Design Thinking Project
Preserving Your Food: How to Prevent Moisture-Related Spoilage
A Story about how I used Design Thinking process to enhance the experience of Kitchen space
Aim of this project is to focus on how to think like a designer, to understand Design Thinking process through practice!
Quickly want to Jump into contents
- Why Kitchen space?
- Let’s Start the journey!
- Empathize Stage
- Define Stage
- Ideate Stage
- Prototype Stage
- Test Stage
- Future Scope of the project
The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home, and for good reason. It’s where meals are prepared, conversations are had, and memories are made. It is a space that can make or break the overall feel of a home.
Why Kitchen space?
- I’m a person who loves to eat food, but don’t know how it is being prepared🍞.
- I visit kitchen just to drink water and I have least knowledge about it.
- I’m not a person who’s interested to cook/keep track of grocery items.
It’ll be a starting point for me to gain insights about that area as I don’t know much about it. - I would like to know what are the problems faced by people in Kitchen.
- Out of all, Kitchen area will be more challenging for me as it is complicated and It might take time to explore the experience of that place🕒.
Let’s Start the journey!
I wanted to enhance the kitchen space experience, which sounded like a great idea. My mind immediately started generating numerous possibilities of ideas to improve the experience of kitchen space. So, I paused and asked my brain,
- Who would benefit from these ideas — is it me or others?
‘I am not the user’ because I am not improving experience for myself, there is a business whom we work for. It has to be used by large number of people and then only we can go and impact their business.
We should forgot ourselves as the users and then we will be curious in understanding how others use the products (in this case kitchen area), what are their problems and how we make better experience for them.
Empathize Stage:
Know the people you’re designing for, so you understand their needs better.
What I did at this stage?
- I prepared questions to understand users’ problems.
- I interviewed users 1v1 and took notes.
With the user’s permission, I conducted an interview over Zoom and recorded the session.
Questionnaire I prepared to gain Insights on Kitchen Space Usage by Users
I prepared these questions based on my existing knowledge about the Kitchen space.
These questions serve as a helpful guide during the interview process, but depending on the user’s responses and their specific experience in their kitchen space, we may need to ask different or revised questions to gain a deeper understanding. It’s important to remain adaptable and responsive to the user’s input to ensure we gather as much valuable information as possible.
Time to interview and take notes about users’ experience in their Kitchen space
During my first interview with the user, I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. Although the interview went well, I realized afterwards that I could have asked more in-depth questions.
I made sure to adapt and refine my question guide based on insights from previous interviews before each subsequent interview to get better understanding about their kitchen space.
Insights from User Interview
After completing the empathy stage, I gained some valuable insights. Now, my next step is to analyze these insights and identify any potential problems. From there, I can begin to frame problem statements from the gained insights from the user.
Define Stage:
This is the stage at which you typically would define and frame problem statements based on what you have observed from the Empathize stage.
What I did at this stage?
- I analyzed the insights gathered during the Empathize stage to identify and define the core problems and needs of the user.
- I framed problem statements and iteratively refined them to ensure they only focused on the problems and did not suggest solutions.
- I provided justifications for why certain problems need to be solved for the user and explained their importance. This helped to provide me context and emphasize the significance of addressing these issues in the design process.
During this stage, I reviewed the insights I had documented and focused on identifying the root problems and any underlying issues that users may not have even been aware of. I then carefully framed the problems in a way that avoided suggesting potential solutions and instead kept the focus solely on the problems themselves. At this point, I have root problems and now can focus on thinking solutions to solve them.
Ideate Stage:
This is the stage to begin brainstorming and generating potential solutions to address the user’s problems.
What I did at this stage?
- I approached each problem one by one and began generating potential solutions.
- I utilized the Crazy 8 technique, which involved generating eight ideas in eight minutes for each problem.
- After coming up with a variety of solutions, I then prioritized the ideas and selected the top three to proceed on further.
Coming up with eight ideas within eight minutes proved to be quite challenging, and for some problems, I was only able to generate a maximum of four ideas. However, I found the exercise to be valuable, even if I couldn’t generate the full eight ideas. Ultimately, I decided to move forward with the maximum number of ideas I could generate for each problem.
We are not superheroes and we have limited time and resources, I made the decision to prioritize and focus on the top three ideas that I had generated. This approach allowed me to make the most efficient use of my time and resources, while still addressing the most critical problems identified during the design thinking process.
Now that we have generated ideas, it is time to move forward and give life to your imagination.
Prototype Stage:
This is the stage where you actually make a representational model of the solution you came up with.
What I did at this stage?
- I selected one idea to prototype from the top 3 ideas.
- I just used some images from google and AI to explain my prototype model.
