While not a “digital product” I wanted to show this MIT project for the design thinking process, overall creativity, and UX problem solving.

MIT Mastering Design Thinking Team Project Overview

Top 3 finalist out of 30 teams and selected most business viable.

2023 MIT Mastering Design Thinking

Team project goal:
Develop an alternative to single use plastic bags for grocery shopping.

Our team (5 members) chose my “FlexCaddy” solution.

My contributions:
• Creating the chosen concept
• Naming and brand development
• Creating all 3D art/prototypes
• Conducting consumer research
• Product engineering problem solving, and
• Leading creative ideation sessions

Stepping through the design Thinking process.

We completed each step in the process (not all shown here) and leveraged Miro for the research organization.

Identifying User Needs through Interviews and Observation

Voting on User Needs and Identifying Solution Concepts

Team Concept Sketches

Concept prototyping

Experience Cycle Mapping (Determine Testing Points)

Competitive Analysis

I saw an opportunity to innovate the shopping experience…

…I designed a collapsible, modular caddy, that addresses the following identified user needs:

  1. Elimination of single use plastic bags

  2. Enable a hygienic shopping experience

  3. Separation/organization of items

  4. Faster check out

  5. Ease of moving through crowded aisles

  6. Durability

  7. Conveys environmental friendliness

A family member can slide out ”Tray Modules” to shop independently or load a car.

Vertical organization enables a smaller footprint with similar storage volume

The SpeedTray is a novel approach to conveyor scanning.

The FlexCaddy enables a shopper to pre-organize their goods by tray (SpeedTray). When ready to check out, simply lift a SpeedTray onto the conveyor for easy scanning and return the tray module back to the caddy.

  • SpeedTrays eliminate the use of plastic bags

  • SpeedTrays save time by removing the bagging step

  • SpeedTrays are dishwasher safe for convenient sanitization.

Being eco-friendly doesn’t mean sacrificing on experience or features.

The Flex Caddy design system will feature insulated SpeedTrays as well as stair climb wheels.

Need your hands? This optional caddy dash neatly nests a coffee, bag, phone, shopping list, and pen.