Smart Closet Control Console
The Smart Closet Control Console interface helps revolutionize your closet. This easy-to-use tool can help you organize your clothes, create or browse outfits ideas, and track and suggest styles based on your preferences. The touch-screen device is portable and can be synced with your mobile phone and a specially-designed smartwatch, so you can take your closet on the go.
Features:
Browse Closet - see an inventory of your clothing, shoes, and accessories
Check-in/Check-out - organize clean and dirty clothes
Mix & Match - see what’s most worn, what’s work together, and offer suggestions to buy similar styles
Browse Lookbook - view outfit ideas or daily outfits with or without items you already own
Syncs With Friends’ Closets - view, give feedback, and/or borrow items from your friends’ closets
Scanning Items/Add a New Item - add newly bought items into your closet, or see if an item would go with items you already own, by using the camera on the control panel, mobile phone, and smartwatch to scan the retailer tag or taking a photo of the item, uploading the item into the Smart Closet system.
Sketches
Feedback
Seems like a really cool idea. It's usually hard to pick out outfits last minute
Like that, I can access it from so many devices, but I think I would only use the closet version and the phone if I wanted to save something I saw in a store but not buy it right away
I don't think I would like to borrow clothes from a friend
I don't see myself using the calendar too much unless I have some event or an interview. But even in that case I just have one or two fancy dresses or interview outfits so I wouldn't really need to pre-plan that
I really like the idea of a lookbook. It's hard to come up with a good outfit right away. It could be like mood-based clothes playlists. Based on my mood, I look at the outfits I created for that mood and wear them.
It's like being my own stylist
Is there a better way to do the clean and dirty clothes thing? Like that refrigerator that tells you when you're running out of ingredients. Maybe sensors in the hanger and each hanger is for a particular clothing item? Nevermind, I would never remember what hanger was for what shirt.
'Checkout' seems like a weird word for picking out my own clothing. Maybe something like 'Done' or 'Wear' would sound better. I'm not sure.
Mix and match sound cool! Is there an algorithm that would decide what clothing would look good together? Or is it random? If it's random then I'm not sure how useful that would be...I would just be going through like 30 ugly outfits to find 1 that matches.
I would definitely use the 'buy similar styles' option. Especially if it gave me similar clothes from many different stores. There isn't really a website that does that. (Does what?) Shows a combined view of clothes from multiple stores. I could even compare prices of similar outfits from different stores and get the best deal.
If I upload a photo, will it know what brand or store the item is from? Wouldn't you guys prefer to scan the barcode since that gives all the info? Brand, price, size.
What is the QRcode for? (Scanning in items) Do they have that now? (I'm not sure, maybe not) Yeah, I don't think that's a thing.
Would the images of the clothes be the ones that I have to take? Or would they come from the website of the store? Because the stores have professional photos of their clothes.
I like the idea of checking if a shirt goes with the rest of my clothes. I usually just buy them and hope it works out.
I guess my friends would have to be using the app if I'm sharing my outfit ideas and them liking them or giving comments.
Sharing the closet sounds fun but kinda personal. I don't think I would share clothes regularly enough to use that.
Video Demonstration
Physical models images with annotations
Design Justification
With the goal of upgrading the design of a typical closet, we started brainstorming the best ways that we can change the experience of picking out clothes and planning outfits. We quickly figured that a device that can be installed directly within the user’s closet would be the smartest choice, as that is where the user will be located when interacting with their clothes. As we explored the idea further, we quickly realized that clothes are not only located in the user’s closet. Clothes are also located within other people’s closets that the user is familiar with, as well as in stores that sell these clothes. This meant that we needed to make the system portable as well. That is where we came up with the idea of a smartwatch, aka a wearable design.
After creating the initial prototype by sketching, we tested our design out on two people. Reviewing their feedback showed us that there is a need for this system as people find it difficult to come up with outfits on to go. One of the users also mentioned that being able to create outfit ideas beforehand and store them in particular folders was like ‘being your own stylist’ and ‘like a mood-based clothes playlist. Based on my mood, I look at the outfits created for that mood and wear them’. The users were also excited about the ability to find other clothes similar to the ones that they already have in their closet.
While there was a lot of positive feedback, the users also mentioned a few things that they could not resonate with. One user mentioned that the calendar function wouldn’t be as useful to them as they ‘just have one or two fancy dresses so [they] wouldn’t really need to pre-plan that’. Another user mentioned that they don’t like the idea of sharing clothes with friends as that ‘sounds kinda personal’ and that they don’t perform this activity with their friends regularly enough to use that function.
We took all the feedback into account while working on creating the digital prototype and focused on the functions of the device that were relevant to the users. We made changes that helped the system focus more on the actual users rather than trying to incorporate their friends and family. We also made the features that the users enjoyed more prominent in the prototype.
We chose to focus specifically on a few main features: browsing a closet, checking in/checking out clothing, purchasing clothing that compliments a user’s personal style, and syncing with friends’ closets. Two critical elements were changed from our initial sketches to our final design: a focus on the smartwatch component, and a movement away from a scanning system based on QR codes. In the beginning, we imagined a smart closet system that could be controlled via home console, smartphone, and smartwatch. In our final design, we moved away from the smartphone idea, and focused solely on the watch element as a portable, wearable way of accessing the closet on the go. We had also initially pictured a system where clothing could be scanned in via QR code. We instead chose to focus on scanning in new clothing via retail tag (as shown in the video), and checking in/checking out clothing currently in the closet via a manual process (physically selecting a “check-in/check-out” prompt on the console screen).