Ozzi Box is a recyclable take-out box that can be used on campus. You get a token per semester and trade it with a box at the dining center when needed. After you finish your food, you simple drop-off the box at the nearest Ozzi Machine in exchange of a token back. This system is offered to all RISD students and encouraged for the better environment. Though the machine has a good memorability, efficiency and accessibility as it is easy to use, and works as expected, and can be found in various corners around the campus, it has a lack of learnability. If you’re the first-time user who tries to return the box to the machine, it takes time to figure out how it works. There are bunch of signs that tell you about the system, like how good this system is for the environment, what to do when the machine is out of order, how important it is to empty the box, but none about how to actually use the machine. When you slide in an empty Ozzi box in the slot, the green light is activated and scans the box. Then the screen lights up and offers you a button that says “token”. However, until putting in the box, no light is on which makes the machine inactive. The designer must have thought that the instruction is unnecessary due to how simple the machine is, but as a user, it is quite hard to understand where to put the box and how to get my token back. The slot might be obvious because of the similar size of the box and the slot, but users become hesitant to put the box in the slot worrying about the machine’s unexpected response such as taking their box without their tokens back. For this machine, a simple numbering next to each step will make the users understand how this machine works. And a sign on the screen that informs the users that the machine is on and active will help with the learnability.
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