: we can’t work on every single idea (as much as we wish we could). I mean, we’re not superheroes! Just like that theory we learned before, you know, “You cannot solve all problems at once!!” Well, guess what? You can’t work on all ideas at once either. So, let’s get real and start by choosing our top three contenders. 🥊

But hold on, time to apply discard method and narrow it down to THE one idea that will save the day. It’s like a game of elimination, my friends, but in the end, we’ll have a winner that will be our nearly core solution for our storage room problems. Sounds good?

Ready for the roller coaster 🎢 !

Hang on tight, We’re about to go on a wild roller coaster ride! 🎢
Now, you might be wondering why I discarded all three initial ideas. Well, it’s all about avoiding bias! We need to keep an open mind and explore new possibilities.

Now, we will diverge our ideas and observe which ones come first, second, and last in the race!!

To do this I have created some parameters to make it more clear. So, let’s diverge our ideas and see which ones take the lead! BTW Who do you think will win? 🏆

Let's check it

Here, you can clearly see that our first idea is a winner — the “Folding and Portable Ladder”! Yeah!

But hold on, we’ve got a twist as you are sitting in this roller coaster ride !🎢 So even though the “Folding and Portable Ladder” idea seemed to be winning at first, it turns out it doesn’t solve our main problems. 🤔 Can you believe it? 🙀

Yes, you guessed it right 🎯

“Organisation and Customization”

The real winner here is the “DIY Boxes” idea! 🎉 It’s the only one capable of tackling our organization and customization issues head-on. 💪 But hey, it may cover the least number of parameters, but what if we give it a little twist? 😏 Because it covers the root problem, again started ideating what if we incorporate aspects like accessing items, finding small objects, and identifying items into our DIY Boxes concept? 📦✨

Check out the updated chart below, and you’ll see that the DIY Boxes idea reigns supreme! 👑

Now we can see that our DIY Boxes idea has taken the lead! But hold your horses! 🐴 To find out if this idea will shine in reality or only on chart, we’ll need to prototype and design it. Only then can we say with confidence that Idea B is the ultimate winner! 🏆 Let the prototyping adventures begin! 🚀

Let's bring it!!

Alright, let’s go back to the beginning and recollect that basic idea I mentioned earlier. Now, till now I have told a story that how I reached my product. Hope you got that.

Remember, I’m about to spill the beans on how I came up with this product! But first, let’s take a breather and relax. Ahh…feels good, doesn’t it? 😌

Again for better understanding, I’ll show my basic idea then we will discuss how I have done with a complete working product.

Now, I am inspired by Ikea’s philosophy that encourages users to build and assemble their own furniture. This hands-on involvement not only enhances user satisfaction but also instils a sense of conviction and confidence in using the product.

Well, my basic idea revolves around that too! 🛠️ So, imagine it’s like building a puzzle, but cooler! 😎

Here are some major component I am using to build:

1. Walls
2. Floors
3. Wheels
4. Pins

Note: Here I assumed,
We are using high-strength plastic material. So it will be lightweight, cheap and durable also.
The ideal sizes of the wall and floor as 1’X1’ (1 ft. X 1 ft.) in length and breadth.
The thickness of the panel will be about 18 mm.

Alright, let’s make these DIY Box containers! 📦💪

We’ll connect all the walls and floor using interlocking cutouts with puzzle-like borders. This will be our primary locking system, giving those boxes the perfect shape when we assemble them. 🧩 But wait ! To handle heavy items, I have introduced the PINs lock! They interlock those borders, making the boxes extra sturdy. Also, each panel will have different colours, making it super easy to identify our boxes. 🎨

Here I would like to mention two things of my initial thought, first, labelling the containers with text. Then I thought, “What if people can’t read or don’t want to read?” 🤔 So, I went with colours, ’cause they speak to everyone!

Second, searching for something in the dark! Yeah, we’ve all been there. That’s why I added radium material to our boxes. It glows in the dark! 🌟 No more fumbling around for your stuff.

So you can see that this particular PINs will tightly hold the borders by interlocking it which will be our Secondary lock.

