On-the-go Meal Experience

Andrea Benatar
30 min readSep 8, 2020

Propose a new on-the-go product experience that offers value to this category

Image boards & Market Landscape

In starting to look at the products that currently exist to facilitate an on-the-go meal experience, our class created the following three image boards to show what is currently on the market (the market landscape), historical examples, and cultural examples.

Below are some of the contemporary examples our class explored:

Along with the historical examples (many of which overlap with the cultural examples) below:

The cultural examples (below) spoke a lot to the contrast between Eastern and Western meal containers and how they directly relate to needs presented by certain culinary traditions:

From these image boards, I noted a few things. First, the products that currently exist and do well on the market all take a relatively similar form and do not branch too far from plastic Tupperware. Many of the modern products incorporate compartments in some way, though they don’t always seem to serve a specific purpose. As seen in the cultural examples, it appears as if meal containers in Eastern cultures tend to be more stackable and cylindrical as opposed to the rectangular and pill shaped containers with vertical compartments (with the exception of Bento & Jubako boxes from Japan). In addition, I noticed a few of the contemporary examples played around with modular, multi-purpose forms that could turn from a container to a small table or bowl, and those that could be easily transported or adapted to different situations. I actually found those the most interesting out of the market examples explored because they feel more lively and dynamic than a static plastic container. Some of the modular containers (examples below) can also contribute to the actual experience of eating on-the-go rather than just the experience of transporting the food.

Just based off of this first sprint of market research, I am definitely interested in continuing to explore modular, shapeshifting meal containers, a way of really bringing out the experiential components of a meal, and also trying to draw from the different cultural experiences of my family members and people I know.

Task Analysis 1: Preparing a meal for school

In order to better understand the user’s process of packing up a meal and taking it to go (from start to finish), we paired up to complete a task analysis on this process.

I observed Yufei packing up a single lunch to take to school and this is what I gathered:

  • First, Yufei picked up her pan of cooked dumplings and poured the dumplings into a Tupperware container using a fork to scoop out dumplings from the bottom of the pot.
  • Next, she picked up the lid to her container, placed it on top and closed it using four latches on each side.
  • She then grabbed a large plastic bag and placed her container inside of it. (Yufei mentioned that her Tupperware has a seal to hold the food inside but she doesn’t fully trust it, so she brings her lunch inside of a plastic bag.)
  • Then, she grabbed a smaller plastic bag, picked up a clean fork and placed it inside the bag, which she then put inside of the other bag with the Tupperware in it.
  • Lastly, she tied the bag tightly and was ready to go.

In total (when counting every action as a step), this task took Yufei 10 steps to complete. The main thing that stood out to me was that there was a certain level of distrust in the existing product, which I have as well, and that distrust actually added steps to the entire process. From a product design standpoint, that is something I would like to explore and unpack further as the research continues.

Task Analysis 2: Preparing a meal for camping (Sadye)

In starting to consider a narrower target audience and context, I was very interested in exploring situations that can shine a different light on the experience of bringing a meal somewhere and eating it. One of the situations that came to mind was camping because of the specific constraints and requirements that preparing a meal on a campground presents, as well as the enjoyable eating experience it presents.

To dig a bit deeper into the meal experience during a camping trip, I interviewed and conducted a task analysis on my roommate, an avid camper and backpacker. I first asked her to describe the meal prepping, transporting, and eating experience from start to finish, both in a backpacking trip and a car camping trip. I asked about the tools and materials used for each and the considerations that go into packing food for an extended trip. As expected, the food prep for a backpacking trip is more thought intensive with the food having to be more compact, durable, and kept in a safe but transportable container. On a car camping trip, space and weight are less of a consideration.

I then observed her walking through an abridged packing process (I told her to imagine she was leaving for a car camping trip). This was relatively difficult to re-enact because we didn’t have many of the necessary components, including a cooler and many of the disposable items her family typically would bring to a camping trip. She also mentioned that there was a large amount of variability in the cooking materials she would bring depending on the type of food prepared, so a hypothetical scenario could only demonstrate so much.

