final presentation (draft 2)

The slide visuals all need a lot of work, as do the use and consistency of text on the slides. I'll have to see what I can do about this tomorrow. I have several outlines for how to restructure the story if this doesn't flow well... but I do like establishing early on that this is project is focused on students.

*********************************************

Slide 0: (Title)

[I'm thinking my point here should be the need for a "mini-kitchen", and I think a picture of a student-designed mini-kitchen captures this nicely... still not sure what text to put.]

















Slides 1.1 - 1.n : Introduction & Project Goals

Good morning and welcome back...

It's been 4 months since you first asked us to design a mini-fridge for your new private label kitchen appliance brand.

(further review (and define) goals of the project)

Up untill now, your private label brands have focused on consumer electronics.

















We wondered, why mini-fridges?

[think of some other transitions into mini-fridge $]

Slide 2.1: Compact Fridge $

In 2005, sales for mini-fridges were (approx.) $75 million. And X% of these users are college students.

But this is only a fraction of the story...




















[hmmm, this slide is ambiguous...]

Slide 2.2: Dorm Products $

Students spent $10 billion dollars furnishing their dorm rooms...

















Slide 2.3: And growing.

...and this number is expected to grow.
















[i will plot some numbers and make this a real slide when I get a chance...]

Slide 4: Student Living

A student-centered mini-fridge is the way to go...

Meet your target user group:

When you're in college...the dorm is your home.
Compact products with style are important (you know this... this has been your focus with marketing back to school products this year..."Study, Connect, Live and Entertain in Style")

But multifunctional is also important... college students want smart products that are useful for many things...products like laptops (compact, sleek & stylish, it's also a TV, DVD player, stereo and much more...)














The mini-fridge has become a dorm room necessity... but it's not a very smart product... it's more like a dumb box you cram food into.

Slide 5: Product Overview

When a student walks into Best Buy, choosing a mini-fridge is pretty simple - you just need to decide what size box you want.

[I found a 30-second (cheesy) video guide for college students on buying a mini-fridge from BestBuy.com...maybe I could play that...]
















[could insert previous product overview slide]

This is pretty much true no matter where you shop for a mini-fridge.

Slide 6: Features

Few features isn't necessarily a bad thing. What's important is there aren't any features unique to the mini-fridge. This surprised us since a mini-fridge is used in very different ways than a full-size fridge (as we'll see).
















Slide 7: Competition

So who are your future competitors?
The competition is mostly no-namers competing on price - the brand names aren't making anything special. There's a huge opportunity for something, ANYTHING different... and being a new comer isn't a barrier to dominating this market.















Slide 8: Neglected Market That's Up for Grabs

From a consumer p.o.v. nobody owns the mini-fridge market.
Nobody speaks fridges like Sub-Zero.
Nobody speaks mini-fridges.


Your product will speak dorm room fridge (and more)... and deliver on that promise.

















Slide 9: Opportunities

Mini-fridges are a neglected market with ripe areas for innovation.
We've outlined 3 opportunity areas...

1. fridge space

This is the most obvious area. Going into user research, we expected lots of problems with fridge organization. This was indeed common, but we quickly hit on a much richer opportunity area...

2. mini-meals

Guess what - college students make meals. And not just easy-mac and leftover pizza. Busy, irregular schedules (and host of other reasons) lead college students to prepare small, convenient meals in their rooms. And students aren't preparing meals in isolation...

3. sharing

... students are sharing kitchen resources and food along with each other's company.


Slide 10: Use Environments

[like Lucas suggested, I may either cut this down are combine it with opportunities... these common environments may not be central to this presentation, but I think they may be of use to Best Buy, especially if they are planning on launching a line of dorm kitchen appliances. Anyway, maybe it makes more sense now that I've explicitly said some stuff about the opportunity areas.]

You should be aware of 3 common environments where students are using mini-fridges (and other kitchen products)...
Each situation exemplifies a specific opportunity area and set of design criteria...

















