Science

Watch Two Designers Attempt to Make a Zappos Shoe Box More Accessible

How can a shoe box be redesigned to be more accessible for people with disabilities?

The Next Great Package tasks two designers to innovate for good by improving the packaging design for shoes and clothing to increase accessibility for people with physical disabilities or mobility challenges. With ten hours on the clock, each designer is challenged to ideate, design, and prototype their packages before pitching them to representatives of online retailer, Zappos.

The competition inspires viewers to rethink the typical pieces of packaging you see every day and get into the mindset of designers creating packaging solutions to make our lives better. Each prototype is created exclusively with cardboard and paper-based materials, showcasing paper’s durability, moldability, and strength as a design and engineering medium.

Contestants Asia Davidson and Alex Moncada come to the challenge with a broad mix of experience in packaging, industrial, and mixed-media design. Asia, who works full time as a Structural Packaging & Graphic Designer, has a personal connection to designing adaptive products—her father suffered an accident leaving him in a wheelchair. Alex, a recent design school grad, was born in Mexico City and his experience living in cities all over the world inspires a sustainably-minded, global approach to design.

The series is judged by Mindy Scheier, a member of Zappos’ Adaptive advisory council, as well as Sarah Chavey, a member of the Zappos communications team.

Watch more The Next Great Package episodes: