Hi,Team 10,How have you been lately? Our team has reviewed your proposal. We apologize for the delay in providing feedback, as we have been quite busy over the past few days. Below are some of our thoughts and comments.
First of all, our target users are elderly people living in old residential communities who engage in gardening both on their balconies and in the flower beds downstairs in the community. The problem we need to solve is: for residential buildings without elevators (only with stairs), how to enable these elderly individuals to better store the gardening tools used on the balcony and then carry them downstairs for outdoor gardening activities. It should be noted that gardening tools pose a certain degree of danger, so an additional consideration is how to better secure sharp tools to prevent them from falling during transportation, while also ensuring that the tools do not restrict or hinder the elderly’s movement when they go downstairs. In summary, the core challenge lies in figuring out how to properly store these tools and then carry them downstairs for outdoor planting tasks.
We have selected some suitable solutions from them and marked them with red boxes. These solutions can be further optimized.
(1-1) The Nostalgic Case
The Nostalgic Case provides excellent protection for tools, preventing them from falling out, and also allows for easy access. However, if the storage case adopts the same material, size, and weight as a vintage suitcase, the total weight—when combined with the weight of the tools themselves—may be too heavy and inconvenient to carry for the elderly, who need to hold onto handrails while going up or down stairs.
(1-2) The Economic Fabric Bag
The Economic Fabric Bag seems to be the most suitable option. It is easy to carry, keeps tools from falling out, and enables convenient tool access. Nevertheless, there are two aspects that can be optimized: first, the fabric is not waterproof; second, it lacks auxiliary carrying designs.
(1-3) The Washable Caddy
The Washable Caddy can also meet the needs of carrying and accessing tools. However, I am concerned that an imbalance in the weight of the tools inside may cause it to be heavier on one side, which could affect the elderly when they go up or down stairs.
(2-1) The Belt Supported with Suspenders
The belt supported with suspenders frees up the hands and allows for extremely convenient tool access! Wearing it on the body makes carrying easy and labor-saving. However, it has obvious shortcomings: its capacity is relatively small, and there is no protection for the tools—they are likely to fall out when the user bends over. Additionally, a single shoulder strap may cause pressure on the shoulders. It is recommended that the belt be designed with an adjustable length to better fit the elderly of different body types. Can improvements be made to address these issues?
(2-2) The Plastic Carrying Bag
The plastic carrying bag has an interesting and innovative appearance, and your design is undoubtedly creative. However, its tight structure may lead to collisions between tools and even make it impossible to fit all tools inside.
(2-3) The Minimalized Single Shoulder Bag
The minimalized single shoulder bag categorizes tools well. However, due to the varying weights of the tools, the bag may sway back and forth when worn, affecting stability during use.
(3-1) The Wheeled Gardening Cart
The wheeled gardening cart appears to be highly versatile and is well-suited for busy gardening work. But its major drawback is that it is not easy to move up or down stairs, making it less practical for the elderly living in multi-story buildings without elevators.
(3-2) The Organizer
The Organizer is highly flexible, and its partitioned design and illustrated labels are very thoughtful! It includes a dedicated compartment for storing picked fruits and vegetables, which we find extremely useful. When not used for gardening, it can even serve as a shopping bag to hold vegetables when going to the supermarket. The “multi-purpose” feature is exactly what the elderly here prefer in a product. However, there is room for improvement: the external tool storage area lacks protective measures, causing tools to easily shake inside. It is advisable to add protective designs to prevent tools from falling out.
(3-3) The Wearable Tool Organizer
The appearance of the wearable tool organizer reminds me of an apron—it is interesting, convenient, and frees up the hands. However, it has two issues: first, tools may fall out when the user bends over; second, compared to the storage bag in (3-2), its design for storing both vegetables and tools may restrict the mobility of the elderly.
The above is our feedback. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you need further discussion or clarification.Have a good day!
(P.S.:Burcu, I noticed your little cat Bulut in your blog—it’s so cute! I’ve drawn a picture of you two, Hope you like it.)