Note: The remainder of this post is unchanged from my previous post (changes - coming soon!).


10 Small fridge w/ room kitchen

Mike and Raquib cook a lot in their room kitchen.
















11 fridge space

But they have trouble fitting everything in their fridge and getting stuff out.
So... The mini-fridge should have improved organization.
















12 incomplete dorm room kitchen

Matt and Asif prepare most of their own meals but don't have a kitchen.
















13 mini-meals

They try hard to organize a kitchen area in their room but it's still a mess, which makes it difficult to prepare meals.
So...the mini-fridge should help with creating a cohesive kitchen area in the room
















14 community kitchen

Eri prepares many of her meals in the community kitchen for her floor.
















15 sharing

She has to make many trips back and forth b/w her room and the kitchen to make meals. She also shares her cooking stuff and meals with her floor mates.
So...the mini-fridge should support mobility & social interaction
















15b sharing

(cut out or combine this last slide idea?)














16 design criteria

So this is what a student-centered mini-fridge should do...

+ provide easy access (and visibility to all parts of the fridge)
+ provide flexible organization (so users can reconfigure their fridge on the fly to accomodate various items)
+ make efficient use of space (so users can fit everything they want into the compact space)
+ create a unified kitchen area (with work and storage space for food and kitchen stuff)
+ facilitate transporting (of food and kitchen items)
+ support social interaction (around eating and preparing food)















17 generic design ideas

These immediately suggest some generic design ideas..

+ removable fridge containers
+ stackable storage units
+ extendable worktops

[slide: list with diagrams of concepts]

18 modular mini-kitchen fridge

We've designed a modular mini-kitchen that can satisfy all these design criteria and more. It works like this...

[slide: diagram of concept ]

19 rails

The rails serve as universal attachment points for the different modules as well as for hanging your own items.

[slide: simple rendering or photo of rails]

20 containers

Inside the fridge...

Different container modules provide easy access and flexible organization in the small space...(trays, shelves, bins)
These are removable and can be used with other elements of the system...

[slide: simple rendering or photo of container modules]

21 platforms and countertops

Outside the fridge...

Platform modules stack on top of the fridge to create work and storage space.
Countertop modules hook onto the rails to provide additional workspace that can be stored away when not in use.

[slide: simple rendering or photo of stackable storage modules and countertops]


22 example use scenarios

(This system solves these problems ...in these situations...which are supported by my research...)

Note: I don't plan to use all these slides (22a-f).

22a easy access

Pull out the trays, access and organize stuff, put them back. Now you can actually get to the back and bottoms of your fridge!












22b flexibility

Easily make room for large items by moving the half-trays. No more items that don't fit. Less wasted space.














22c organized kitchen area

Efficiently organize and store food, appliances and cookware by combining stacking modules, rails and containers. Appliances no longer take up all your work space. All your food stuff is in one convenient area!




















22d preparing

Easily prepare a mini-meal in your room. Use the countertops for additional workspace.

22e mobile

Take a tray of food to the kitchen or a tray of pop to a friend's room.

22f sociable

Your room is the best room to eat and hang out in!

22g creative uses

Create a unique and personalized space in your room.


(The system may seem too extravagant to actually produce... but...You don't need to implement every aspect of the system: each element could be a stand alone product. The product doesn't need to be modular: the elements could be integrated with fridge.)

23 mini-kitchen platform

You might want to expand your focus beyond just the mini-fridge...You could offer a complete line of mini-kitchen products that work together.

[slide: diagram of mini-kitchen concept or photos of individual products, like a hot plate, microwave, etc., arranged to suggest combined use]


Note: The following slide ideas are especially underdeveloped and perhaps not even worth developing. Much of this probably won't make it into the final presentation (though I'd like to try and develop some of it).

24 strategy

You are potentially offering much more than just a mini-fridge. You are offering a system to help college students expand and manage the kitchen areas of their rooms. This benefits you in several ways.

