Every project starts with a spark. For this one, it wasn't a complex blueprint or a grand plan, but a simple sketch. The sketch a box with a simple phrase that flipped a common saying on its head "think inside the box."
We are always encouraged to "think outside the box" to be creative. But that little drawing made me wonder, who ever stops to think about the box itself? This led to a simple, curious question: What if the box had a voice?
Suddenly, a whole world of possibilities opened up. What would the box say to you? Would it talk about itself and what it’s like to be a box? Would it tell you how lonely it is, since no one ever really pays attention to it?
This idea of giving a voice to a simple, overlooked object was the very beginning of this journey.
An idea can float around in your mind forever, but the only way to know if it truly works is to build it. It was time to stop asking "what if?" and to start making. The motto was simple: "Make, make, make." Don't worry about perfection, just bring the object to life.
“Make, make, make & fail fast!”
The most readily available and forgiving material for this was cardboard. With just a cutting mat and a knife, I could quickly build the first physical version of the box. This wasn't going to be the final product; this was the first draft, a test to see if the idea felt right in the real world.
The goal for this first version was simple. The box needed to do one thing: it had to respond to you.
I created a simple system inside that could sense when a person was getting close. The box wouldn't speak just yet, but it would know you were there. This was the first and most important step—creating a box that was aware of its surroundings and could react to someone's presence. It was no longer just a static object, but the beginning of a character.
The first cardboard prototype was a success! It worked as a proof of concept, proving that the core idea was strong. The simple act of a box sensing your approach was magical enough to make people stop and wonder.
But once the basic idea was proven, a whole new set of questions emerged. The success of Version 1 immediately highlighted its limitations and sparked ideas for how it could be so much more. The thinking shifted from "Can it work?" to "How much better can it be?"
This led to a new list of challenges for the next version:
Can it be more reactive? Instead of just one response, could it interact in different ways?
Can it sense time? Could the box know how long a person has been standing near it?
Can it reward curiosity? Could it offer something new or special to a person who was willing to stay longer?