Flat-pack sleep pod design

Company

Freelance

Client

Booztr

Role

Product Developer

Year

2023

Booztr had a prototype for a flat-pack sleeping pod aimed at hospitality and workplace environments, but it was not ready for series production. I took the product through multiple design iterations, leading a complete redesign of the shutter system from ideation to hands-on prototyping, improving the panel structure and assembly logic, and coordinating with a production partner to get it built at the right quality. The pod is now series-ready and preparing for market launch.

Context

Booztr is a startup developing their own branded sleeping pod to sell alongside existing products in their range. The pod is aimed at hospitality and workplace environments where short, effective rest periods matter. To work commercially, it needed to ship flat, assemble without specialist knowledge, and deliver a genuinely restorative experience: dark enough to sleep in, with enough ventilation to breathe comfortably during a power nap.

Challenge

Booztr had an initial prototype but it was not ready for series production. The assembly logic was unresolved, the user experience inside the pod needed significant improvement, and the shutter system that closes the pod to block light while allowing air in required a complete redesign. Finding the right production partner at the right quality level and price point had also proven difficult. The founders needed someone who could hold all of these threads simultaneously and move the product forward in a hands-on way.

Contribution

I joined the project with an existing prototype and took full ownership of moving it to a series-ready product.


  • Took the prototype through multiple iterations, leading the redesign of the shutter system from ideation to hands-on prototyping and testing.

  • Improved the structural panel design and assembly sequence, sourced components, and managed the relationship with the production partner.

  • Managed the core tension of the project: making cost, simplicity, and a genuinely good sleep experience work together.

I joined the project with an existing prototype and took full ownership of moving it to a series-ready product.


  • Took the prototype through multiple iterations, leading the redesign of the shutter system from ideation to hands-on prototyping and testing.

  • Improved the structural panel design and assembly sequence, sourced components, and managed the relationship with the production partner.

  • Managed the core tension of the project: making cost, simplicity, and a genuinely good sleep experience work together.

I joined the project with an existing prototype and took full ownership of moving it to a series-ready product.


  • Took the prototype through multiple iterations, leading the redesign of the shutter system from ideation to hands-on prototyping and testing.

  • Improved the structural panel design and assembly sequence, sourced components, and managed the relationship with the production partner.

  • Managed the core tension of the project: making cost, simplicity, and a genuinely good sleep experience work together.

Outcome

A production ready product that Booztr is now preparing to bring to market. The pod moved from an unresolved prototype to a product with a redesigned shutter system, a defined assembly sequence, a confirmed production partner, and a validated user experience.