24a avoiding unfavorable business models

Students often inherit or rent mini-fridges. By offering more than just a mini-fridge students have good reason to buy a new fridge.

24b adapting to unfavorable business models

Moreover, you can continue to profit off the product by selling fridge accessories and related kitchen products.

24c partnerships

You could partner with other companies to offer products compatible with your mini-fridge or mini-kitchen system. For example, company A could produce sealable containers that hang and fit inside your fridge.

24d entering other markets

You can also compete in other small refrigerator and kitchen markets (and possibly create new ones) with this product... like apartment, office and assisted living homes.

24e branding
Here are some ideas on how to brand and market this product...(e.g. showcasings in stores during back to school with dorm room planning services)

24f integrate with current strategies

...and tie it in with your overall strategy for marketing to college students (e.g. showcase at colleges along with other "sleek" products)

(...and of course, lots other ideas I haven't given too much thought to...)

25 end

[slide: image of design concept in dorm room setting, or perhaps next to other mini-fridges for sale at Best Buy]

final presentation (draft)

Here is the straw man for my final presentation. I still have some work to do developing and crisping up the final design concept and how I communicate it ( I'm thinking of improving my prototypes, or at least taking some better photos of them in use-scenarios). I also want to replace many of the photographs I've presented below. The final slides on the mini-kitchen platform and other strategies need work on content and graphics (or need to be scaled back or dropped).

*************************************************************************
1. compact fridge market: why and who

So you think you want to enter the mini-fridge arena...

Well, there's a lot of money in mini-fridges and even more in products for college dorm rooms.















2. why else
















You should focus on a student-centered mini-fridge.

3 student living

Meet your target user group:

When you're in college...the dorm is your home...compact, multifunctional products are important...

[photograph of dorm room that captures "compact", "multifunctional" and "home"]

4 product overview

Here's what's currently going on with mini-fridges...

They're pretty much all the same (nothing innovative here).




















5 features

And there aren't any features unique to the mini-fridge (there should be).

















6 competition
The competition is mostly no-namers competing on price - the brand names aren't making anything special.
















7 neglected market that's up for grabs

From a consumer p.o.v. nobody owns the mini-fridge market.
Nobody speaks fridges like Sub-Zero. (Lucas' Idea)
Nobody speaks mini-fridges (but you could...)
















8 opportunities

Mini-fridges are a neglected market with ripe areas for innovation.
We've outlined 3 opportunity areas...
















9 use contexts

You should be aware of 3 common situations where students are using mini-fridges...

















Each situation exemplifies a specific opportunity area and set of design criteria...

10 Small fridge w/ room kitchen

Mike and Raquib cook a lot in their room kitchen.
















11 fridge space

But they have trouble fitting everything in their fridge and getting stuff out.
So... The mini-fridge should have improved organization.
















12 incomplete dorm room kitchen

Matt and Asif prepare most of their own meals but don't have a kitchen.
















13 mini-meals

They try hard to organize a kitchen area in their room but it's still a mess, which makes it difficult to prepare meals.
So...the mini-fridge should help with creating a cohesive kitchen area in the room
















14 community kitchen

Eri prepares many of her meals in the community kitchen for her floor.
















15 sharing

She has to make many trips back and forth b/w her room and the kitchen to make meals. She also shares her cooking stuff and meals with her floor mates.
So...the mini-fridge should support mobility & social interaction
















15b sharing

(cut out or combine this last slide idea?)














16 design criteria

So this is what a student-centered mini-fridge should do...

+ provide easy access (and visibility to all parts of the fridge)
+ provide flexible organization (so users can reconfigure their fridge on the fly to accomodate various items)
+ make efficient use of space (so users can fit everything they want into the compact space)
+ create a unified kitchen area (with work and storage space for food and kitchen stuff)
+ facilitate transporting (of food and kitchen items)
+ support social interaction (around eating and preparing food)















17 generic design ideas

These immediately suggest some generic design ideas..

