exploring the hidden life in your garden : DesignWanted

After moving from a city apartment to a house with a garden, designer Pete Lacey began to notice some tracks around his property: the passage of a fox, the path of a hedgehog, and various animal footprints. Intrigued by this discovery, he decided to purchase some models of trail cameras available on the market. These technical products are mainly designed for hunting, scientific activities, or security monitoring and can therefore prove difficult to use for nature enthusiasts, with little attention given to design. Frustrated by the poor usability of the models and their related apps, Lacey leveraged his experience in design and technology to create the first concept.

Together with entrepreneur James Read and technology strategist and maker Chris Oram, the designer brought Behold Cam-1 to life, a new camera with an elegant and essential design, yet intuitive and conceived for domestic outdoor environments.

Launched on Kickstarter with a successful campaign, the project reached and surpassed its funding goal in less than 5 hours, confirming that these new technologies for exploring nature and its inhabitants are increasingly in demand.

Behold Cam-1 © Nick Rochowski

The uniqueness of the product lies precisely in its concept: the camera was created to restore importance to the natural world and the hidden wildlife around us. As the founders explain: “When animals are seen they matter, and when they matter, people change. That simple idea drives everything we build.”

In detail, Behold Cam-1 is a compact, lightweight camera with an essential design, created to record only animals while filtering out people. The device sends high-quality clips directly to the phone and, thanks to its long-lasting battery (up to 30 days) and flexible support, can be easily moved to capture wildlife in different areas of the backyard. Among the available accessories are also a conical base and an elastic strap to adapt to different supports such as a tree trunk or a fence. Weather resistance is guaranteed by the IP65 certification.

Behold Cam-1, © Nick Rochowski

Cam-1 is equipped with integrated recognition of more than 2000 species, and can process data from the recordings such as, for example, the frequency of an animal’s passage, the time of sighting, and it also generates 15-second videos to create a video library divided by species and shareable with a simple click.

From a technological point of view, Behold works with a Wi-Fi network both online and offline – in this case, it saves clips locally and sends them once reconnected. The video quality is 2K QHD, both day and night, thanks to the high-performance IR sensor. The sturdy casing, replaceable battery, and backup SD card ensure long-lasting design, and the startup also offers a 2-year warranty and future programs to support repair and return.

The team collaborated with Pentagram for industrial design, from the shape to the tactile feel. Even the choice of color, Foxmute Red, a warm and earthy shade, was designed to camouflage the product in the natural environment: most garden mammals such as foxes, badgers, and hedgehogs do not perceive red and orange as we do, but as shades of gray or yellow.

From an environmental perspective, Behold’s commitment goes beyond the camera: the selected manufacturer guarantees responsible sourcing and production standards, while the packaging is made of recyclable cardboard with minimal bulk to reduce shipping volume, ensuring a lower environmental impact.