Final Submission

I've finalised my product and redone my presentation sheets, taking into account the feedback I received last time, for the final submission. See my product poster:

I've tried to tailor the features of the product to meet the needs of the user, thinking about what would enhance their experience of using it. 

Features:

• Wick Hydroponics - easy, clean, low maintenance growing system
• Detachable Water Reservoir - for simple cleaning. 
• Water Level Indicator - to see at a glance whether the product needs to be topped up
• Adhesive Strip Attachments - stick to window design utilises wasted space, adhesive strips provide a string, safe attachment mechanism. They also allow the product to be removed and reattached if required. 
• Complete Growing System -  product comes complete with everything you need to grow, no other purchases required. 
• Product Sizing - perfect size for growing one herb or salad plant, without using up too much space.
• Reasonable Price - should hopefully allow a range of people to purchase a single unit, and then also allow them to build up a collection once they experience the benefits of it. 

Final Prototype

My final concept prototype!

Feedback

I wanted to gain dome feedback prior to the final submission to see if there were any major issues which needed to be addressed and also just see if people liked the concept!

To gain feedback I posted a link to my poster and a short product description on Reddit to try and reach a wider audience. I also spoke to friends and family who I thought would be interested in the concept. I got a really good response from Reddit, when I last checked 13 different people had posted up comments, questions and feedback on the design. I found these were a lot more questioning and therefore useful than the face to face feedback I got, as people tend not to judge you as harshly in person!

My responses to some of the questions / comments I received:

• How would it attach, what kind of adhesive would it use, would it be strong enough etc. - I feel like the attachment system I have developed should be fit for purpose. The product has been designed with thought into it's scale; I couldn't make it too large as it would lead to attachment problems. 
• Where would water drain to, would you need to oxygenate it etc. - I got quite a few comments related to not understanding the hydroponics concept. It is something which lots of people, especially novice growers, wouldn't be familiar with. The system is simple and used frequently by hydroponics growers, but I think I need to work on how best to convey it to my target user. 
• Could you open your window? - If windows open straight up and down, the product could be kept in place while the window was opened. However, if it opens at an angle, the product could be removed and placed back on later. This obviously not ideal, but I can't really see any way around the issue. 
• Would love to see different versions, larger, coloured etc - This is something I had been thinking about. If I were to continue with the product I could look at creating different sizes, designs, colours etc. 

Overall, I was very happy with the feedback I received. Lots of people seemed to really like the idea and a few commented on how useful it would be in there small apartments, exactly the market I was aiming at. 

Product Details

I've decided to go forward with a triangular form for the product, so have since been working on refining product details. I've been evaluating the general arrangement, looking at the scale, attachments and form.

I've also been playing around with the overall look of the product in solidworks, adding in details such as a clear front panel to check reservoir levels and curving some of the edges. The final model is shown below:

Further Prototyping

Following on from my decision to investigate a different form for my product, I've created some more concept prototypes. I wanted to investigate a few different designs and also begin to prototype at full scale so I could better envisage how the user would interact with the product (something I did too late with my first product concept).

Change of Form

Following on from the pre-submission presentation I began evaluating how the proposed method of attaching the product to the window would work. Through this testing I discovered that due to the weight (at least 5kg) and width of the product, a large torque is produced that twists the product away from the window. It also brought up other issues with the attachments, such as how it would actually be fitted by the user.

From this point decided to evaluate the product as a whole and see whether it would be best to try and develop a new attachment system or change the form of the product.

Main disadvantages of the proposed concept:

• Difficult to install. If I were to develop a better attachment system that could definitely support the weight of the product, it would still require some kind of screw fitting. I feel this would put of a number of potential users, as it's designed for people who have previously never grown their own food, who would be looking for a simple, easy way to do so.  
• Too large a scale. Once I had completed a scale model I realised that the product is quite large. This is mainly due to the water reservoir. In hindsight I think it would be better to develop a smaller product that the user could potentially buy more than one of; this would be a much more versatile system and better for people with limited space.
• High cost. After finalising the design and carrying out rough costing, it became apparent that the RRP would be at least £80. I feel this is a high price for the function of the product and means it has a smaller market of potential users. 

I originally chose a larger hydroponic planter as it would allow a greater amount of food to be grown. However, in hindsight, I think it would be better to have a product which grows a single plant, and allow the user to build them up to grow a small range of food. This would be cheaper, remove any issues with installation and provide a more flexible system of growing food.

With these new insights, my next step will be to re-evaluate the form of the product to create something which better fits the user requirements I set out at the beginning of the project.

Pre-submission Presentation

The feedback received from the pre-submission presentation was very helpful. A lot of the questions and issues that were raised related to further refining the product in more detail; better costing, aesthetic details, how would the attachments work, how would it be powered etc. 

From here the first thing I'll do is work on the attachments. For the pre-submission I didn't have time to properly investigate this and was focused more on how the hydroponics would work and what the design would be like. My proposed method of attaching the planter to the window is still just conceptual and will need to be tested and refined for the final hand in. From there I'll focus on refining the product in more detail and then will look at materials/manufacturing.