May 08, 2006
Final Project
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Kitchen Inventory System User Scenario
Presentation slides for an electronic kitchen inventory system.
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April 06, 2006
10 (approx.) Ideas
Some ideas that have grown out of our kitchen observations and analysis:
An audio whiteboard that goes on the fridge. Something to jot down thoughts...things to remember. voice controlled memo machine stuck to the fridge.
An audio device that can you can ask questions about recipes. You could ask it "how hot should the pan be when I cook the onions?" Perhaps there's a standard back-end format for recipes, and you ask your computer to upload it to your device.
Custom designed kitchen service. We come and observe you for several days and design a kitchen for you. We make the most effective use of space possible. Different styles/motivations have different needs.
For example:
We could develop designs that target people who cook for 1)Social, 2) Psychological (relaxing), 3)Biological (health), and 4)thrifty reasons.
A modular kitchen. You could re-arrange the kitchen if necessary. Say you are a single man who doesn't cook much. Your kitchen is designed for cereal and hot-dog preparation. then you have a live-in girlfriend who is in culinary school. Your cooking patterns change, and you can re-arrange the kitchen space.
A recipe web site that states what tools you need next to the recipe, and what tools would suffice and what would be ideal. This seems like more of a research idea... Hell, it could even show ideal kitchen layouts...
An application that creates an order for peapod straight from epicurious.
Create a line of kitchen supplies that are all single purpose, well designed, and complementary. It could be selected by us, researchers. Perhaps it could be sold as a package. Like you get the best knives, the best pots and pans, the best cuisinart, the best potato peeler etc. This could be a service. I bet this already exists; i.e. I'm sure you can hire someone to outfit your kitchen.
Audio control interface for an ipod. You could shout at it if your stereo is in the other room.
starter kitchen toolbox. including 2 place settings, 3 knives, fry
pan, and sauce pot.
counter w/ replaceable top. layers of thin plastic (cut resistant) to
reduce contamination. after a cooking session, or after a day, peel
off and dispose.
voice activated paper towel holder. messy hands no longer need to
grab at paper towels. speak at the holder and it will dispense a
single towel w/out the mess.
wall mounted dish dry rack. increase counter space by placing the
disk dry rack on the wall. a simple reservoir collects water runoff
and evaporates.
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February 28, 2006
Kitchen Observations 1-5
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February 13, 2006
Observation: Anne Makes Apple Crisp
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Project Statement and Research Plan
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February 06, 2006
Andrew Making Brunch
The Setting:
I observed my friend Andrew making brunch for himself and his friend Peter. His roommate Nicole was in and out of the apartment, but did not partake in the meal or its preparation.
Observations/Interpretation:
For Andrew, making a meal is a social occasion. Several times during the preparation of the meal Andrew makes phone calls. The cell phone is always nearby.
All activity is centered around the kitchen and the dining table. The living area is not used. The house has been lived in for almost 4 years, but it is not very organized. There are a lot of open surfaces: kitchen counters, dinning table, bench, desk. For the most part, the surfaces have no dedicated use. Andrew's tripod and video camera are on the dining table at the start of the day--Andrew was experimenting with it before he decided to make breakfast.
The kitchen/dining space is functional and social. The inhabitants of the apartment are brought into it for its functional purposes--workspace, food preparation, eating place, reading place. There is enough room to accommodate at several people, and the tasks associated with preparing food are simple enough not to distract from conversation. The only forays from the dining space is to the CD player, which is located in an "entertainment corner," which consists of a TV, Stereo, and lots of CD's.
There is improvisation during the cooking process. At one point, after chopping onions, garlic, and stemming some tomatoes, Andrew puts the refuse into one of the discarded grocery bags still lying on the table. He also employed the lid of the cherry tomato container as a strainer for rinsing the tomatoes.
For the most part, the organization of the space is organic--some things have a place and some do not. However, no time was spent searching for ingredients or objects. Spices have their place. The cell phone doesn't have a place but is floating nearby--usually on the dining table or desk. Minimal time is spent organizing. All groceries are consumed so they don't have to be put away except for extra tomatoes and eggs.
