Hi, my name is Paul and I’m an industrial design student at NC State University. That means I design products: water bottles, chairs, baby strollers…but the true meaning behind it is about solving problems and improving experiences. Once I talk to real people and see how a product could make their activities easier or more enjoyable, then I can start deciding how it should work and what it will look like.

I’m doing a project over the summer that will have financial backing with the intent to make a market-viable product. I’ve been wanting to start raising cooking herbs when I graduate and have my own place, so I thought gardening would be a great focus. My thought is to design and build some sort of rig that would make raising herbs with limited space a manageable task, especially for less experienced gardeners. My initial inspiration was the idea of a green wall that would double as interior décor and living spice cabinet (along these lines, but more simple), but as I said, the first priority is on solving a problem and making something people would actually buy.

My question to you is this: what could be improved about the experience of gardening indoors, or growing herbs? I want to give a forum for everyday hassles, systematic issues, or just genius ideas you’ve been wishing could be a reality.

Hopefully this isn’t too off the wall. Regardless, I’m looking forward to learning more about gardening and the gardening community!

P.S. – here’s a video that explains industrial design pretty well if you’re interested.