The Comfy Carry
The Problem
The Project
The Problem: Shoppers carrying grocery bags home on foot need to minimize strain on their hands in order to maximize on-the-go comfort.
In February 2019, I worked in a team of three over a two-week period to help people to carry things. After six hours of individual observation of people carrying things, we identified a need, and then went on to develop a problem statement, begin ideating, prototyping, and iterating. I was especially integral to conducting our 17 user interviews, extracting insights from those interviews, generating prototype ideas, and creating the intermediate and final prototypes. I also created the demonstration-of-problem video (above) and the demonstration-of-solution video (below), both of which were limited to 30 second duration within a 6-minute final design brief.
The Solution
A Success
We conducted 17 in-depth user tests with our prototype and received very positive feedback: users said it felt “so comfy” and “natural,” and we saw a 90.9% reduction in number of grip adjustments during a 10 minute walk (from an average of 10.25 to 0.5 adjustments).
The Process
Initial Ethnographic Research
The team split up to collect photographs as part of our ethnographic research to understand how members of our community carried things, as the first phase of needfinding. Together we conducted six hours of this observational research before assembling to share our findings.
Need(found)
One interview clued the team into a major need on campus: hand, forearm, and shoulder pain from carrying heavy grocery bags on foot across campus and neighborhoods.
User Research Insight Analysis
Our team assembled to share what we had found from our initial user research and began identifying patterns.
Pattern Identified
We noticed that many of the users we observed stopped to adjust their grip or flex their fingers in apparent discomfort as they carried grocery or similar bags with skinny straps. Upon follow-up interviews we also found that they did experience hand pain, but also shoulder discomfort.
Defining the Problem
After identifying the need, we defined the problem space, including a user journey, as well as metrics for a successful response to that problem.
Avoid Pain,
Minimize Strain
After analysis of our user research, we found that the two main objectives for a successful solution would involve addressing hand pain and minimizing musculoskeletal strain of the shoulders.
One Trip,
One Person
We also came to recognize that a motivation for carrying so much and a requirement for our users was that they are able to carry all of their items by themselves in one trip.
Metrics for Success
We defined the specifications for a successful response to the problem. We also defined our problem statement at this stage, centered on the target customer: Shoppers carrying grocery bags home on foot need to minimize strain on their hands in order to maximize on-the-go comfort.
Early Prototypes
We began crafting cheap, fast prototypes as part of our ideation process.
The Hi-Fi
Following the success of the early prototypes, we moved into production of a prototype with more finalized materials, including 3/4” curved PVC pipe (which we sectioned with a mill) and zebra-striped foam.
User Testing
We conducted 17 in-depth user tests with our prototype and received very positive feedback: users said it felt “so comfy” and “natural,” and we saw a 90.9% reduction in number of grip adjustments during a 10 minute walk from an average of 9-11 to 0-1 adjustments.
Optional Shoulder Strap
We added an optional shoulder strap, color coded to the loops on the handle, to alleviate musculoskeletal shoulder strain and even allow for short-term hands-free carrying—for example, to open a heavy door. We found that users responded more positively to the product when we marketed it as an “optional” shoulder strap, emphasizing the handle as the main product.
The Comfy Carry