Trace Line
Trace Line
Trace Line
Redesigning how evidence is secured, from crime scene to courtroom
Evidence passes through many hands before it reaches a courtroom: the crime scene, the hospital, the police station, the forensic lab and the court. At each stage it depends on manual processes, improvised tools and human coordination, leaving it open to tampering, damage, delay and error. Trace Line is a packaging and service system that secures evidence at every stage. Standardised pouches, role-specific seals and a unique QR link connect each exhibit to its digital case file. A shared platform helps every handover be scanned, logged and checked.
Organisation:
National Institute of Design, Madhya Pradesh, India
Duration:
8 weeks
Team:
Sanskruti Bansal, Vyshnavi bodicherla, Ashwith Desi, Jiya Chauhan
Capabilities:
Design research, Systems thinking, Service design, Packaging design, UI/UX
Redesigning how evidence is secured, from crime scene to courtroom
Evidence passes through many hands before it reaches a courtroom: the crime scene, the hospital, the police station, the forensic lab and the court. At each stage it depends on manual processes, improvised tools and human coordination, leaving it open to tampering, damage, delay and error. Trace Line is a packaging and service system that secures evidence at every stage. Standardised pouches, role-specific seals and a unique QR link connect each exhibit to its digital case file. A shared platform helps every handover be scanned, logged and checked.
Organisation:
National Institute of Design, Madhya Pradesh, India
Duration:
8 weeks
Team:
Sanskruti Bansal, Vyshnavi bodicherla, Ashwith Desi, Jiya Chauhan
Capabilities:
Design research, Systems thinking, Service design, Packaging design, UI/UX
Redesigning how evidence is secured, from crime scene to courtroom
Evidence passes through many hands before it reaches a courtroom: the crime scene, the hospital, the police station, the forensic lab and the court. At each stage it depends on manual processes, improvised tools and human coordination, leaving it open to tampering, damage, delay and error. Trace Line is a packaging and service system that secures evidence at every stage. Standardised pouches, role-specific seals and a unique QR link connect each exhibit to its digital case file. A shared platform helps every handover be scanned, logged and checked.
Organisation:
National Institute of Design, Madhya Pradesh, India
Duration:
8 weeks
Team:
Sanskruti Bansal, Vyshnavi bodicherla, Ashwith Desi, Jiya Chauhan
Capabilities:
Design research, Systems thinking, Service design, Packaging design, UI/UX
Back
Where evidence breaks down
Looking closely at each stage showed a pattern: current system relies on manual processes, improvised tools and coordination that depends on people remembering.
COLLECTION — Limited forensic capacity, makeshift tools
Trained forensic officials are stretched thin and often arrive late. Police with limited training make do with improvised materials, sometimes paying for polybags themselves.
SEALING — Slow packing, fragile seals
Packing takes 25–30 minutes per exhibit. Lac seals harden and break, envelopes and bandages barely protect the contents, and handwritten labels are easy to misread or copy.
HANDOVER — Unprotected and untracked on the move
Evidence is exposed to rain, traffic and rough handling in transit, and there is no reliable way to see when it was sent, received or acted on.
STORAGE — Hard to verify, easy to tamper
Manual registers and memory make it hard to confirm that what sits in storage is what was collected, and tampering is difficult to detect.
Where evidence breaks down
Looking closely at each stage showed a pattern: current system relies on manual processes, improvised tools and coordination that depends on people remembering.
COLLECTION — Limited forensic capacity, makeshift tools
Trained forensic officials are stretched thin and often arrive late. Police with limited training make do with improvised materials, sometimes paying for polybags themselves.
SEALING — Slow packing, fragile seals
Packing takes 25–30 minutes per exhibit. Lac seals harden and break, envelopes and bandages barely protect the contents, and handwritten labels are easy to misread or copy.
HANDOVER — Unprotected and untracked on the move
Evidence is exposed to rain, traffic and rough handling in transit, and there is no reliable way to see when it was sent, received or acted on.
STORAGE — Hard to verify, easy to tamper
Manual registers and memory make it hard to confirm that what sits in storage is what was collected, and tampering is difficult to detect.
Where evidence breaks down
Looking closely at each stage showed a pattern: current system relies on manual processes, improvised tools and coordination that depends on people remembering.
COLLECTION — Limited forensic capacity, makeshift tools
Trained forensic officials are stretched thin and often arrive late. Police with limited training make do with improvised materials, sometimes paying for polybags themselves.
SEALING — Slow packing, fragile seals
Packing takes 25–30 minutes per exhibit. Lac seals harden and break, envelopes and bandages barely protect the contents, and handwritten labels are easy to misread or copy.
HANDOVER — Unprotected and untracked on the move
Evidence is exposed to rain, traffic and rough handling in transit, and there is no reliable way to see when it was sent, received or acted on.
STORAGE — Hard to verify, easy to tamper
Manual registers and memory make it hard to confirm that what sits in storage is what was collected, and tampering is difficult to detect.