A container to remove moisture from the food items
- A stainless steel container has horizontal stacks that can store food items like rice and wheat flour. The door has an automatic closing mechanism.
- The container maintains a temperature of 60–70°F (15–21°C) using insulating material ‘Fiberglass insulation’ and ‘Battery-powered dehumidifiers’.
- Fiberglass insulation helps to maintain a consistent temperature inside the container.
- The dehumidifier circulates air effectively throughout the container.
- These both will help to remove moisture from the air inside the container and maintain the desired humidity level, it will also help to slow down heat transfer and maintain a consistent temperature inside the container.
- The battery-powered thermometer and hygrometer will check the temperature and humidity level inside the container automatically at regular intervals and display the alert when the container is not in its desired temperature.
Time to test with user to evaluate the usefulness and usability of the solution, as well as identify any potential issues or areas for improvement. This helps ensure that the solution is addressing the needs and preferences of the users in a meaningful way.
Test Stage:
Take your prototypes to your user and get feedback. Testing the solution with users is crucial to determine whether it is effective in solving the identified problem.
Until you test your prototype back with your users, you wouldn’t completely know if your solution worked or not. Solving the problem is just not enough. It is important that it works!
I tested my prototype with user and got crucial feedback
- They were unable to fully visualize and understand my solution as I only provided separate pictures and not incorporated them into the whole solution.
- They got confused because I didn’t provide a layout showing the arrangement and connection of each element and where it should be placed.
The Evolution of My Solution
After receiving feedback from the user, I revisited my solution and sketched out my ideas using pen and paper.
Fiberglass insulation is not recommended for direct contact with food as it can potentially release small fibers that could be ingested or inhaled, leading to irritation or damage to the respiratory system or digestive tract.
- Based on my observations, most homes have limited kitchen space, so my proposal to use containers may not be feasible as it occupies an ample amount of space.
- A potential alternative could be to integrate built-in storage within a cupboard or cabinet, which could potentially benefit a larger audience.
A container or cabin-like structure with stacks to keep items fresh and away from moisture, thus preventing insects from getting into kitchen items
- Inbuilt container can be integrated into a cabinet or cupboard in the kitchen space.
- The container has transparent glass where we can see stored food items like rice/wheat flour.
- The door handle serves as an indicator that the container can be opened, and once opened, the door can automatically slide inside the container as shown in image 5.
- The container has drawer like structure to store the food items like rice/wheat flour. It has handle which signifies it can be open like drawer.
- The container has a designated area where a small vessel can be placed. By pressing a button, the food item can be dispensed directly into the small vessel.
- Bottom of the container is occupied by dehumidifier. A dehumidifier is a device used to reduce the level of humidity in the air. Its primary function is to extract excess moisture from the air and collect it in a container.
- The dehumidifier gathers excess moisture from the air and stores it as water in a transparent box on the right side. When the box is full, it can be removed from the dehumidifier, the water can be emptied, and the box can be placed back into the dehumidifier.
- A pipe attached in container that connects the dehumidifier to the drawer where food items are stored. This setup helps detect any air circulation within the food items, and if moisture is detected, the dehumidifier takes the necessary action to remove moisture.
- The drawer is designed with a double layer to help maintain temperature, with a vacuum space in between the layers.
- The drawer is designed with a sliding bottom. Upon pressing the button, a hole is created below the drawer, allowing the food item inside to fall into the small vessel placed underneath.
So, we have learnt what is Design Thinking process: Design thinking is a non-linear process, problem-solving approach that involves understanding the users’ needs, identifying and framing the problem, exploring different solutions, prototyping and testing the solutions, and iterating to refine the solution. It is a human-centered approach that aims to create innovative and effective solutions by focusing on the needs, desires, and behavior of the users.
Future Scope of the project
🎯 Integration of smart technology: With the increasing trend of smart homes, integrating technology such as sensors, temperature control, and automatic dispensing could enhance the functionality and convenience of the food storage container.
🎯 Sustainable material selection: As sustainability becomes a more pressing concern, future iterations of the product could incorporate eco-friendly materials and manufacturing processes.
🎯 Taking it to the Next Level: I would like to create a 3D prototype model of my design to better visualize and demonstrate its functionality.
🔥 Finally, I have successfully completed the project! I express my gratitude to my mentor Anudeep Ayyagari (UX Anudeep), my teammates, and the UXM community for accompanying me throughout this journey.
I am eager to utilize the design thinking process and the knowledge gained from this experience in my future endeavors.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far. If you found this helpful, Please show your support by hitting the clap button and sharing your thoughts.
If you have any questions or would like to connect with me, please feel free to reach out to me anithapandidurai@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn
