3DR Packaging
Guiding a Great first run experience

Consumers are fundamentally new to drone technology. Because of this, I designed the out-of-box-experience to be a flow where the packaging helps to "teach" the product - all without requiring you to read a big manual.  
 

The Challenge

Consumer users expect products to "just work." Solo was the first drone at Best Buy, and so we had to take what is typically a complex hobbyist setup, and turn it into a no-assembly-required easy first run. 

User Goals

Imagine yourself in the new user's shoes. You just purchased a shiny new drone. You want to get it in the air as soon as possible, even if it was expensive.  (And no, no user that we tested had a deep love of reading manuals.) 

Ready to Fly
Sophisticated Flight, Easy Setup

Requiring no assembly was an important part of Solo's mission as a consumer friendly drone. The challenge that this presented to me was to fit the product into the smallest volume possible, so shipping costs could be as economical as possible, while still maintaining clean presentation. The final layout places the controller, fully assembled under Solo - giving us the smallest possible volume as well clearly presenting Solo first to the user. To achieve this presentation we iterated carefully on outer dimensions and internal support materials through drop testing and packaging material studies.

First Steps
Getting Users in the Air

I wanted to make it easy to know what accessories users need for their first flight. Propellers and the quick start guide are easily found. Co-located sticker instructions lead the way like bread crumbs even if users skip the quick start guide. 

Extra Hints
Where You Want Them  

A large part of Solo's value comes from its advanced autonomous flight. We wanted to make even those powerful features highly discoverable - and guide users in a terrific experience even the first time they fly. 

Reusable Carry Case
Getting Users into the Skies

New users want to protect their drone investment and we want to help them get all their gear to the field right away. In ride-along tests we found that users often keep the standard box their aircraft comes in, to protect it even before getting a case. Solo is a lot of fun and we saw this as a great way for the packaging to help get you up into the skies right away.