+ removable fridge containers
+ stackable storage units
+ extendable worktops

[slide: list with diagrams of concepts]

18 modular mini-kitchen fridge

We've designed a modular mini-kitchen that can satisfy all these design criteria and more. It works like this...

[slide: diagram of concept ]

19 rails

The rails serve as universal attachment points for the different modules as well as for hanging your own items.

[slide: simple rendering or photo of rails]

20 containers

Inside the fridge...

Different container modules provide easy access and flexible organization in the small space...(trays, shelves, bins)
These are removable and can be used with other elements of the system...

[slide: simple rendering or photo of container modules]

21 platforms and countertops

Outside the fridge...

Platform modules stack on top of the fridge to create work and storage space.
Countertop modules hook onto the rails to provide additional workspace that can be stored away when not in use.

[slide: simple rendering or photo of stackable storage modules and countertops]


22 example use scenarios

(This system solves these problems ...in these situations...which are supported by my research...)

Note: I don't plan to use all these slides (22a-f).

22a easy access

Pull out the trays, access and organize stuff, put them back. Now you can actually get to the back and bottoms of your fridge!












22b flexibility

Easily make room for large items by moving the half-trays. No more items that don't fit. Less wasted space.














22c organized kitchen area

Efficiently organize and store food, appliances and cookware by combining stacking modules, rails and containers. Appliances no longer take up all your work space. All your food stuff is in one convenient area!




















22d preparing

Easily prepare a mini-meal in your room. Use the countertops for additional workspace.

22e mobile

Take a tray of food to the kitchen or a tray of pop to a friend's room.

22f sociable

Your room is the best room to eat and hang out in!

22g creative uses

Create a unique and personalized space in your room.


(The system may seem too extravagant to actually produce... but...You don't need to implement every aspect of the system: each element could be a stand alone product. The product doesn't need to be modular: the elements could be integrated with fridge.)

23 mini-kitchen platform

You might want to expand your focus beyond just the mini-fridge...You could offer a complete line of mini-kitchen products that work together.

[slide: diagram of mini-kitchen concept or photos of individual products, like a hot plate, microwave, etc., arranged to suggest combined use]


Note: The following slide ideas are especially underdeveloped and perhaps not even worth developing. Much of this probably won't make it into the final presentation (though I'd like to try and develop some of it).

24 strategy

You are potentially offering much more than just a mini-fridge. You are offering a system to help college students expand and manage the kitchen areas of their rooms. This benefits you in several ways.

24a avoiding unfavorable business models

Students often inherit or rent mini-fridges. By offering more than just a mini-fridge students have good reason to buy a new fridge.

24b adapting to unfavorable business models

Moreover, you can continue to profit off the product by selling fridge accessories and related kitchen products.

24c partnerships

You could partner with other companies to offer products compatible with your mini-fridge or mini-kitchen system. For example, company A could produce sealable containers that hang and fit inside your fridge.

24d entering other markets

You can also compete in other small refrigerator and kitchen markets (and possibly create new ones) with this product... like apartment, office and assisted living homes.

24e branding
Here are some ideas on how to brand and market this product...(e.g. showcasings in stores during back to school with dorm room planning services)

24f integrate with current strategies

...and tie it in with your overall strategy for marketing to college students (e.g. showcase at colleges along with other "sleek" products)

(...and of course, lots other ideas I haven't given too much thought to...)

25 end

[slide: image of design concept in dorm room setting, or perhaps next to other mini-fridges for sale at Best Buy]

business context

I've been working on the business context research some. Here are some of the key points I think I should communicate to Best Buy.

