Redesigning the Shopping Cart

A product design project that went from need finding to a works-like prototype with a provisional patent.

Shopping for heavy items can be difficult and frustrating for many people. For some, it's nearly impossible. We designed a bottom shelf for a shopping cart which can slide out and lift up. Allowing people to easily place and grab items from the cart without bending over.

In order to get to this final design, my team and I each conducted multiple short cold approach interviews, and we each ran into frustrations around grocery shopping. These found frustrations brought us together as a team. After another round of interviews with a grocery shopping focused interview guide, we chose to focus on the shopping cart and the difficulties surrounding lifting heavy items into and out of the cart. With the help of a comparison chart and some in house testing of a number of rapid prototypes, we chose to focus on creating a bottom shelf that slides and raises up.

We closed out the semester by submitting a provisional patent on our design and creating a theoretical crowdfunding pitch video included below. Please enjoy. :)

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