Next Generation Retail Security.
Upgrading safety and experience.
Retail security gates are typically imposing barriers that announce "theft prevention" louder than "welcome." How might we transform protection into something that enhances the shopping environment rather than diminishes it?
Role: UX & Industrial Designer
Company: Checkpoint Systems
Product Phase: Next Generation Product Development
Responsibilities: Competitive research & analysis, strategic concept generation, sketching, concept development & refinement, full-scale mock-ups for ergonomic and serviceability evaluation, CAD modeling, AR modeling, rendering
Awards: iF Design Award Winner, 2019; Good Design Award Winner, 2018
Challenge
Transforming the impression of robust safety and protection into something that enhances rather than diminishes the environment.
Insight
Security doesn't have to announce itself aggressively. When thoughtfully designed, it can be seamlessly woven into the retail experience: present but not imposing, effective but not alienating.
Outcome
Checkpoint Neo: A multi-award-winning security gate that elevates retail protection through seamless industrial and UX design, creating an experience that's as welcoming as it is effective.
Understanding the Formal and Historical Brand Language
As part of the next generation product design, we wanted to make sure any new designs would still be perceived as part of a unified - yet advanced - brand language. We studied the progression and variation of formal elements of Checkpoint's product portfolio as a directional launch point.
Understanding the Competetive Landscape
Besides studying Checkpoint's brand language, we also educated ourselves on the industry competitive product environment. This informed us of any formal elements to steer clear of so that we could differentiate our design.
Design iterations
Countless sketches, concept directions, full-scale mockups and CAD modeling explorations led us to a range of possible architectures and aesthetic approaches.
The challenge lay in striking a balance between the perception of robust security and streamlined aesthetics, all while encompassing new technology.
AR Concept modeling
To help inform our final design direction, we modeled top contenders into a HoloLens headset. Besides saving valuable costs of time and money from traditional prototyping, we created the opportunity to visualize solutions in real context.
By placing full-scale mockups in actual retail environments, we moved beyond renderings to understand how the gate would actually feel in context. This revealed our direction: confident enough to be noticed, refined enough to belong.
The Outcome
What started as a next-generation product redesign became a study in how protection and experience don't have to compete—they can elevate each other. The result earned international recognition not for hiding security, but for making it a seamless part of the retail landscape—proof that thoughtful industrial design can transform functional requirements into experiential assets.