Playground- Dog House & Sofa

Pet dog dog house furniture sofa industrial design Playground puppy product design

Playground | The dog & family playground for Home Centric (泰興)

Pets are our best friend, let us get more fun and beautiful life experiences and establish a closer connection in own family. "Playground" is inclusive furniture centering on home play. Combing with dog house and modular sofa, it can be adjusted into unique playground based on different spaces, condition and lifestyles for "puppy children" and families to enjoy daily life.

"Playground" is designed for the Taiwan market. The composite function is suitable for the urban narrow living surrounding. The simplified components and steps are convenient for the user to assemble.

Global business opportunities for pets

According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), the global pet industry is estimated to be worth $200 billion, equivalent to NT$6 trillion.
In the United States, the annual consumption of pets is about 70 billion US dollars, the industry scale is 66.75 billion US dollars (2016), accounting for 58% of the global market. In addition to the United States, the countries with well-developed pet industries are mostly developed countries such as Western Europe, Australia, and Japan.

However, as the Asian economy grows, the people's consumption power and the number of pets increase, the related industries are expected to surpass Europe, especially in the Chinese market. At present, Chinese consumers' spending on pets is growing at an alarming rate. It is expected that by 2022,

there will be a $7 billion business opportunity in this market.

Taiwan pet market-

The opportunities from Sub-replacement fertility and animal anthropomorphism

According to the Council of Agriculture (R.O.C) statistics in 2017, the number of dogs and cats in Taiwan increased by more than 2.5 million, an increase of 10% compared with 2015. The growth rate is much higher than the annual fertility rate of less than 1.5%. In Japan, which is also a low fertility rate, the total number of cats and dogs has surpassed the total number of children under the age of 15.

With the development of the social economy and urbanization, people's spiritual and material life have been continuously improved, and people's leisure, consumption and emotional sustenance have also diversified.

Consumer psychology has changed from "feeder" to "parent", pets have gradually become an indispensable part of our life.

Pet Economy = Z Generation + E-commerce Retail Chain

With the changes in the consumption concept of the younger generation and the expansion of the Chinese pet market, the Internet pet economy will become the next Beachhead Market for venture capital industry.

The " White Paper on China's Pet Industry in 2018 " shows that the consumer market for pets (dogs & cats) in China reached RMB 180.8 billion in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 27%. The young people after 90s and 95s, accounted for more and more proportion of pet consumption. The average annual consumption of dog owners was 5,580 yuan (NTD$25,726); the average annual consumption of cat owners was 4,311 yuan (NTD$19876). The data shows the strong purchasing power of consumers in China market.

Design Strategy

● Easy to assemble and simple structure
● Easy to transport
● Small and changeable
● Generation Z population -23 to 30 years old
● Pets are part of the family, a communicative lifestyle
● Refined pet life, pet-oriented design language

Design Sketch

From the initial of design sketch, I think outside the box to make conceptual and crazy ideas for any possible new dog house living patterns, and finally develop to the modular furniture design - Dog House + Sofa.