Building an educational and insightful tool
Introducing a solution designed to educate diners about food waste, allowing them to weigh their leftovers, gain insights and statistics about their food waste contributions, encouraging waste-prevention behaviours. This system also captures diners' reasons for not finishing their meals, providing valuable feedback to the chef.
CHALLANGE AND APPROACH
Lack of education about the impact of food waste in public canteens
How can we design an interface that effectively provides food waste statistics and educational content in a busy environment?
THE RESULT
Discover how an interactional device in a public space can capture users' attention, while also influencing them to make a conscious change in waste habits
Include features that enable users to explore the impact of food waste and learn about their own contributions
What factors should be considered before beginning user research?
Secondary Research - Contextual Challenges:
Noise Levels: Canteens can be loud, making conversation difficult and creating a less relaxing atmosphere. Banbury and Berry (1998) found that high noise levels can disrupt tasks and reduce comfort in eating environments.
Time Constraints: Short lunch breaks may not allow enough time to enjoy a meal leisurely. Guerriero et al. (2011) noted that time pressure can negatively affect the dining experience and meal satisfaction.
Wait Times: Long wait times for food preparation and serving can be frustrating. A study by Lee and Lambert (2000) found that extended wait times are a common complaint in canteen settings.
Waste Management: Ineffective disposal and recycling systems can create waste and environmental concerns. Silvennoinen et al. (2014) discussed the challenges of managing food waste in institutional settings.
Accessibility: Inadequate facilities for people with disabilities can limit their dining experience. Caldwell et al. (2008) highlighted the importance of accessibility features in public dining spaces to accommodate all users.
Conducting User Survey
In a canteen setting, conducting user interviews to understand how three distinct demographic groups that may use the device.
I aim to identify commonalities among the different types of users.
Given the time constraints, the most practical solution will be to implement a system that can accommodate for all three demographics: school students, university students, and office workers.
Exploring potential mixed emotions - Alex the office worker may experience:
Alex may feel conflicted: motivated by the food waste scanner's sustainability goals and eager to reduce waste, yet frustrated by limited time to properly engage with the scanner and its features during busy lunch breaks, leading to a sense of inefficacy despite good intentions.
INSIGHT
How do we accommodate diverse user demographics without losing focus or succumbing to feature creep?
ACTION
MVP/Edge Case: Implementing a design that will offer a concise and direct path to the end of the flow, while also providing users with options to lean more.
INSIGHT
Users will be distracted given the context and may not have much time, how do we grab their attention?
ACTION
Communication: in a bustling canteen setting, it is best achieved through video. Communication which initially requires no user input to see what is on screen.
INSIGHT
Considering our need to communicate effectively to diverse demographics in a busy setting.
ACTION
Visual Impact: Incorporating compelling visuals, micro animations, and a user flow that requires minimal interaction, while also being informative
Proposed Design Solutions
User operation and system flow
Expected path and scenario user expects when interacting with the device
Scenario
Directly educating & inspiring diners to be mindful of their waste, through impactful messaging and visuals
Capturing information as to why the diner didn’t finish their food, for feedback to the chef to make changes to the operations
System Config
The typical user journey involves the diner scraping their leftover food from their plate/tray into the bin at corner of the canteen.
The smart scale beneath that triggers visuals on a touchscreen directly in front of the diner as the weight is logged on the scale
The touchscreen is always on and visible before and after disposal of waste
The system optionally has the capability to automatically capture a photo of the food in the bin and show a precise weight for that food item on the screen
Rough Conceptual Sketches
Demographic Considerations
E.g - Alex office worker short for time
Create a direct and quick solution around using the device
E.g - Liam the child has low attention span
Incorporate a video landing page capture attention (emphasis on visual impact)
E.g - Maya the student uses social media
Incorporate a mobile app based solution with competitive/gamification elements
Given the context and demographic range, what can we incorporate to ensure the experience is accessible to all user types?
*Explore video on homepage to capture users attention*
*Informative and effective means of communication (doesn't require users interaction to learn more)*
Quantify statistics (on a weekly or monthly basis) to provide perspective.
*visual representation of data* - add icon/pictures*
*Return home after completion/Automatic return after 10 seconds*
What I learned, and additional implementations that could be considered...
If time constraints were not a factor, I would have created distinct configurations tailored to each of the three core demographic groups instead of merging an experience that caters to diverse users.
This approach would prevent feature overlap and achieve a more streamlined business goal. By setting up individual configurations for students at universities and schools, as well as office workers, who are significantly different groups at varying stages of life, we could provide bespoke treatments for each group. This would ensure the most effective results in terms of design outputs that adhere more closely to user’s lifestyle and age group.