The task analysis consisted of the following steps:

  1. Takes pre-cooked meal out of freezer (freezing meals in bulk helps the food last longer), she uses a ziploc bag as the container
  2. Packs Ziploc bag of frozen food into a cooler, along with other freshly cooked meals in individual Ziploc bags (this is where the duration of the camping trip would come into play)
  3. Takes food inside the cooler in vehicle to camping location, alongside a large box of other cooking and eating materials (including disposable bowls, silverware, cooking tins, napkins, mugs, etc)
  4. Lets the frozen meal defrost on its own
  5. Takes Ziploc out of cooler
  6. Pours meal out of Ziploc and into disposable aluminum cooking tray
  7. Disposes of Ziploc
  8. Covers cooking tray with tin foil
  9. Starts fire at campsite
  10. Places tray on grill over campfire
  11. Lets food heat up/ finish cooking
  12. Carefully takes tray off fire
  13. Peels off tin foil from tray
  14. Scoops out portion (using a spoon) into a small mug
  15. Eats with disposable silverware
  16. Puts tray with remains back in cooler
We demonstrated this in a very abbreviated series of steps using a frozen bag of mini hotdogs we had in the freezer and the fire pit in our backyard. In this case, the hot dogs would probably be cooked over the fire on skewers instead of a disposable tray, which shows the variability of the additional cooking tools needed.

Had the task been to prepare a meal for backpacking instead, she mentioned, she would have packed only freeze dried, pre-packaged foods, carried in her backpack in a large, locked bear canister, along with deodorant and any other fragrant item (so as to not attract bears). At the actual meal time, she then would simply pour boiling water into the bags of freeze dried foods and eat directly out of the bag with a multi-use utensil.

Overall from the brief interview and task analysis, I gathered a few key insights:

  1. Meals (from preparing to eating and everything in between) for a camping trip require many steps and many different tools and utensils. Eating a meal is much more labor intensive than just packing a pre-cooked meal and popping it in a microwave.
  2. Along the same lines, preparing meals for camping requires a special amount of forethought and planning relative to the number of meals needed, the food prepared, the utensils and tools needed for that food type, the duration of the food prepared, so on and so forth.
  3. Convenience and compactness are large factors in the transportation of the meals. My roommate mentioned using plastic bags over Tupperware or containers because they take up less space, are less heavy, and can be disposed of (so they don’t require cleaning). The same goes for the tools being used to cook- she mentioned her family sometimes brings pots and pans, but tries to avoid it when possible.
  4. There doesn’t seem to be a current solution to compactly unite all of the necessary components for a camping meal experience (unless you count the car or backpack). This means that the experience relies on large and bulky containers (i.e a cooler and storage box) and many loose products that the individual has to remember to bring in order for the meal to be effective. This seems like it could lend itself to a few different design opportunities.

Further exploration of camping food equipment & interviews

After my first interview with my roommate, I found a lot of interesting areas for exploration when it came to camping. Thus, before interviewing her and a few other people again, I did a bit more secondary research into the cooking and food-related products currently on the market for campers and hikers.

The camping food products I found especially interesting were those that were stackable and compact (as shown below) and could serve to significantly decrease the number of loose items you need to pack into your trunk.

Following this quick search, I proceeded to interview my roommate for a second time, as well as another friend of mine that is also an experienced camper and backpacker.

A quick sketch of the abbreviated process and materials Sadye described to me.

Interview 2 (Sadye):

In the follow-up interview with my roommate, Sadye, I essentially asked her to detail a few alternative scenarios with camping meals (since she had mentioned a lot of it is dependent on the type of food, number of people, etc), list out in detail every utensil or tool she brings for preparing and eating a meal on the campsite, and to list examples of common meals she has cooked while camping. Lastly, I asked her if there was anything about the meal experience during a camping trip that she wish could be easier/better.

She listed the following as the gear she brings inside of two large plastic container boxes:

  • Skewers
  • Water kettle (for over the fire)
  • Drip coffee maker (for over the fire)
  • One big pan
  • Wooden spoons/ spatulas/etc
  • Towels & paper towels
  • Aluminum foil
  • Salt and pepper shakers, olive oil in mason jar
  • Mugs
  • Kitchen knives
  • Paper plates/bowls/cups, plastic silverware (wash and reuse)
  • Gas powered camping stove (don’t always bring it but always “wish they did when they don’t”)- folds up like a brief case

And this list of foods:

  • Breakfast: cereal, milk, bacon and eggs (once every camping trip)
  • Lunches: sandwiches (deli meats, cheeses, condiments, peanut butter and jelly)
  • Dinners: chili (always), pozole, lamb roasting over fire (day long), fresh fish in the case of fishing

She also mentioned that the main pain point for her is the excessive packing required beforehand and the amount of waste they produce with the disposable items they bring. When I showed her the image (see above) of the stackable cooking and eating set, she mentioned that while it would be very useful, her family has had the same camping gear since her parents were young, so they likely wouldn’t upgrade any time soon. I found this interesting because I could see it being a common sentiment among avid campers: once you‘ve established a system, why change it?

