Heartwood
research · PRODUCT DESIGN · innovation
As part of the 'Doors That Do More' concept at Masonite, we designed and articulated a product concept that revolutionizes traditional door functionalities, merging innovative technology with elegant design to redefine the essence of interior spaces. This project allowed us to find a problem around the way we interact with doors, and redesign a future where doors are the heart of the home and bring families together.
INTRODUCTION
MY ROLE
THE TEAM
TIMELINE
User research analysis, concept development, product design
Me and Ava Raterman
May 2023 — Aug 2023
The idea is tailored for the future, envisioning advancements in home door interaction. Our goal was to provide an innovative strategy reshaping doors to balance privacy and openness while promoting physical interaction.
discover
It's no secret that in this digital age, we are all dependent on our devices. The goal of this project is to bring families together by considering the stressors on healthy family relationships.
Whether you’re an adult on Facebook or a teenager on TikTok, we all relate to using our device as a means to escape reality and relax especially after a long day. Our devices also make it possible that we never mentally clock out even when we come home because we always have access to work email and messenger.
The result? The quality time we have together in our homes becomes the time we spend in our separate digital worlds.
The result? The quality time we have together in our homes becomes the time we spend in our separate digital worlds.
It might seem like devices and our relationships with them are at the core of disrupted family dynamics. However, there was something more to the issue we sought to uncover. That is, isolating culture is really the heart of the problem, leading to a lonely and detached family. How might a smart door ecosystem cultivate healthier family routines and relationships?
PROBLEM STATEMENT
research
We supplemented our independent research with the user research that Masonite conducted with Shapiro and Raj where lots of our ideas around doors that do more converged.
We identified three important needs.
- Demand for structurally dynamic and emotionally responsive doors.
- Maintain structural boundaries, and create open spaces for gathering.
- Create doors that address the emotional and functional needs of families.
- Demand for structurally dynamic and emotionally responsive doors.
- Maintain structural boundaries, and create open spaces for gathering.
- Create doors that address the emotional and functional needs of families.
we landed on two ideas
We selected Idea 2 for its intuitive visual feedback, enhancing user engagement and aesthetics. This concept aligns closely with our objective of fostering meaningful interactions within smart home environments. Additionally, Idea 2 requires simpler technology integration and is more cost-effective compared to Idea 1, making it a practical choice within our resources and timeframe.
After much collaborative brainstorming, we've arrived at a concept for a door that can detect emotions and activities, displaying information to encourage interaction. While this may sound futuristic and abstract, I am excited to introduce you to the product "Heartwood" which brings this concept to life.
We identified two target markets after analyzing the user research data.
They are motivated to upgrade door aesthetics and functionality and willing to spend more money to get what they want, not looking for a deal; brand names matter to them.
They are young, affluent, and want doors with style and technology, but they are busy with jobs and kids, so it will take some time to get their home the way they want it; social media inspires them.
identifying factors
The pain point for a family is changing their habits and routines to make more time for each other.
It starts with being aware or mindful of your daily interactions. However, this doesn’t come easy, especially with everything else on our plate. To understand pain points, we defined and identified the most common factors affecting social isolation and brainstormed ideas on how a door can solve them.
process
How might a smart door connect a family and disconnect them from their devices?
We used divergent thinking and generated a range of HMW questions to encourage creativity and innovation. Each question prompts us to consider different angles and possibilities, helping us uncover novel solutions. By breaking down the challenge into smaller, more manageable parts, we gained a deeper understanding of the issue at hand.
storyboarding
We developed the concept through storyboarding. The most important idea to convey was that the door responds with dynamic visual outputs based on different interactions.
Lots of talking and conversation shows a dynamic visual. Quiet and less engaged may show more static visuals . Quality time may be disrupted reflecting less dynamic visuals.
The final storyboard frame is the "highlights" from the day, which may show visuals and metrics based on how engaged the family was with each other that day.
The final storyboard frame is the "highlights" from the day, which may show visuals and metrics based on how engaged the family was with each other that day.
journey map
To understand the problem in detail, we drafted a journey map for a dysfunctional family and identified the shortcomings. We then plotted the journey map with Heartwood in action which results in healthy family interactions.
capability assessment
We conducted a technology analysis and established four main capabilities. The identified technological components and their functions were estimated.
experience mapping
We plotted an experience map to lay out the sub-components in the interactions based on the four capabilities.
design style inspiration and iterations
The initial inspiration for our visual concept stemmed from the idea of tree rings, signifying age. We aimed to create a fluid, interactive display, evolving to incorporate concentric ripple effects akin to water waves overlapping. The idea was that the intersection of the ripples imply engagement in the space.
SOLUTION
Final Designs: Highlights
The visuals on the door are in the form of ripples interacting with each other reflecting the activities happening in that space. They display different states like occupancy, engagement, disengagement, harmony, and metrics summary.
Occupancy - The door continues to monitor the occupancy of rooms and displays the presence of each individual in that room.
Engaging - When individuals are highly engaged, the door displays a visual that reinforces that positive interaction.
Disengaged - When individuals are distracted by digital devices or not emotionally present, the door displays a negative visual that signals low meaningful interaction.
Harmony - When families are spending quality time, with high engagement, the door displays beautiful, harmonious visuals.
Patterns of behavior - By sensing activity in the house, the door ecosystem can ultimately generate patterns of behavior to inform the family.
Interior Ecosystem - Personal doors can display activity in other rooms and notify to engage with other rooms & people in the house.
process
We conducted collaborative research using Miro, that enabled real-time brainstorming, ideation, and organization of ideas.
This project has over 100 pages of research available which I could't present in this case study. A huge amount of work was put into ideation and brainstorming. We started with research and had cycles of iteration on problem statements followed by idea generation and solution mapping.
These results would not have been possible without the collaborative design process of over 2 months and my teammate Ava Raterman. I am grateful for the guidance and support of our managers, which enabled us to deliver the proposed solution driven by human-centered research insights.
Presenting this solution to the leadership team and CEO marked a significant milestone representing the culmination of our dedicated efforts, extensive research, and invaluable learnings throughout the project's journey.
Presenting this solution to the leadership team and CEO marked a significant milestone representing the culmination of our dedicated efforts, extensive research, and invaluable learnings throughout the project's journey.