Sustainability, Short Pitch, Learning and Reflections
Sustainability
During this phase we figured we needed a name for our product or service. It is where we decided with GoSnack Cycling.
For any product or service design, there needs to be a level of consideration for the business and operational side of things. For GoSnack Cycling to realize it’s true, physical form, it’ll need the staff, partnerships, and funding.
We’ll need the expertise from bike service technicians, person to stock the vending machines, and hardware and software engineers for the vending machine and stationary bike systems.
We’ll look to partner with colleges/universities as one of the major supporters and space providers. We’ll try to source the stationary bikes from local gyms that would like to fund the program and in return, offer them the advertising space on the stationary bike. Local snack, fruit, or other food companies with a healthy image would be potential food option providers, and again, this would be an advertising platform for them as well. For the technological part, we would like the school to be involved and get its students as a Capstone project to materialize GoSnack Cycling.
Funding is also possible as we’ll look for government grants, Ministry of Education, and contracts will be renewed every 5 years for local gym partnerships.
Short Pitch
Below is our short pitch to partners, vendors, and schools.
Most students are not eating healthy, and it’s not their fault. Some students don’t have much money, some don’t have the knowledge, and some are new to the country. These students in need find themselves snacking more often during exam times, but not on healthy choices. This leads to a few implications including low studying efficiency, unhealthy long-term diets, and other bio-psychological effects. GoSnack Cycling is a student program that lets students use stationary bikes during exam times to earn rewards in the form of healthy snacks. Rewards are given based on the mileage total and contain educational facts. GoSnack Cycling needs your support for development and supplies, and your students need GoSnack Cycling for the opportunity to study, live and succeed like everyone else.
Learning and Reflections
I had an amazing experience completing this design challenge. I met with wonderful people locally and the effort we put in as a team was really rewarding. This challenge has taught me to explore solutions with an open mind and to take a methodical approach when encountering roadblocks. Design thinking is thinking in a different perspective, but human-centered design thinking is thinking in a different human perspective, which are mainly the primary users and beneficiaries of the design solution.
In the short 2 months span, we’ve accomplished so much and learned the value of team work, in which we’d never be able to on our own. If we had more time for this challenge and possess more resources, I believe we could really make a difference in our community and perhaps even communities abroad.
I especially got a lot of value from practicing with HMW questions, as this helped me organize my thoughts and make sense of their relevancy to the design challenge and user needs. The online user survey and in-person interviews were also very interesting and really was a refreshing take on gaining different perspectives.
And this is the end of the project!
…or is it just the beginning?