Interview 3 (Tay):

The next interview I conducted was with Tay, a friend of mine who loves camping and backpacking. Similarly to the first interview/task analysis with my roommate, we had two separate discussions for car camping and backpacking, since he is experienced in both.

Car camping:

For some background information, I first asked him how often he typically goes camping, for how long, and with how many people. He said he goes camping 2–3 times a year on average, typically for 3–4 days and with 3–4 friends of his (he used to go with his family more when he was younger). Next, I asked him to walk through a typical sequence from preparing to eating a meal, making sure to include the specific gear he packs in the car and the types of food he eats. The (condensed) sequence is more or less:

  • Before leaving he’ll typically buy pasta, sausages, bread, cheese, other assortments of snacks, and ice (for the cooler)
  • He then puts everything in a cooler that needs to stay cold with everything else packed in large reusable bags or paper bags in the car trunk (he said he never really brings Tupperware since the food is not pre-cooked)
  • Also in the car trunk, he packs two plastic bins; one with a pot (with a lid that doubles as a pan), soap, sponges, paper towels, a spatula, a ladle, a kitchen knife, and a few skewers; and one with cups, plates and bowls, silverware and Patagonia mugs (all reusable, not disposable). He also puts his Coleman gas stove (two burners) in the trunk.
  • After arriving at the campsite, he typically takes the cooler out of the trunk and puts it next to the fire pit.
  • The first night, he said, he’ll usually eat pasta for dinner so it just requires boiling water in the pot over the gas stove (or sometimes just over the fire on the campsite grill). They will then transfer the pasta from the pot to their bowls and eat using the silverware packed.
  • After eating, him and his friends will clean all of the bowls and the pot.
  • He mentioned that breakfast is often pancakes or sausages, and lunch is often a sandwich or grilled cheese. They sometimes make hot chocolate as well (all with the same pot and pan over the gas stove).

Something I found interesting and also a pattern I started to pick up on in Sadye’s interview as well is that it seems to be common for families or groups to fall into a camping rhythm, where it’s typical to eat a specific meal the first night, the second night, and so on. This is something I would like to continue exploring since it likely speaks to the tradition and ritual of camping and specifically of eating meals while camping.

Backpacking:

I also asked Tay to briefly describe a similar sequence for backpacking. He said he typically only goes backpacking overnight, so it requires much less food but much more specific foods and careful planning/ packing. The main foods he listed for backpacking were dense high calorie foods such as poptarts, ramen, beef jerky, hot dogs, granola bars, hot chocolate powder, oatmeal, and sometimes sandwich materials. In terms of preparing meals, he said he packs each food in its individual package within a large Ziploc bag. He also packs about five Ziplocs total (two for snacks, one for full meals, and two for garbage), and a dry bag with nothing in it, which he uses to pack food and hang up on a tree during the night (to keep away bears). When it’s time for a meal, he uses an MSR backpacking stove (if he’s with someone else, they might each use one) that comes with stackable pots and a cup to cook and also eat the food. The stove pot has a rubber handle area so that he can hold it and even drink from it without getting burnt. He also brings a compact titanium spoon that can clip on to the rest of his gear. Lastly, he’ll clean everything with a wet wipe and that along with any other packaging goes in the determined garbage Ziploc.

Tay also happened to have a lot of photos from previous camping and backpacking trips that he sent me so I could see firsthand what this meal experience might look like.

Overall, the key differences I noted between Sadye and Tay’s camping meal experiences were:

  • The use of reusable vs disposable materials (part of that might have to do with the number of people in the group)
  • Cooking foods beforehand vs packing raw ingredients or processed foods

Interview 4 (Samara):

Lastly for my round of initial interviews, I interviewed another friend that is a frequent camper. Samara lives in NYC and has gone camping four hours outside of the city every summer weekend since the age of 4. Similarly to my interviews with Tay and Sadye, I primarily asked her to provide background information on her typical camping trips, the range of cooking/food-related items she brings, the list of typical foods she would eat, and an overview of the general meal preparation and consumption process.

