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As someone who loves sports, I wanted to explore the challenges faced by tailgaters that were diminishing their experience. I began by conducting thorough secondary research to understand the scale of tailgating and its motivations. Then, I sent out a survey on social media, conducted 8 remote interviews, and attended 4 tailgates where I observed and interviewed an additional 18 tailgaters. After the second tailgate I attended, I stayed behind when everyone had gone into the stadium for the game and walked around the parking lot alone. That's when I noticed something interesting: many tailgaters had packed up all of their equipment and belongings back into their vehicle except for their charcoal grills.
I sought to understand why people were leaving their charcoal grills behind, and the short answer was obvious: charcoal is hot. There are hot coal disposal barrels scattered throughout the parking lot of the venue, so the issue isn't where to dispose of the charcoal, but how to bring it from your tailgating spot to the nearest disposal barrel, which could be a distance away. This task is challenging, especially in a crowded parking lot packed with hundreds of other tailgaters.
I knew I had to dig deeper, so I went to 2 more tailgates to conduct further research. I identified key themes that helped me develop insights to better understand the issue. I realized that the problem was deeper than just bringing the charcoal from the tailgating spot to the disposal barrel. It encompassed lifting, carrying, containing, and dumping the charcoal. The concerns that tailgaters had ranged from safety and security to control and time management. I also created a detailed journey map to help visualize the issue and broke down charcoal grilling into 4 main stages: Setup, grill, dispose, and pack up. Most of the issues that people were having revolved around the disposal stage, which in turn would impact their ability to pack up before entering the venue.
This research enabled me to articulate my design challenge in a clear and concise sentence.
From here, I identified the key functional and emotional design requirements that would guide me during the next stage of the design process. I then spent the next 8 weeks brainstorming and prototyping design concepts, experimenting with materials and dozens of mechanisms for carrying, containing, and discarding coals.
After weeks of building, testing, and iterating, I finally developed Grate Mate. Grate Mate is a two-part stainless steel system consisting of a top cover and a bottom pan. It features a lever with a pivot that allows it to rotate about an axis. An extension spring holds the lever in place so it can lock beneath the tab connected to the bottom pan. The user can push the top part of the lever forward to release the bottom pan, allowing it to swing down and discard the coals. A carabiner on the other side locks the cover with the bottom pan by clipping into a slot. Lastly, there are two pegs, one on either side of the bottom pan, which allow the top part of the container to rest while it is locked, preventing it from rotating during handling.
I designed Grate Mate for the 14” portable Weber grill, but the locking mechanism can be scaled to work with all different grill sizes and shapes. And Grate Mate isn’t limited to just tailgating; it can also be used at BBQs in parks, beaches, or even in your own backyard.
