Haven
Market Research · Prototyping · Business Strategy · Brand Strategy
Duration: semester-long project
Role: Design Strategist (team of 4)
Location: San Francisco, CA
Course: Innovation Studio brings ideas from concept to business plan through market research, physical prototyping, and business strategy.
Project completed during my MBA in Design Strategy program at California College of the Arts.
Vision statement
To create a more accessible camping experience for the youthful explorer who aspires to get out. Our lightweight rooftop tent allows the ability to explore and store with ease.
Discovery
To some, accessing the great outdoors is not so great. Tent camping is burdensome; much of a getaway weekend is spent packing, setting up camp, and breaking it back down. Automotive-based rooftop tents address many of the pains around setup and breakdown by providing a near-instant campsite, but add new pains of having a cumbersome box semi-permanently affixed to the roof of your car. Decreased fuel-efficiency, users being unable to remove and store the rooftop tent, and expenses were just a few of the complaints we heard when researching the market.
So we set out to address the question: how might we provide an automotive-based camping solution that is affordable, storable, and convenient for the weekend-warrior camping enthusiast.
Market research
We conducted a competitive analysis to understand the existing market for rooftop tents which ranged in price, weight, and ease of user setup. We found most existing models of rooftop tents were designed to be semi-permanently attached to the tops of vehicles, which many people found frustrating, unnecessary for occasional trips, and a waste of gas needed for driving around a few extra hundreds of pounds of bulky tent.
We also spoke with 15 target users to understand their camping needs and desires for a rooftop tent. In this process, we also discovered 2 personas with distinct camping experiences and needs.
This research informed our 2 target segments and shifted our ultimate business growth strategy.
Prototyping
From speaking with target users, we identified these main design challenges:
easy to set up the tent on top of the vehicle while standing on the ground
easy to remove from the top of the vehicle
< 50 lbs in total weight
able to store in a garage, apartment, or under the bed
sleeps 2 people
Go to market
Focusing on a direct-to-consumer marketing strategy, we would market the Haven rooftop tent via social media channels, paid advertising, partnering with influencers, and at events and festivals.