When evidence falls, justice gets delayed
One weak step knocks over the next. Improper collection leads to contamination and re-collection, hearings are delayed, people can be wrongly accused, and victims wait longer for justice.
When evidence falls, justice gets delayed
One weak step knocks over the next. Improper collection leads to contamination and re-collection, hearings are delayed, people can be wrongly accused, and victims wait longer for justice.
When evidence falls, justice gets delayed
One weak step knocks over the next. Improper collection leads to contamination and re-collection, hearings are delayed, people can be wrongly accused, and victims wait longer for justice.
Design for safety, security and traceability
The findings became eleven design considerations across three needs, from shock absorption and weatherproofing to tamper-evident features, unique identification markers and real-time tracking.
Design for safety, security and traceability
The findings became eleven design considerations across three needs, from shock absorption and weatherproofing to tamper-evident features, unique identification markers and real-time tracking.
Design for safety, security and traceability
The findings became eleven design considerations across three needs, from shock absorption and weatherproofing to tamper-evident features, unique identification markers and real-time tracking.
Packaging that’s ready on-scene
Instead of improvised polybags, officers pull standardised pouches from a portable dispenser and cut them to fit any exhibit. The dispenser carries pouches in three sizes.
Packaging that’s ready on-scene
Instead of improvised polybags, officers pull standardised pouches from a portable dispenser and cut them to fit any exhibit. The dispenser carries pouches in three sizes.
Packaging that’s ready on-scene
Instead of improvised polybags, officers pull standardised pouches from a portable dispenser and cut them to fit any exhibit. The dispenser carries pouches in three sizes.
Semantically Color-coded seal for every governance role
Each pouch closes with three seals assigned by role: police and medical, forensics, and court. Each handler can open only their own seal, and only at their authorised stage.
Semantically Color-coded seal for every governance role
Each pouch closes with three seals assigned by role: police and medical, forensics, and court. Each handler can open only their own seal, and only at their authorised stage.
Semantically Color-coded seal for every governance role
Each pouch closes with three seals assigned by role: police and medical, forensics, and court. Each handler can open only their own seal, and only at their authorised stage.
A digital footprint for every exhibit
Every label carries a unique QR. On-scene, officers photograph the raw exhibit and scan the label, binding the physical evidence to its digital case file.
A digital footprint for every exhibit
Every label carries a unique QR. On-scene, officers photograph the raw exhibit and scan the label, binding the physical evidence to its digital case file.
A digital footprint for every exhibit
Every label carries a unique QR. On-scene, officers photograph the raw exhibit and scan the label, binding the physical evidence to its digital case file.
One backbone for four authorities, semantically coded
a central platform connects everyone in the chain of custody: police, medical experts, forensics and the judiciary. Each frontend incorporates its semantic colour: khaki for police, blue for forensics, pink for medical and brown for court.
One backbone for four authorities, semantically coded
a central platform connects everyone in the chain of custody: police, medical experts, forensics and the judiciary. Each frontend incorporates its semantic colour: khaki for police, blue for forensics, pink for medical and brown for court.
One backbone for four authorities, semantically coded
a central platform connects everyone in the chain of custody: police, medical experts, forensics and the judiciary. Each frontend incorporates its semantic colour: khaki for police, blue for forensics, pink for medical and brown for court.
Enforced checkpoint at every handover
Before a lab accepts an exhibit, it checks it. The screen reads left to right in task order: count what arrived, examine each exhibit against its QR and photo, then accept or decline. A decline needs a reason from a fixed list, so every rejection is recorded the same way.
Enforced checkpoint at every handover
Before a lab accepts an exhibit, it checks it. The screen reads left to right in task order: count what arrived, examine each exhibit against its QR and photo, then accept or decline. A decline needs a reason from a fixed list, so every rejection is recorded the same way.
Enforced checkpoint at every handover
Before a lab accepts an exhibit, it checks it. The screen reads left to right in task order: count what arrived, examine each exhibit against its QR and photo, then accept or decline. A decline needs a reason from a fixed list, so every rejection is recorded the same way.
Real-time communication to overcomes delays
Real-time notifications fast-track handovers between departments, while automated timestamps eliminate administrative delays and enforce responsible evidence handling throughout
Real-time communication to overcomes delays
Real-time notifications fast-track handovers between departments, while automated timestamps eliminate administrative delays and enforce responsible evidence handling throughout
Real-time communication to overcomes delays
Real-time notifications fast-track handovers between departments, while automated timestamps eliminate administrative delays and enforce responsible evidence handling throughout
Unified data and one source of truth
All these scans, remarks and reports from police, medical and forensic teams come together in one portal. Records that were scattered now sit in on a single platform.
Unified data and one source of truth
All these scans, remarks and reports from police, medical and forensic teams come together in one portal. Records that were scattered now sit in on a single platform.
Unified data and one source of truth
All these scans, remarks and reports from police, medical and forensic teams come together in one portal. Records that were scattered now sit in on a single platform.
