ArmorBox

Achieving resilience and elegance through the research and design process

Why build an emergency toolbox for cars?

As a designer passionate about civic design, I got a few raised eyebrows when I began working on this project. Yet for me, it represented an opportunity to practice the core design skills of research, synthesis, innovation, and narrative–building.

A final consideration: too many of our projects were designed without the long-term future in mind. I wanted to stay true to my values and craft a solution that would justify its use of material by lasting for decades.

Design Skills & Methods Used: Contextual inquiry, research synthesis, physical prototyping, spatial thinking, information design, photography

Physical Tools Used: Band saw, sheet metal bender, rotary tool, rivet gun, sander

Digital Tools Used: Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop

Context: Embodied Design studio course, IIT Institute of Design, 2022

How do people actually use their cars?

Exploring the Problem

It isn't a stretch to say that two reasonable goals for drivers might be:

1. Be prepared for emergencies by carrying tools and supplies, and

2. Keep the trunk of their car organized.

I had a hunch that most people were accomplishing one or the other, but not both. To uncover some insights, I embarked on a brief user research project.

Conducting User Research

Over the span of a few days, I conducted interviews and contextual inquiries with four research participants.

My first impressions were inconsistent. Participant's cars ranged from empty and spotless to messy and disorganized.

But after briefly interviewing participants and visually clustering themes, some clear themes emerged.

1. Those valuing cleanliness prioritized trunk space in exchange for a lower level of preparedness and flexibility.

2. Those valuing preparedness invested in tools and supplies, in exchange for less usable trunk space and flexibility.

"...it's messy but the trunk needs to be a flexible space. I need the ability to shove everything aside so that I can make room for six bags, or groceries, or for suitcases."

–Research Participant

Research Synthesis

With observations in hand and insights uncovered, design criteria were developed.

Observation:

Many people avoided solutions that spanned more than half the width of their trunk.

Insight:

Solutions with a large trunk footprint are unacceptable for many due to the lack of flexible trunk space.

Design Criteria:

The solution should leverage vertical trunk space while minimizing its floor footprint.

Observation:

People using box-shaped organizers to store items still had longer objects rolling around the trunk.

Insight:

Trunk organizers often prioritized compactness at the expense of fitting recommended emergency gear.

Design Criteria:

The product needs to be large enough, and properly shaped, to store oddly-shaped emergency items like wrenches.

Observation:

Solutions that secured themselves to trunk surfaces with velcro received more positive feedback from users.

Insight:

Materials and mechanisms that allowed for secure yet non-permanent attachment are important to users.

Design Criteria:

The product should secure itself to its surroundings, while still being easily removable.

Prototyping

Ideation and Exploration

The possibilities of physical form can induce analysis paralysis. Starting with the design criteria, I rapidly explored several directions by starting with a shape half the size and volume of a seatback in a car, and then exploring variations in orientation and proportion.

Moving Between Scales

Promising directions were promoted to half-scale and full-scale cardboard prototypes to fully understand shape, proportion, and motion.

Prototypes coalesced towards a suitcase-shaped form with a cut corner, to accommodate the curved interior edges of a car trunk.

Using Criteria to Drive Decisions

Following the previously-developed design criteria, concepts were repeatedly prototyped and tested in-context to evaluate their effectiveness.

For example, due to the lid opening interfering with the top of the trunk, the orientation was switched to a semi-permanent attachment to the seatback, enabling access by folding the rear seats down.

Planning and documentation

3000-series sheet aluminum, adhesive velcro, and EVA foam were chosen as materials, in keeping with the design criteria. Plastic or fabric as a structural material was ruled out due to shop equipment access and durability issues.

Design refinements like angled corners were made with feasibility of fabrication in mind. Sheet metal parts meant that cuts and bends would have to be carefully planned in advance to fit together.

Bringing Form to Life

Longer dimensions and strategic partitioning address a need uncovered during research: securing longer objects like wrenches, shovel handles, and jumper cables.

A cut corner on the right sight enables the product to sit flush against the seatback without interfering with a curved inner edge.

Secondary research uncovered creative use of velcro to secure organizers to the floor. This strategy was adapted here for vertical surfaces.

The expected context of use—outdoors, in all weather conditions—justified the use of corrosion-resistant aluminum as the primary material.