When Olivier Mével – founder of Nabaztag – approached us to help in the early stages of the new startup, reaDIYmate, we were eager to get stuck in.
Working to the brief of a combined open-source product and app platform, we created a series of playful concepts that could engage a range of users in a domestic setting. These proposals helped our client grapple with different use-case scenarios, levels of engagement, technical feasibility and product development strategies.
Considering the different kinds of users for this product infrastructure, our clients wanted to explore a wide, inclusive user base. We looked at strategies for three broad types of user, with increasing levels of technical expertise: 'Citizens', 'Tinkerers', and 'Hackers'.
Citizens would focus on immediate benefits, unable – or unwilling – to tinker, hack, or modify the system. Tinkerers are power users, enthusiastic about fiddling with the technology. Hackers are experts, capable of customising different kinds of hardware, coding, and writing software.
This is one scenario of how a 'hacker' might engage with the system:
With a clearer image of our potential users, we began to explore product design: focusing on modularity, levels of usage, cost, visual language and materials. Working on the idea that everyone is a potential 'maker', we felt that the system should provide support for sharing designs, leveraging digital fabrication.
In the product development process, we explored three form scenarios: Plug-In Sensors, the Easy Swap, and Folding Shapes.
Plug-In Sensors posited an inclusive approach to design, imagining the products as part of a modular system that would be adaptable, resilient, and scaleable. Each module could host an indefinite number of sensors, stacked on top of each other. The sensors would be packaged in a cartridge-like design, while the shared 'core' module would house the main PCB, batteries, power switch and wireless transmitter.
This idea features the highest level of user customization, striking a balance between 'hackability' and ease-of-use.
The Easy Swap system reflected the varied nature of its users. On one side, the product would be muted, a black box for customization, working discretely in the background. When flipped over, users could see beneath the hood, with the control unit and modules revealing their full functionality.
Folding Shapes imagined people assembling their own modules, with a web platform allowing them to choose different sensors, and recommend the best combinations and assembly models. Users would be able to select the shape, the material and even the local manufacturer/retailer – sharing their unique designs and configurations with the community.
Alongside these scenarios for product development, we also explored the ways different users could interface with the product ecosystem. We proposed a system with low barriers to entry, allowing all kinds of users to mould the product to their needs.
It was important to find a way to bridge the gap between casual and power users, building a path of progression. Citizens would have access to custom widgets, but there would be a clear route to building patches; the default option for Tinkerers. Hackers would be programming the code, but, with a strong user community underpinning the product ecosystem, might be able to help less-experienced users with their own projects.
The reaDIYmate team then worked through several iterations, exploring different possibilities, business strategies and feasibility models. They collaborated with product designers, investors and technologists to launch their platform, which is now up and running as a beta. Go check it out!