Most of the cooking materials and camping specific equipment was very similar to what I heard from my other two interviewees, with the exception that her and her family are seasonal campers (meaning they have a trailer that they can leave at the campsite), so everything they need to prepare and eat meals stays in the trailer. The trailer also has an oven and a sink, which makes cooking and cleaning processes significantly easier for her.

My main takeaways from my interview with Samara were that for her family, camping is definitely a ritual (and almost a built in part of their lives at this point), and the experiences of cooking and eating have been merely built into that ritual.

Persona Draft

Based on the interviews I conducted, this is the first pass at a persona I could utilize throughout the design process:

The feedback I received on my persona in class really helped me to shape an approach that is focused on the eating experience rather than the packing experience. This simple idea made it much easier to begin visualizing a product that would not only be unique but also more human and enjoyable than what currently exists. While there are many camping meal sets and systems that are highly efficient, there doesn’t seem to be too many that reflect the parts of camping (and specifically eating while camping) that are most enjoyable. With this in mind, I wanted to begin to approach the design as more of an opportunity to create a more enjoyable eating experience rather than necessarily a more efficient one.

Based on this feedback and a few other changes (i.e scaling down the number of people on the camping trip and the number of days), this is the second draft of my persona.

Volumetric Studies

Based on the interviews I conducted, I chose to center my camping meal around either chili or pozole, which are both in the form of stew/soup and often contain various garnishes or dry ingredients that would be brought separately. I also wanted to incorporate the classic camping dessert, S’mores, and hot chocolate to drink. As a first step towards visualizing the space that this meal would occupy, I made a set of quick foam volumes (see below):

Examples of Chili (left) and Pozole (right). As seen here, both require an assortment of dry ingredients and garnishes that would be soggy if transported in the stew.

An important part of the camping meal experience is being able to keep track of all of the different components for both cooking (or heating up) the food as well as eating it, so making these quick volumes helped me to see all of these components in one place.

Initial sketches

In starting to reflect on the interviews I conducted and the opportunities presented, I really wanted to explore forms and interactions that could make the eating experience as thoughtful and enjoyable as the cooking/food preparation experience. As I began to sketch, some of the things I was considering were how compactly things could be packed, how a system of products might lend itself to a “family style” meal, and how the meal itself could unfold or present itself in an interesting way.

A few of the initial thumbnails I made to explore these concepts.

Below are some of the tracing paper form studies I looked at.

Exploring pivoting compartments in order to keep dry and wet ingredients separate, without occupying too much space (especially in the case of eating by the campfire or on a crowded picnic table). In both of these, the liquid would go in the primary bowl (potentially to be placed over the fire), while the garnishes and side dishes/ dessert could go in the compartments that swing outwards. The lid/cap (shown left) would have the silverware and skewers.
In this sketch, I wanted to scale up the prior concept to see how it might lend itself to a family style packing (for four people). Thus, the stew would go in a larger heat-safe bowl to be put directly over the fire and the four individual containers would fit on top secured by a place mat of sorts (top right). This could be a way of highlighting the communal, familial eating experience while still allotting individual experiences within. Not fully fleshed out, but could likely be a scaled up version of several other forms and concepts.
Additional explorations for interesting interactions or presentations of food, as well as considering how the food might be packed most efficiently. On the left, I started looking at a cylindrical form with a flat edge that could allow for both a fold-out motion and an attachment of two containers. In the middle, I was exploring have a slanted top to make it easier to reach the bottom of the container, and also having the compartments slide up on that axis. Lastly, the right sketch shows a very simple stacking composition for garnishes/dry ingredients, dessert, and utensils/tools.

Modeling

Based on the needs of my user, the criteria I want to aim for across my concepts are:

  • Compactness: Since the packing and unpacking of foods requires many steps and is crucial to a camping meal experience, it is important that the product reflect all of the items necessary in a compact (and interesting) manner.
  • Eliminating waste: One of my users’ primary pain points was just how much waste camping meals were creating due to having different food groups in various disposable bags or containers. While enforcing a reusable product automatically reduces that a bit, how can a single container consolidate everything so as to eliminate additional bags of garnishes. Controlling portions when packing for 3–4 people can also eliminate excess food waste.
  • Cleaning: Since the cleaning process is more difficult while camping, having a product that can be easily cleaned would motivate campers to bring a reusable container rather than disposable.
  • Packing for multiple people: Since my user goes camping with her family (and eating as a family around the campfire provides a large sense of comfort for her), the product experience should also account for this.
  • Transporting food from over the fire to plate (or eating container): Since camping meals often require some extent of cooking and then eating, how the food is transported from one state to the other and how many different containers are required is important to consider.
  • Surface area (?): This is a less explicit criteria, but in the case of eating around the campfire, the surface area for eating is very limited (if any), especially with a meal that has several different components (as Pozole or Chili does).

