Enhancing your kitchen experience — A Design Thinking approach

** If you’re short on time or attention and want a quick summary of this case study in under 5 minutes, don’t worry, check out this video **

What is Design Thinking?

*Imagine a situation where* 🌈

You have an idea for a unique product that would be the answer to a problem you are currently facing 😇 . You do some research and find out either there are no similar solutions to your product or the ones that are available don’t really do a good job at solving the problem.

Now, in a real world situation, we don’t always find ourselves with an unlimited budget and timeline.

So, first you may ask yourself “How long would it take to build this?” And then comes the next question “How much will it cost?”

You see, both these are valid and important questions.

However, they are the wrong questions ❌ to begin with while designing for a user.

Not only is it important to understand what will make a great product, but also how and if we should do it. This helps us better understand how to create things that are not only usable but above all, useful.

So, instead of the above questions, the most important question to ask first should be “what value can I create for my users?”

Design thinking is a process for solving problems by prioritising the consumer’s needs above all else. To achieve this goal, the whole concept is split into five design thinking phases.

Project Brief

Ok, great! Now that we’ve covered what the Design Thinking Process is and how it will be applied to this project, let me walk you through the actual project.

As a part of my mentorship program with Anudeep Ayyagari, my first project was a simple one where the main goal was to create a physical product using the design thinking process.

For the course of this project we were split into groups of 8 members and were provided with a list of common areas from a home such as: Balcony, Parking, Living Room, Terrace, Kitchen, Dining Room, Bathroom, Bedroom, Utility Area etc

We were then asked to pick any one of the areas from the given list for which we wanted to solve for.

But here’s the catch, we don’t always get what we want in life. So it wasn’t just as easy as picking a topic and moving ahead to solve for it. Instead, it was an auction where the topic was given to the person who justified why they best deserved it, only after a unanimous decision was made by the entire team. No two people could work on the same topic, no first come-first serve, there weren’t any rules to this. Your topic depended on how badly you wanted it and how well you could defend it.

By the end of this preliminary stage, it was definitely an eye opening experience as it ensured that we all had topics that were free of any bias and were vetted by our group members (who would also be our users in this project).

Problem Area

From the given areas of the home space, I decided to select the kitchen area. Now, my reason for selecting the kitchen area contradicts the reason as to why I ended up getting the kitchen. Let me explain.

I selected the kitchen because I’ve always had a love for cooking. I strongly believe that the kitchen area is one of the most important and frequently used areas of the house.

As one of my users quoted during an interview “the kitchen is the soul of a house”.

Kitchen areas a common area and are not specific to only homes. I’ve always wanted to own a small cafe or restaurant of the sorts. There are many similar problems that are encountered between commercial kitchens and home kitchens.

So why did my team decide that this topic was right for me?

Well, I wasn’t the only one who decided to pick this area. However, although I have a love for cooking, in comparison I had the least amount of knowledge about the space and what challenges or problems users face. Which meant that I wouldn’t be biased going into it.

Empathise

The empathise stage helps us understand our users by asking questions and gathering their perspectives/insights about the problem area. In the most literal sense empathy is the ability to understand and share the emotions of others.

Similarly, in design thinking, empathy is a deep understanding of the problems and realities of the people you are designing for.

This is why it is always important to keep reminding yourself that you are not the user.

For this stage, I conducted 1v1 interviews with five of my users based on their experience in the kitchen area.

Being the first time I interviewed users, I was unsure about what to expect and how to approach the situation. So, for my first user I decided to use a general approach with open ended questions that would cover all of the users touch points within the kitchen space.

I had focused on the interview being more conversational rather than having a fixed structure to it.

The reason for me doing this, was so I could use this feedback as a starting point to understand how to frame better questions for my next users while also not limiting my first user a certain set of questions that might limit their perspectives.

With one interview down and four more to go, I began to frame my questions and came up with a whole lot of questions I felt could be asked.

I divided these questions into sections such as Introductory, Meal preparation, Kitchen safety and Kitchen hygiene.

Like I mentioned previously, I had strongly focused on the interview to be as conversational as possible rather than to force it in a set order. So, for instance if we were at the Introductory questions and the user mentioned a perspective relating to a question from Kitchen hygiene, I would go on to ask those questions and once we finished, I would return back to where we trailed off.

