Homebase digital message center by Audiovox released in 2008 had an interesting functionality of storing electronic messages for others. Apart from acting as a digital photo frame, it possessed dry erase whiteboard and place for sticking post it notes. However, with the advancement in the technology, Audiovox got replaced by mobile, tablets and laptops with several advanced features and great efficiency.
The intent of the whole problem is to redesign the Audiovox Homebase device serving the new generation with the mission of bringing families and friends together.
Duration: 2 weeks
Team: Swapnil Kosarabe, Aishwarya Sheth, Bhavna Ganesh, Hannah Ropar
My Role: I participated in the early Design research and assisted team in exploring solutions through quick sketches, physical prototyping and designed high fidelity prototypes.
“The goal of the product was to bring all the family members close to each other by bridging the gaps in the communication channels by storing and posting messages”
We gathered customer feedback from several websites and blogs, and identified features that were most liked and features that prevented users from having a smooth experience
“I thought this product would be a great way to keep everyone in the house communicating but I was rather disappointed after a few days of use”
To redesign the Homebase digital message center aligned with the new generation user requirements, we established a framework that would guide us in the whole process.
Our target users are parents and kids who wish to stay in touch with each other and their friends
We decided to focus on the residential context for redesigning the product
Homebase deals with designing products that serves residential areas with an intent to improve their lives
We mapped existing features of the product and analyzed how these needs modified over the time with the advancement in technology. The medium used to serve these needs varied significantly and several media provided a majority of the features that could connect the families and friends together but was limited to user groups.
We identified following insights after going through the customer reviews and analyzing the enhancements in the user needs due to advancement in technology
How might we blend the quality of social collaboration within the product and make the experience enjoyable?
We started exploring early ideas incorporating user requirements that were drawn during the user research. We followed a 10 x 10 process, where we explored 10 different ideas and explored the most suitable and fit idea into 10 different ways thus satisfying user requirements.
We selected the concept of smart modules during the early design exploration. We explored the ways this smart module can be used by target users to achieve the goals and instill the quality of social collaboration in the vicinity.
We envisioned a smart module to consist of Electro-permanent magnets that can cause the attraction between two modules thus holding them together. These smart modules can be charged through the central large module that controls the functioning of each small modules. The small modules are lightweight and can easily attach to the large module thus serving different user requirements.
We envisioned a smart module to consist of Electro-permanent magnets that can cause the attraction between two modules thus holding them together. These smart modules can be charged through the central large module that controls the functioning of each small modules. The small modules are lightweight and can easily attach to the large module thus serving different user requirements.
“The goal of the product was to bring all the family members close to each other by bridging the gaps in the communication channels by storing and posting messages”
We started exploring early ideas incorporating user requirements that were drawn during the user research. We followed a 10 x 10 process, where we explored 10 different ideas and explored the most suitable and fit idea into 10 different ways thus satisfying user requirements.