1) You want to enter the compact fridge market. Then targeting college students is the way to go. They are the largest user group of compact fridges.
2) College students are spending a ton of money on their dorm rooms (you knows this, your competitors know this).
3) Many students aren't buying compact fridges. Intead they are renting them or inheriting them.
4) You need to offer a new and innovative mini-fridge that meets the needs of college students. This is a huge opportunity to offer more than just a small box that preserves food by extending the core offerings of the mini-fridge and connecting the fridge with other student-centered products you offer (or could offer), such as dorm kitchen products.


Here are some related facts and ideas in more detail:


Compact Fridge Market

+ 1,500,000 compact refrigerator units sold in U.S. in 2004 (~$75-100 million ?)
+ most users of compact fridges are college students

A mini-fridge targeted at college students is right on. The compact fridge has become a staple dorm room product. But, this size of this market alone may not justify you entering it without it being part of a larger strategy (?) ...

Spending by College Students in 2004

+ $2.6 billion on dorm room furnishings and $7.5 billion on consumer electronics
+ on average, $260.09 on dorm room furnishings and $509.14 on consumer electronics

This is good. Several articles suggest college students are continuing to spend more on furnishing their dorm rooms. This adds value to the mini-kitchen concept and also suggests that the design should perhaps pay attention to cosmetic features in addition to function. It also may be worth emphasizing to consumers that the space created by the mini-kitchen can also be used for products like TVs and game consoles, since these are so popular (especially at Best Buy).

Response by Retailers

+ Target sells dorm kitchen appliance packages that combine a mini refrigerator, hot pot, coffee maker and sandwich maker. Best Buy also sells TV, fridge and microwave packages.
+ The Container Store offer "dorm room experts" that give personalized storage tips over phone and post a recommended shopping list to secure site for you
+ Best Buy plans to showcase furnished dorm rooms at colleges, pitching sleek products that conserve space

Target is grouping products together to sell the mini-kitchen. Our product goes the next step and offers a cohesive structure to the mini-kitchen along with other useful features. This would be a great product to present at Best Buy's showcasings at colleges. Best Buy might want to develop the mini-kitchen concept further and offer a complete line of mini-kitchen appliances and accessories (e.g. hotplate, microwave, storage cart, tupperware, etc.). Best Buy could try to build a community around the mini-kitchen system (or more generally a dorm-room system) by suggesting configurations in the store or by offering local contests for "coolest dorm room". This could work to further promote the product and might also be an interesting source of research data. I might also want to try to tie "sleek" into the concept, especially since this is part of Best Buy's college strategy.


Alternatives to Buying Mini-Fridges

+ inheriting fridges
+ renting fridges

The mini-kitchen is in a good position to become the rental fridge that these rental companies purchase (right now it seems to be Microfridge which has an integrated microwave; if the microwave is on then the fridge is off and vice versa, so it uses the same power as a standard compact fridge...something to think about if you want to go after this market).
Since many students are inheriting their fridges from friends and family or renting them, Best Buy needs to offer a truly unique mini-fridge. They can continue to profit of them by selling accessories for their mini-kitchen fridge. They could also sell the same accessories for use with compact fridges by other brands. For example, the trays or platforms could be made so they fit with existing mini-fridges that Best Buy sells (an alternative to producing their own mini-fridge).

Other Markets

+ office
+ apartment
+ assisted living

Microfridge markets it 3-in-1 (freezer,fridge,microwave) appliance as a "refreshment center" for offices. Summit markets many of fridges for assisted living homes. Again, many aspects of the mini-kitchen are appropriate for these contexts. Removable containers would be handy for undercounter apartment fridges and assisted living homes. Stacking to make room for appliances (freezer,microwave,coffee maker) might be appropriate for the office refreshment center.

To do
1) What are the exact numbers on sales of compact fridges? Why can't I find them?
2) Is the compact market growing, shrinking or flat? My guess is slightly growing or flat. If this is true, I should especially emphasize the fact that spending by college students on dorm room products is rising and that we are offering more than a mini-fridge with the mini-kitchen.
3) Who are the potential competitors of the mini-kitchen fridge?




