Life In Transit
Overview Of The Project
Indian roads accommodate a different kind of economy running along side the roads,there are many street vendors,hawkers, who earn a living by selling items on the road.They often sell products that are not useful and find it difficult to make a good living. We need to choose any roadside vendor and make a business plan including design innovation,furniture and strategic selection of goods to sell according to seasons.
Research
My research included going and talking to the vendors understanding the problems they are facing,gaining knowledge about the kind of products they sell.I am looking at a fruit vendor,making mind maps about the issues he faces, his character and persona, a system map which includes the stakeholders as well. After all the research i have decided to focus on issues like protection from the sun and rain,lack of space on the cart to keep the fruits. Also I felt that there is no place for the vendor to sit and as a result he has to stand for long hours. I have decided to redesign a cart which solves there issues . My aim is to make there work a little more easier
Design Intent
After interacting with the vendors I have come across certain issues.Looking at the various problems he is facing like -
• No protection from sun and rain which leads to spoilage of the fruits ,
• No place to sit, since they are old they get tired very quickly
• Difficulty in moving the cart ,and
• Especially age
I would want to try to solve some of their issues to make it easier for them to work. The vendor I am looking at is a fruit vendor ,because of his age and if i can make a difference to him and many such vendors,it would improve the life condition without too much cost to them. Efficient working and less spoilage would give him more profits.
I would like to look at these problems - protection from sun and rain because they face a lot of loss as the fruits get spoilt in the heat ,they are ageing and need to sit to rest and create a cart which would have a canopy to provide them with shade and have an in built sitting in the cart which can be removed when needed. But my challenge is to provide them with more comfort but at the same time not add to their weight of the cart because they already find it difficult to move it around.
I also want to look at a way to create space on the cart for them because most of the extra stock is kept on the road which is not very hygienic.When I make a business plan I will look into what fruits they could buy which will not get spoilt very soon in such weather conditions so that the amount of wastage would reduce.
