What Opportunities Exist Within Micro Businesses?
One of many class projects I had with Service Design professor Ricardo Martins was to develop build a full scale prototype for a business that fits inside a classic London Telephone Booth. Throughout the project we had one week to formulate a realistic business model that would challenge our understanding of space and balance the need for functionality with the experience of employees.
Limitations
We had to make our business fit within a 27in x 27in area. This limitation prevented many of our ideas but we studied trends to find opportunities. We found a handful of coffee shops already operate out of old Telephone Booths showing the potential of the idea.
Research: Sustainable Fashion is a growing market
We found an opportunity with the rising interest of sustainability in fashion. Despite an increased interest in buying less, many people do not have convenient access to a Tailor to fix old clothes.
Concept: the Tailor Booth transforms these underused phone booths into convenient, quick-fix tailoring stations.
First we turned to AI to facilitate Ideation and prototype a few different options for different layouts. We then drew the top view and decided upon a floorplan that allowed the Tailor the most utility while leaving space to both sit and stand. Finally we came up with a strategy for retrofitting the old booths through an internal frame and were ready to build a prototype.
Prototyping
Due to the quick turnaround time required by the project, we turned to Computer Aided Design and quickly built a full scale, life-size model. We then cut sections of the design and exported them to the schools laser cutter and assembled them on wood. The cardboard design was mounted to the wood frame on Velcro to allow for disassembly and transportation.
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Finished Prototype
This ingenious solution not only preserves the classic London cityscape but also adds a practical service for busy pedestrians and tourists alike. With trends forecasting a move away from fast fashion, we will need to bring fixing clothes back in style,
