Product Design
The Planter Hero
Porch piracy is an existential threat to Amazon’s business. Incidents result in significant cost and customer dissatisfaction. We developed a proposed solution to combat porch piracy. In 12 weeks, we applied the design thinking process to product design and presented our solution to our client, including evidence of technical feasibility, consumer desirability, and business viability.
We focused on an urban market: suburban homeowners who value package security along with the aesthetic of their porches. We saw the porch as an opportunity to design a camouflaged solution.
Time 12 weeks
Team 3 people
Tools Miro, Illustrator, Figma, CAD
Role user research, illustrator, prototyping, testing
How might we design a product that is integrated with homeowners’ porch and combats porch piracy?
Define
Target market homeowners who care about the security of their packages and the beauty of their porch
The porch pirate market average spent on porch piracy solutions: $191, COGS estimate: $30 - $60
The planter market global planter market: $1.7B, polymer substitutes are gaining popularity over ceramics: 6.4% CAGR, online planter distribution growing at 6.2% CAGR from 2019-2025
Survey 100 homeowners
Interviews 10 delivery drivers, 5 apartment managers, 39 homeowners
Themes security, weather resistance, aesthetic appeal
Ideate
Concept 1
The Tank
keypad to open, deadbolt to lock
$
Concept 2
The Touchless
auto-opens, self cleaning coating
$$
Concept 3
The Planter
key to open, manually shut by driver
$$
Concept 4
The Table
key to open, manually shut by driver
$$
Down select
aesthetic appeal of the planter / table + security of the tank + tech of the touchless =
The Planter Hero
Prototype
The Planter Hero — 2 planters, 1 solution
-
1 Key
2 3-year warranty
-
1 Battery powered
2 Key
3 Flex app integration
4 Delivery notification
5 Wi-fi connection
6 Proximity sensor
7 Lifetime warranty
-
16 x 12 x 14 in boxes — same specifications as the Amazon locker
-
Due to the package chamber, shallow rooted plants are required for use.
1 Camellia
2 Common box
3 Dogwood
4 Holly
5 Hostas
6 Hydrangea
7 Pansies
8 Petunias
9 Zebra plant
*dimensions in inches, not to scale
Desirability
30 of 39 interviewees would use our solution
“This design is a great solution – secure and inconspicuous!"
Technical feasibility
Waterproof exterior
IP 44 for outdoor use
Wi-fi integration
Alexa compatible — $19.99
Wi-fi module — $9.90 - $10.90
Smooth swivel
Quantify a ‘smooth swivel’ for use during EOL testing and a maximum acceptable linear displacement when shaking
Design for manufacturing
All pieces designed for no injection molding defects