Concept 1: Swivel motion

For my first concept, I wanted to model one of the pivoting forms in order to to see it real space. I wanted to try the cylindrical form first, though I felt like the square (or “squarcle”) shape could actually offer a lot more interesting geometry if I were to continue with this concept.

Pros: Keeps the food compartments elevated/in a single container, swivel interaction is relatively enjoyable

Cons: Allows for less form exploration/experimentation, predictable

Concept 2: Fold-out

For the second concept model, I wanted to explore an “unboxing” experience that could add some more excitement and at the same time transform the original container into an entire eating surface for eating by the campfire (on the floor or on a log).

Pros: Makes the user take their time and “work” for it (in a good way), creates eating surface, compact

Cons: Table concept is only useful when eating on the ground, limited geometry

Concept 3: Puzzle

In the third concept, I wanted to explore an unfolding motion that is almost puzzle-like and challenges the notion of how much “work” the user has to do to layout their meal, and creates an element of surprise with the food being concealed to start. I chose to start by looking at parallelogram forms since they provide some interesting angular geometry, though I think the same concept could be taken much further (and made much more visually compelling) when exploring how different or more organic shape fit together.

Pros: Very unique interaction, more “work” again on the user’s part, meal and dessert separated

Cons: Complicated (and would be pretty complicated to pack/unpack/clean), space taken up by compartments is less space for main meal, somewhat limited geometry, difficult to make consider aesthetics?

Concept Refinement

Moving into the development phase of the project, I decided to take elements of my three initial concepts and combine them to create a more seamless interaction that still had all of the meal components and criteria I wanted to include.

Based on some quick sketchbook explorations, I thought it would be interesting to explore a concept in which the space occupied by the lid is maximized for the components of the meal and at the space time provides an interesting or unexpected interaction. I wanted to accomplish this through a slanted cut of some sort and a primary hinge so that the components of the meal could be presented to the user and be accessible on multiple surfaces (whether they’re eating on a picnic table, on their lap, or on the floor).

Below is my first attempt at modeling this idea:

With this model I wanted the vertical silverware compartment and the garnishes to create a form- counter-form effect while partially concealing the soup at first. the tab in front of the utensils would be the compartment for s’mores materials that could be lifted to show itself at an angle.

After creating this initial model, I noticed a few issues. First, the soup garnishes sliding towards the user was relatively inconvenient and somewhat defeated the point of having all components elevated to limit surface area needed. Secondly, the components had so many different orientations and geometries that it seemed pretty unfeasible to be able to seal everything nicely and the motion of the components seemed precarious. Lastly, there seemed to be a lot of wasted space, especially in the lid area (I also made this model way too big by accident).

To try imagining a more meaningful sliding interaction, I tried prototyping a mechanism that would allow the garnishes to slide upwards towards the lid instead (see below). What was interesting about this interaction is that the user could slide the compartment back progressively to reveal different parts of the meal. However, this proved to be pretty difficult and inconvenient because the sliding bars could not jump over the hinge area, which meant the user would have to manually lock the compartment into the mechanism.

In response to the first model, I took some time to really think about why I needed the compartments I was including and how I could make the experience exciting for the user but also intuitive and not unnecessarily complicated. Thus, in my refined model below, I simplified the concept a lot more by having the top portion of the lid be meant for the primary meal (soup) and the bottom portion for dessert (s’mores). The top portion of the lid is able to slide outwards, so that when the user has finished their soup, they can reveal the dessert.

Concept drawing

I also took some context shots of my roommate (the camper) using the model by our backyard fire pit:

Brand Inspiration

In order to better understand my user and guide my design direction, I went back to my initial persona, Madi, and compiled a basic image board of her most used/liked brands.

Concept Refinement

After getting feedback from my peers and Eric, I revised my model to reflect a slight different, pivoting interaction, while maintaining the same general idea. I also revisited the necessary components for the bottom soup compartment to be placed directly over the fire. This included designing in a handle of some sort, a way for the top to be removable, and potentially a way to be able to place the hot bowl on a lap without burning oneself.