Now, with a few simple steps, you can customize your own container according to your needs and available space. You can customize the size whether it’s 1ft. x 1ft. or even 1ft. x 3ft., the choice is yours! 📏 It’s like playing with building blocks! Stack ’em horizontally to save space and make your storage more spacious.

But suppose you’ve stacked two boxes on top of each other, and now it’s a tough task to move those boxes around. 😩📦 But, I’ve got a solution — installing wheels on any box you need! 🔧🚚 Now you can effortlessly glide those heavy boxes around your space. It also gives solutions to many problems like easy access to your stuff, quick cleaning sessions, and so much more. 🧹🤩

What if our product does not work!!

Hold up! Will this crazy idea actually work? 🤔 I couldn’t answer that alone, so I invited some of my friends to test my product. And guess what!?, I get some priceless feedback! Here are a few gems they shared: 💎

We have to worry about this!!?

Yes! 😱 But looking at it from a positive sense, receiving valuable feedback before the product is fully built can bring to light ideas and insights that may have escaped my initial thinking. 💡✨ This is precisely why we should welcome feedback with open arms, as it offers opportunities for growth and refinement.

It’s important to remember that feedback isn’t about criticism; it’s about enhancing our work and delivering the best possible outcome. ✌️

Now what??

Well, we’re going to level up our design game and improve our first attempt. Time for iteration. We’re taking those feedback gems and turning them into pure gold! 💎🔨

So while considering a few feedbacks that I think can be incorporated into my basic structure.
Here’s the scoop: I had a few lightbulb moments while considering the feedback. Get ready for some epic upgrades! 🌟🚀

We’re gonna create grooves in our boxes, so whenever we lift them. Easy grip, no slip! 🙌
We’ve added a threaded mechanism and locking features in the wheels to make assembly a breeze. And guess what? I did some deep-diving on the internet, and those wheels exist!
If a box ends up at the bottom of a stack, no worries! We’ll use the Pins as a hinge, connecting only one side to the front wall panel. It’s like a door to accessibility! 🚪
Oh, and let’s not stumble in the dark! We’ll paste on some glow-in-the-dark elements,. ✨💡 A set of glowing stickers can be provided that we can stick on the boxes according to their type. Even in the darkest corners, you’ll spot your stuff.📦🔦

Finally!!

This could be our final product!! Not so perfect for now but near to perfect one I’ll upload it soon…

After our first attempt at iteration, our product is looking quite good. 😀 But let me tell you: this ain’t the end of the process. Nope, not even close! We’ve got big plans for the future, and changes will keep designing.
Our mission? To deliver the absolute best user experience! 🚀

But, let’s not forget to take a moment to appreciate how far we’ve come. 🙌 It’s time to wrap up this incredible storage case study and give a well-deserved pat on the back. pat pat 👏

Now what?? — Learning 📚

I have encountered numerous moments in which I have learned a lot. To summarize, I have compiled a few key points.

Walk a mile in their shoes👞: We put on our detective hats and became storage space detectives, uncovering the secrets and struggles of our users. It’s like we joined their storage scavenger hunt and found hidden treasures of insight along the way!
The art of tinkering✨: We quickly realized that our first attempt at the product was just the warm-up act. It’s all about embracing the power of iteration and constantly tinkering with our ideas until they shine like a disco ball at a design party! 🕺💡Feedback: The good, the bad, and the hilarious 📣🙈: Our friends and testers unleashed their feedback frenzy on us, and boy, did we get an earful! Some comments were like fireworks of brilliance, while others left us scratching our heads in confusion. But hey, we took it all in stride and turned criticism into fuel for our design fire! 🔥🔧Never stop reading out🤓📚: Design thinking is like an epic quest that never ends. We became knowledge-seeking ninjas, diving into books, blogs, and even YouTube rabbit holes to soak up all the design wisdom we could find. We geeked out so hard, we might as well have worn “Design” capes! 🧙‍♂️📚

So, here’s a heartfelt thank you to all of you amazing people who’ve joined us on this wild storage adventure. 🙏 Also so grateful for you, for your patiences, and your enthusiasm to read this far. You’re the true MVPs!✨😄