The questionnaire was only meant to be used as a reference guide. In some instances, not all the questions were asked as some had already been cleared by users themselves through the flow of conversation

Below are just a few of the questions from each section that were asked during the conversation with users —

Introductory questions

• Tell me a little bit about the layout of your kitchen, so l get an idea of what it looks like.
• How many people generally use your kitchen?
• How many people cook in your kitchen at one time?
• How much time on average do you spend in your kitchen per day?

Cooking meals

• Do you cook your own meals?
• What are some items that you feel like you would like to store better in your kitchen? Or whenever, in your kitchen, they seem out of place.
• If there was no one to prepare a meal for you and you had to do it yourself what are some of the challenges you would face that would inconvenience you from having a good meal?
• Whenever you have excess food from a meal, how do you usually store your leftover food? Do you feel like your current method is ideal and convenient?

Kitchen safety

• Does your kitchen have sufficient ventilation? Could it be better?
• What are some safety measures that you have installed in your kitchen in case of an accident?
• Do you use a lot of appliances in your kitchen? If yes, do you feel like you have easy accessibility to plug points in all necessary areas?

Kitchen hygiene

• Do you have a dishwasher in your kitchen or do you wash the dishes by yourself?
• How do you manage the overall cleanliness of your kitchen? Do you find your current method to be convenient?
• Do you happen to deal with any sort of insects or unwanted pests? If yes, what are some ways that you currently deal with them?
• Have you ever dealt with clogged drains in your kitchen, due to food getting stuck in your sink? Is it a recurring issue? How did you fix that?

After I had conducted the interviews from five of my users, I began to gather insights from the notes and recordings that were taken from each session. Below is short brief of each user and their likes and dislikes about the space —

Define

The literal meaning of define is what is meant by a word, text, concept, or action. In my case, I had to define the problems faced by my users.

This is the stage where I had to analyse the insights from the empathise stage and translate them into core problems that I could focus on.

From the empathise stage I had a total of 27 problems that I had derived from my users insights.

The next step was to properly identify why each of these problems was important to my users —

As you can see from the above statements many of the problems faced by my users can easily be categorised into similar groups as some of them are smaller issues that are part of a larger problem.

This was another reason why during my empathy stage I had grouped my interview questions according to a pattern that would aim to cover the primary areas of the space.

The problem areas within the space that I noticed needed attention were primarily —

• Working area/counter space: Lack of / inadequate area to prepare food, store washed utensils, keep kitchen equipment, and wash & dry dishes
• Storage space: Insufficient / non functional storage space to store necessary kitchen equipment, utensils, ingredients and easily accessible kitchen tools.

• Kitchen safety: Lack of / improper ventilation in the kitchen space. Excessive heat generation. Lack of any safety features to prevent kitchen accidents or in case of a kitchen accident, lack of safety measures to prevent any further damage.
• Kitchen hygiene: Non-satisfactory means of waste disposal. Pests and insects that enter into the kitchen space and into food jars. Problems such as leftover food that remains in the sink and can eventually lead to clogged drains.

Ideate

Here comes the fun part of the process. The ideate stage where I get to come up with solutions for the problems using the above information. The important thing to keep in mind is there are no silly or wrong ideas! Everything must be expressed and documented.

The key here is forming real concepts and solutions, not just abstract definitions.

For the ideate stage, I used a technique known as the Crazy 8 technique, where I would come up with 8 solutions for each problem in 8 minutes. Pretty crazy, right?

So during this stage, I set a timer of 8 minutes for each problem and began noting down solutions to each problem.

I totalled 91 ideas with an average of 4 problems for each, some having more than the others.

The next step of this stage was to select the top 3 ideas from the 91 ideas that I’d come up with. For this I ranked a few of the best ones I had by using stickers — starring, liking and in some cases even questioning how viable they would be.

My Top 3 Ideas —

1) From Problem 11 — Inadequate ventilation and improper lighting due to small windows

Why is this important to the user? Not having a proper window ties in to two problems — a) inadequate ventilation b) inadequate natural light. A well placed window is necessary in the kitchen space as it helps make the space feel more open by ventilating the area and also bringing in adequate natural light. Having adequate natural light or for that matter good lighting in the kitchen makes the space look much more open and vibrant. Good lighting in the space also helps you to clearly see what you are doing and not have to strain your eyes.