In the revised model below, I took a stab at including all of these new components, though many likely requiring a bit more thought and form exploration.

In this model, the top component with the garnishes, utensils, and dessert materials rotates outward instead of flipping over, in order for all of the food to stay upright. The handle doubles as the closing mechanism, along with the lid, serving to keep everything from moving/rotating while in transit. The lid also serves as a heat plate for the hot bottom of the bowl, though the shape will have to be revised in order for it to not cover the front bowl opening.

Pros: Food remains upright, which eliminates the concern of garnishes dropping into soup, or things not being properly sealed. Takes into account heating process.

Cons: When rotating the top portion instead of flipping it, the upwards slant is no longer continued (it’s actually downwards). Lid is unresolved.

Concept Refinement Pt 2

After our in class critique, an issue came up that somewhat trivialized the interaction I had been exploring. While pantomiming the entire meal experience out, we noticed that if the user was to remove the soup container to place over the fire, there would not only need to be a place for the garnishes to go in the meanwhile, but also a reason for the user to place the garnishes back on the pivot. Essentially, the pivot interaction becomes somewhat meaningless because it is not actually the step leading to the eating experience. Thus, moving into my next function model, I wanted to be very aware of the sequence of events and the number of steps/awkwardness of the steps that it would take for the user to both heat up the food and then eat it. Another aspect discussed was how the frontal slide back of the components creates a bit more of a barrier between the user and others, and since the camping eating experience is very much a communal, family activity, I wanted to explore a position that felt more approachable.

In this model, I kept a similar form and the same components, but changed the interaction and posture. Here, the lid would come off and hook onto the side to serve as the heat pad. The hook allows for the two compartments to be carried and placed as a single unit, which allows for the flexibility of eating on a lap without having too many loose containers. The order of the food was also switched in order to provide easy access to the soup after the lid comes off. The soup container has two pot handles that can flip out and be used to place the container over the fire, which reveals the garnishes and silverware underneath. After heating the food, the hot container can be placed inside the lid, so that the entire product can be placed on a lap and/or transported as one. When the soup is finished, the top compartment on the left side can be lifter (using tabs on either side) and placed over the empty soup container to reveal the dessert components. [In this model, the garnishes compartment is the same size as the soup compartment, but it could be made smaller so that it can fit inside the empty container instead].

Quick sketches contrasting prior and new interactions
Quick form exploration

In addition, I started to delve a bit deeper into products currently on the market, in order to find styling and branding inspiration for my persona. The products, shown below, represent a relatively simple, clean design with a mix of modern and more rustic, utilitarian aesthetics.

Form & Styling Exploration

To look at the general aesthetics and styling of my product, I did some more quick sketchbook explorations and pink foam models. Even though I tried pushing the form, what I realized was that the simplicity of the initial form still worked really nicely for the camping context and did not hinder the functionality I needed from the product. Thus, moving forward, much of my exploration shifted to styling details such as the types of latches, pot handles, ridges/fillets/chamfers, and so on.

Below is one of the foam models I made to explore details such as a concave top and bottom and indented seam to allow for easier holding and an indication for opening the lid.

I also took a stab at digitally modeling the form to begin experimenting with material and color. Something I tried below is having a small sliver detail on the bottom of the soup bowl/pot show through a slit between the lid and the base of the container.

After doing this, I wanted to continue exploring the latch and hook design, so I did some more quick sketches.

Form Model

Based on the feedback I got on my initial renderings, I created the final form model with a few subtle changes to exaggerate and dial back certain features of the design. The major changes I made were to change the positioning of the latches so that they would be on the front and back (instead of being 90 degrees from each other) for functional reasons, exaggerate the size of the latches (both as a visual feature and for a better grip) and bring more cohesion with repeating visual motifs across the from. Something I didn’t get a chance to explore in this model but might through my digital modeling and rendering is the addition of a subtle recess or visual detail around where the latches are that could better integrate them into the form.

Final Renderings

Inner components in use

Inspired by earthy tones and muted pastels, I conducted some color studies (below). I ultimately landed upon the grayish light green with the brown/orange details because I felt as if it gave the product more of an identity/personality without sticking out as too foreign from other camping products.

Context renderings
Interaction storyboard/ sequence

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