Tide GO
Tide GO is an innovation on a current supermarket product that is falling behind with the current laundry trends. The increase in renters in large cities paired with the reemergence of laundromats shows the need for mobile laundry solutions like Tide GO. Completing a tedious task such as laundry is about convenience. Freeing up time for more essential things in this new fast-paced environment.
Project Overview
CHALLENGE
Tide has been the leader in the laundry detergent market since they entered the space in 1946. They have defined trends like color safe bleach and cold water detergent but the market is beginning to shift towards a sustainable and mobile detergent. The detergent needs to be as mobile as its users while respecting the environment at the same time. Tide needs to evolve to address these concerns.
We were also challenged to question the physical product that accompanied the TideGo App.
The major pain points that users needed addressed were the mobility of the product as well as the ease of use. We needed a visually appealing design that made laundry simple for any user.
The product line is a range of products that range in ease of use and price to truly create a customizable experience for each user. Interviews with different uses showed that being able to create a custom laundry experience is a very important factor.
ROLE
Animations, Prototyping (Physical & Digital), Pak (Package) design, Final bottle conceptual design, Photography
TEAM
Keith Scott | Bryant Nguyen | Courtney Smith | Meng Zhao | Lisa Joelle Jahn
TOOLS
Adobe AI / Adobe Premiere / Rhino
TIMELINE
One semester, 13 weeks.
COURSE
Harvard: Paper or Plastic GSD VIS 2415
INSTRUCTORS
Teman & Teran Evens
Research
Tide entered the space in 1946 as the Wash Day miracle which would make your clothes more clean, and has been the market leader since 1949. The organization has maintained this edge by constantly innovating, being the first to identify new trends and develop products to address them.
Although Tide has been the market leader for decades, there were two current trends that Tide missed which will threaten its ability to remain:
Sustainability
Rise in Renters in Cities
Personas
As a team of five, we each followed one individual through their own wash routines. These people ranged from laundry mat goers to in-home laundry fanatics. The personas were composed from the research and notes of these individuals. I would normally spend more time creating well-backed and researched personas but the timeline of this project did not allow for this.
Meet Dhruv
The Laundry Virgin
“I’ve never lived this far away from my mom before. How often should I wash my sheets? How did mom sort my laundry? Should I call her or figure it out myself?”
Being the youngest in the family Dhruv always had his mother there to take care of all his household needs. Whether it was an ironed shirt for his uncle’s wedding or clean clothes for his track meet, Dhruv never had to worry about doing his own laundry. Now that he’s a freshman in college he needs to learn how to take care of himself. But doing laundry can be such a daunting task. How much detergent do I use, what brand is good, what are the right settings, and should I separate my clothes? He always ends up using too much or too little and laundry becomes just a mess.
Meet Collette
The Efficiency Queen
“Trying to get my dream internship meant putting soccer on hold. When I got scheduled for an interview I instantly called my dad. I’m so excited to get closer to my dream but I wonder if I’ll ever be on the field again.”
With the bright future that she has from school, Colette had to give up her childhood hobby-- playing soccer. She tried hard to balance the two but the day came when she had to decide on just one. When it comes to laundry, she has a detergent for whites, colors, athletic wear, and bedding. But since her method takes so long it would be nice if there was one detergent that did it all. She hates it when she has to redo her laundry, it’s a waste of time and money.
Meet Kevin
The Laundry Nomad
“My wife’s parents still don’t think I can take care of their princess. I want to be there for my son’s first steps but I also want to jump start my career so I can meet their expectations and my own.”
Kevin was just your average student in college but after having a child with his then girlfriend he quit school in order to become a full time parent. He decided after a few years that working two jobs wouldn’t allow him to put his child through college when the time came so he went back to school to finish his degree and get a better job. Kevin is a spartan. All of his money goes towards raising his child. He does the cooking, cleaning, and regularly does multiple loads of laundry while making sure his kid doesn’t get into trouble.
Physical Product Design
Rethinking the bottle design required multiple iterations, meticulous research, and careful analysis of our target market. We took time to look at who would use the bottle and some of the issues they were encountering with current designs. We also considered where the bottle is being sold on the self and how it will be stored at home. In the end, the Tide Go bottle is a smaller mobile bottle that aids in making the laundry process easy for anyone doing laundry.
Some of the defining features include the carabiner to hook on a bag, one push to release the right amount, and easy refills.
Prototypes
We created physical prototypes that were sketched, made into paper models, and 3D printed. We work closely with users that fell into our target market to work through all of the pain points. Ultimately, the final design drew inspiration from the brand legacy, users, and other products in different industries.
Functionality + Attributes + Benefits
Reduce Waste:
No drop left behind.
No drip dispenser.
Intuitive Measuring
Recycle:
Disposable Bottle.
Portable:
Light Weight.
Handle or strap.
Would you like to see more? The full case study for the phyical product design can be found here.
User Interface
The IOS app is a simple, easy, and fast way to aid the user as well as educate them on different techniques. After a number of iterations, a simple and straightforward solution addressed the needs and pain points of the users the best.
The home screen serves as the main navigation of the app. This allows users to access all of the essential functions of the app within 2-3 clicks. These include product recommendations, laundromat finder, load definition, and monitoring.
Wireframes
User Journey
UI Flow
Reflections
This project was a part of a course with four other similar products. Each week the groups would present to key stakeholders a new area of focus like packaging, color, branding, experience, etc. This required us to constantly question what were the most vital aspects of the story to hold to and others that we could let fall away. In the end, this was a great learning experience on the power of collaboration and storytelling.
At the end of the course, the instructors invited outside stakeholders brought in to provide feedback on the new products that the teams developed. Our team was selected to have the most compelling product innovation and the most viable product. Out of the five teams, we received the highest marks leading to finishing the course with distinction.
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