The solution — Indoor Plant / Herb Garden

Adding plants and other oxygen giving green to the area to help make the space feel fresh and also more oxygenated. Also a wall garden can be incorporated to make the room feel more lively and welcoming. These can also be functional as they can be used as ingredients in cooking.

Reason behind the solution — This idea helps solve the problem by providing an easy solution to adding a natural source of oxygenation to the space that keeps the area cool and fresh. Since light may also be a huge limiting factor, it will also be necessary for the survival of such an ecosystem, therefore not only will it help in aiding the growth and maintenance of the plants but also enhance the overall lighting in the kitchen space and make the space more inviting.

2) From problem 14 — Having a large waste bin placed inside the kitchen

Why is this important to the user? Having a large waste bin placed inside the kitchen can be considered a problem for some users as in some cases it may take days until it is finally cleaned out and emptied. This can be dangerous, and would also lead to attracting unwanted pests and insects into the kitchen space.

The solution —Smart Bin

A smart bin which automatically detects how much waste is there inside and has a close to overflow limit so that it does not let the user fill it until the very end. It can also seal the bag automatically without the user having to touch it. It would also come with UV sanitisation functionality for the inside and outside to ensure that it is always clean and hygienic.

Reason behind the solution — When a large waste bin is placed inside the kitchen many times, users often need to open it to check whether or not it is full. In most cases they empty out the waste everyday, but sometimes it is also left for longer periods until it gets full. Sometimes, during the course of the day there is an excess of waste that is dumped into the bag which also causes it to spill out and contaminate the bin, which most of the time is not cleaned out as soon as the event occurs. In the case of the bag reaching its maximum capacity, it also becomes difficult to seal/tie the bag which is another problem that can be solved by indicating to the user that the limit has been reached in order to leave adequate space. Another reason, is the attraction of unwanted pests and the cleaning of the bin itself which can be solved with the help of UV sanitation and would be automated.

3) From problem 20 — Safety issues related to the gas line

Why is this important to the user? Safety concerns related to the gas line are important as this is a safety hazard in the kitchen space where if forgotten by the users to turn off, could be very dangerous and lead to gas leakage and eventually fires.

The solution — Gas Supply Regulator

Having the gas stove use a pressure mechanism that senses whether an object is placed on the burner and incase there is nothing placed while the flame is lit, it turns off the gas after a set time. There could also be a system that detects the amount of gas that has been released and sets off an alarm, which would trigger a cut in the supply of gas.

Reason behind the solution — Safety concerns related to the gas line are important as this is a safety hazard in the kitchen space where if forgotten by the users to turn off, could be very dangerous and lead to gas leakage and eventually fires.

Prototype

From the top 3 ideas I selected, I was asked to select only one idea to move ahead with for the prototype stage.

The prototype stage is where I had to make a representational model of my solution that would allow me to verify my idea in real life.

The goal here was not to overcomplicate things and to create this MVP (minimum viable product) as quickly as possible without spending too much time on it.

The solution I decided to go ahead with was my third solution which was concerning the safety issues relating to the gas line.

In order to understand the type of product I wanted to build, I started with a problem statement that I wanted to solve for.

Problem statement —

Did you use your gas stove this morning and then go out the door without turning it off?

You might feel that sense of panic as you think the stove might start a fire in your home.

Situations like this are common among many people today in this fast paced world where we are always in a rush or simply due to a matter of forgetfulness.

The issue that I’m trying to solve is one that would find a way to eliminate the risk of having the fear of a fire break out due to this problem and ensure safety of the user, their surroundings and their property.

Next, I looked over at the solutions that I had come up with during the ideation phase for the product, and quickly began noting down features for the product. This was also the stage where I started to quickly sketch out rough diagrams of the ideas that I had in mind based on what I wanted the product to look like.

I went through a few iterations of the product after realising that certain features and functions may not fully be possible in different setups such as using pressure detection, eliminating the power source, gas detector etc. So, in my final sketch I decided to keep things simple. Here’s what I came up with for the components of the product:

The solution is a 3 piece setup which consists of: A power adapter, Regulator and Motion Sensor. The system works in a way that the user places the motion sensor in an area that has a view of the cooking area. The motion sensor is connected to a regulator that is fitted onto the gas cylinder, which is also connected to a power adapter. The user can set an inactivity timer on the sensor (say 10 minutes) after which the gas supply will automatically cut off incase the motion sensor does not detect any activity.