Sources:

http://www.acleareye.com/The%20McKinsey%20Quarterly_%20The%20Online%20Journal%20of%20McKinsey%20%20Co..pdf

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_13/b3826123_mz033.htm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8884977/

concept refinement and future directions

Below I outline a summary of my concept. Then I outline some ideas and concerns I have on what to do next.

Concept Summary -The modular mini-kitchen focuses on solving problems related to storing and preparing food in small living spaces, particularly college dorm rooms. Countertops and platforms provide centralized food prep and storage space around the fridge. Container modules help to organize items inside the fridge but can also be removed and used outside the fridge. The modular and minimal design allows you to quickly and easily reconfigure and personalize the product in many ways.


rails - The rails serve as universal attachment points for the different modules as well as for hanging your own items.

containers - The various container modules provide convenient, flexible and efficient organization of food items in the fridge. Tray and shelf units fit on top of the rails in the fridge. Bin units hook onto the rails.

example use scenarios:
+ use trays and shelves as removable drawers to organize and access items (students have trouble seeing and getting to the back and bottom areas of the fridge)
+ quickly reconfigure to make room for large items (students have trouble fitting open cartons of milk, large vegatables and cases of beer)
+ many different configs with door bins and half-trays . ( students organize fridge items in various ways e.g. a section for dairy, a section for meats, drinks area - also have lots of small fridge items they want to keep organized)
+ remove trays and take to a community kitchen or a friend's room (students are sharing food and kitchen resources)

platforms (or boxes or some other type of stackable storage unit) - These stack on top of the fridge and each other to create work and storage space for a unified kitchen area in the room.

countertops - These hook onto rails on the sides of the fridge to provide additional space for food prep. Countertops can be stored away when not in use.

example use scenarios:
+stack microwave or another fridge on top of platform (appliances take up a lot of counter space)
+ use trays and bins with the rails on the platform and fridge exterior to store dishes and food (students have dishes, cookware and food that they want to keep organized together)
+ use top of fridge and countertop for work space (students need space to make mini-meals)


what else it could offer

+ hang your own stuff e.g. S-hooks, bags, tupperware, cooking utensils
+ other container modules (e.g. hanging tupperware containers, tupperware drawers,"soft" trays, dividers, mesh elastic bags and nets)
+ hang rails elsewhere (the rails are adjustable and removable, so they could be installed somewhere else, like on the wall)
+ stack platforms elsewhere (e.g. under fridge, beside fridge, in middle of room for eating or sitting on)
+ platforms fold to conserve space
+ non-kitchen configs e.g. entertainment setup, work study setup, mini-bar setup
+ offer entire line of mini-kitchen appliances and accessories that work together as a system (e.g. microwave, hotplate, cart, freezer, pantry, etc.)


I was trying to organize each of the parts of this concept as follows.

form- what is it's structure and how does it work?
primary function- what function does it perform very well?
secondary functions - what else can it do?
problem scenario - what problems does this solve?

I think it's important that even though the concept I present is modular, each component has a primary function that it performs very well to solve a particular set of problems I identified. Additionally, these components can combine in many creative ways to provide flexibility and additional functionality. You could make the components integrated and still have it solve many of the same problems.

Some concerns I have to start resolving (with the final presentation in mind)...

1) How much more do I refine this concept?

For instance, I have this idea of a stacking unit that fits on top (or under, or on the side) of the fridge. Should I keep it at this level of abstraction or should I make a more concrete embodiments of this concept. For example: The stacking module is a box (like this). It has attachement points for rails inside so it can accomodate the various container modules. The tops and bottoms are also keyed so they lock onto the top of the fridge and each other. It comes apart to conserve space when you're not using it and even fits inside the fridge for easy transportation. It's made out of enameled steel, which has a sturdy look and feel to it.


