The Buddy Box
Our goal was to assist users with taking care of their pets; focusing on those who are homeless.
As pet owners ourselves, we understand the connection that an owner and a pet can have. That connection does not disappear when the owner becomes homeless, so it was our goal to create a way for everyone to care for their pets. We needed to come up with a way for users to have all the necessary items to care for a pet in a lightweight fashion, with little to no fees.
With a very low budget and a very limited timeframe, we began to determine a list of necessities. We began the entire project with a cardboard box and some duct tape. We then began to brainstorm some necessary items that would need to be included in The Buddy Box... but where were we going to get these items with a small budget? We were able to find all the items in our own homes because, after all, they are necessities!
It all started with a cardboard box…
Included: a blanket, a brush, poop bags, a water dish, a reflective leash & collar, nail clippers, ID tags, a toy, a resource list, wound wrap, grooming & food coupons.
What makes this practical?
Being able to carry a multitude of items at once with features like an outside clasp to hold larger things like a blanket or towel, as well as an easy open/close clasp that could be used by all users.
Waterproof style idea to keep potential coupons and other items safe from the rain
We also took into consideration how users would carry it, with the assumption that our target audience is likely carrying many bags or items already, so we decided to make it a cross-body style bag. This allows the user to have free hands for all the personal items they are already carrying.
It’s far from perfect, so what’s next?
Due to the nature of this project, we were not able to do any type of testing. This design was based solely on secondary research and the knowledge of myself and my team members. The next step for this project could be doing some actual usability testing on the product. However, when designing The Buddy Box, we envisioned the whole concept being based solely on donations from veterinary clinics, pet stores, and other pet owners. If everyone was able to donate used or new items to these boxes, there could be enough supplies to spread across multiple boxes, which means helping multiple people. There could be donation bins inside animal shelters, veterinary clinics, pet stores, etc., where pet owners could donate items they no longer need/use or could purchase an item at the cash and put it in the donation bucket, and the pet store could include coupons for food and grooming there could then be volunteers who come along and build the boxes.