Here are the features of the product —

Timer based — The user can set a timer (eg: 10 minutes) after which the gas will automatically switch off incase no motion is detected by the sensor. This timer will only need to be set by the user once and will keep resetting itself to a countdown every time it detects inactivity.

Motion sensor — This device will be used to detect the activity happening in front of the stove area. It can be placed anywhere by the user (ideally above the stove area) to get a good view of the cooking area. If it detects inactivity for period longer than the set time limit it will automatically send a signal to the gas valve to cut the gas supply. The motion sensor can be also be set to beep once it is nearing the time limit to indicate inactivity. The motion sensor will be connected via a USB-C cable to the regulator on the gas cylinder.

Regulator — The regulator is the main device that is fitted onto the gas cylinder and houses all the tech inside it. It is the main device that shuts off the supply of gas in case of inactivity and is securely fitted atop the gas cylinder just like a regular gas regulator. It is connected to the motion sensor via USB-C and is powered by a low wattage power adapter that is directly fitted to plug point. The power adapter that is attached to the wall is detachable from the regulator and would have an inbuilt automatic voltage regulator.

Below is an illustration of the prototype I made based on my sketch from above —

Testing

It was finally time to see if my product actually worked in real life. In my case, in order to test my product, I had to present it to my users and walk them through the prototype so I could gauge their responses, check with them how effectively it met their needs, understand their perceptions, and gather their overall feedback on the product.

We had a group call where I first started with walking my users through the interview questions they had all been asked, followed by the insights that had been derived from the interviews taken.

Next I had shown them a glimpse of the solutions I had worked on. I proceeded to explain my process of selecting the idea I decided to work on and why I decided to go ahead to solve for this problem.

My users were able to understand and relate to the problem being solved for as they have been through similar situations.

While demonstrating the prototype, here is the feedback I received:

• There are too many components in the product which may make the setup complicated and not very user friendly
• The motion sensor may be counter intuitive as one would need to constantly have to return to the area to ensure that the gas does not go off
• One user pointed out that in the case of multiple burners being used where different food items would be cooking a different time intervals, the timer would not work as well and would be constantly reset, which would defeat the purpose.

The general feedback for the solution was to package it into a smaller product that could fit the needs of the user without having too many parts and features.

Iteration

Based on the feedback received from my users, I decided to make changes that I felt would enhance the experience of the product and would help make it’s use more effective.

In order to do this, I removed all the clutter from the previous design and simplified the entire process.

I remembered how I cannot solve every users problem and doing so would only make things more inconvenient for my intended audience.

So I decided to use individual gas knobs that could be fitted with a timer system for upto 30 minutes. This is a perfect time as most automatic cookers today, such as air fryers come with this system implemented. The user can adjust the timing they wish to cook for. If they finish prior to the timing the can simply turn off the stove, just like a regular burner, or if they wish to extend it, they could reset it accordingly.

Here is what the revised prototype looks like —

As an added safety measure to prevent any hazards from happening such as the user not turning off the gas in any case, or a pan that has been left burning on the stove, I’ve replaced the motion sensor with a smoke/gas detector that can be installed nearby or on the ceiling so that when it detects danger, it will automatically turn off the gas.

And that brings me to the end of my case study!

Key Learnings and Takeaways —

This has been an amazing project to work on with many eye opening insights along the way.

Here are some of the interesting lessons I learned along the way-

• First and foremost, the most important thing to keep in mind while designing for users is to remember that “I am not the user”
• Go with the flow. It’s perfect to be imperfect. As long as you know what your next step is, keep moving forward.
• Be open minded and listen to feedback. You can’t build a product for people without taking into consideration what it is that they want.
• More is not always better. We can’t solve for every single user’s problems. So, don’t try to overcomplicate things.
• Always focus on the root of the problem that you are trying to solve for and don’t deviate from it.

I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I did working on it. If you reached the end of it, I would love to hear your thoughts. If you watched the video above, I would still love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks!

Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/designertravis/