To me, it seems like a good way to go is to present a more abstract concept (like a stacking module) along with a very concrete representation of how this concept might manifest itself as a real product (like the idea I describe above). Which leads me to my second concern.

2) How do I visually communicate these concrete representations of a potential final design?

Sketches, models, renderings, simple diagrams? It seems like for the final presentation I would want to present a really clean and crisp embodiment of these final design candidates. I was thinking of cleaning up my prototypes and taking some better shots of them in a realistic college dorm setting.

3) How do I visually communicate the mini-kitchen platform, or as Lucas put it, that "this concept has legs"

I'd like to present the idea the Best Buy could incorporate the mini-kitchen fridge into a more expansive series of college living products, like the mini-kitchen series. This concept is still at a pretty high level, so I'm not sure if detailed models or sketches are appropriate (even if I had the time). I could use diagramatic illustrations (similar to those I used for my earlier design concepts). Also, I could present a photo of a compact kitchen (e.g. a hotplate, microwave, small freezer, small oven, etc.) and use words to describe how this could become a new product line extension of the mini-fridge concept.

prototyping - round 1

I did some prototyping of some parts of the modular dorm system (or mini-kitchen) concept. Here's some pictures of the system without any modules.








It might be cool if the rails (or other potential connector elements) were modules, rather than integrated like they are in this prototype. Maybe they could slide up and down on tracks for infinitely adjustable shelves.






Lots of people complained about not being able to fit large items, particularly tall drink bottles. Here, you can move the half-trays to make room for tall items.







You can use the trays like drawers to help you see and access the deep spaces of the fridge.





Or you can pull them out of the fridge.




The trays fit into the platform or shelf unit. Ideally, you could also attach them to the sides of the fridge, platform and other things.




An important aspect of this design is that the modules (e.g. shelf, tray, counter, bin) can attach to various parts in various ways. I wanted the connectors to be non-proprietary in the sense that they can easily be used with items not designed for the system. The rails are great because if they are not being used to connect modules, you can use them for hanging your own items. Practically, the rail may not be the best, as far as cost, manufacturing, structural integrity, etc. But it does capture a nice detail of the open-source system I have in mind. I really like the idea of a dorm system you can personalize (design) yourself. Of course, it should come with ready-made solutions in case you just wanna be a consumer.





I had to use tape to hold up the half-trays to get this configuration. If you could cheaply engineer a system that easily configures in these type of ways, I think it would be useful. It also allows people to creatively design their own optimal fridge configurations, something several interviewees described as an enjoyable activity.

The baggies in the door are held in place by netting attached to the door.





You can attach the half-trays and door bins inside the door to design your own door config.




This netting is good for holding small, loose items. It also doesn't take up any space when not in use, and doesn't get in the way of other modules. You could put it on the bottom of the shelves for a similar effect.



And you can of course hang your own containers from the rails. You could design a whole series of cool hanging tupperwares, jars and other containers.







Again, you can pull all the modules out of the fridge...





...and attach them to various parts outside the fridge.




This creates space when cooking or preparing a meal. You can also use the countertop modules to create additional workspace.



Even if you keep mostly drinks and snacks in the fridge, the trays are convenient for chilling pop and transporting the cans to the table to hand out to friends. Or if you're partying, you can keep loading up the trays with beer. I also wanted to prototype some modules that were designed with storing cans and bottles in mind.












The platform on top doesn't really convey the entire stacking concept I had in mind. I didn't try and build some of the stacking modules I had in mind, even the simpler ones. I also didn't get to prototype the carts or some of the more exotic modules.

I found the prototyping really forced me to work out the details of the design. As I was thinking about how to build these things, I ran into all sorts of details that seemed like they could make or break the product. I could spend as much time prototyping different tray module as I did prototyping all the various parts above. Even the most basic details, like dimensions, aren't obvious.

It would be great to do some testing. With something relatively simple, like the trays and rails, I could make some high fidelity prototypes and give them to students to try out in their rooms.