Emotional observation: Andrew has a relationship with the recipe. He used to make it in college, and recalls the Jamie Oliver episode where he learned how to make it. He recalls that in this particular episode, Jamie Oliver made it as something to eat after a night of going out--something of a hangover prevention meal. He ate it as a late breakfast and made it completely from memory. It seemed as if the recipe itself was designed for a social occasion.
Not too much time is spent eating the meal. The Andrew and Peter had hung out last night, so there was not that much news to be shared. This was a very casual meal. Most of the interaction between friends occurred during meal preparation and not during its consumption.
Conclusion:
In this space there is a nexus between socializing and mundane activities. The loose organization of the space works well. It's possible that a stricter organization of objects would better facilitate socialization. With more organization, it is possible that the user would have more mental energy for conversation as he would not have to be keeping track of improvised object placement. However, a highly organized space is also inconsistent with Andrew's habits so it is hard to predict how he would function in such an environment. In addition, the observer did not keep track of time spent searching for objects or any other indications of increased cognitive load due to disorganization.
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January 30, 2006
iPod Design Analysis
Design Regarding Physical Human Factors
The iPod is small. This allows it to be portable. There is a trend with iPod design: smaller and smaller. The smaller the size, the more portable the device. This makes certain activities easier. For example, jogging with an iPod nano is much easier than with a first generation iPod. Taking your iPod to work is easier if it is smaller.
The controls are designed so they can be operated with the thumb while the iPod is cradled with the remaining four fingers. This allows single-handed operation.
The casing is strong enough so that the iPod can withstand some abuse from its owner.
A remote control allows access to the controls if the iPod is stowed somewhere where it is difficult to access.
Design Regarding Cognitive Human Factors
The iPod is designed to look simple and easy to use. It is a rectangle with rounded corners. The click-wheel is the central input device. In the current generation iPod, almost all the user input goes through this singular control. The third generation iPod moved the play/pause, menu, and track forward and backward controls to their own buttons below the screen. In the next generation, they were moved back to the wheel. The current wheel has many functions. Navigating menus, navigating within a track, and volume control, to name a few. There appears to be an initiative to make the interface look as simple as possible. Putting a volume wheel on the side of the ipod might make the operation a little easier, since I often end up scanning back and forth within a track when I want to just change the volume. Here, however, the perception of ease of use is more important than actual ease of use.
The menu is hierarchical. Music is categorized in ways we categorize music: by artist, genre, album, etc.
Design Regarding Cultural Human Factors
The ipod has white headphones. These serve as something of a fashion accessory--an outside indicator that the wearer owns an iPod. In urban settings, on the subway for example, the casual observer could see the rise in popularity of the ipod just by looking at the people around him over time. Upon owning an iPod, the user became part of a club of iPod owners. Other members could be identified by the white headphones. This cultish quality is something that apple has used to its advantage in marketing its products. By owning an apple product the user takes on some of the qualities that the brand purports, such as sophistication, aesthetic appreciation, and wealth. With the headphones, the user advertises his possession of these qualities.
The iPod allows the user to have his whole music collection with him at all times. One's music collection is representative of their cultural interests and orientation. This has resulted in some strange phenomena such as users who will hold up an ipod to a stranger to show them what they are listening to. The stranger will then have to present their iPod and reveal what they are listening to. Whoever is listening to cooler music wins.
Another phenomena is people being embarrassed at parties when their iPod, which is in shuffle mode, plays something that the owner is not proud of.
I have also heard of artists using their iPod Photo to hold samples of their portfolio. Then they have a promotional tool with them at all times.
I'm not sure if these cultural phenomena were foreseen in the design of the iPod; rather, they are emergent. Future designs could take into consideration of some of these behaviors. For example, iTunes software now includes a song rating system. This is packaged with an automatic playlist creation function. The user can now quickly create a playlist with only highly rated songs. This is a potential solution to the problem of embarrassing songs coming on at a party.
Design Regarding Emotional Human Factors
The simplicity of the design is important in establishing a level of trust with the user. If the user believes that the device will be easy to use, then he is more likely to engage with the device. Thus the singular click-wheel control, straightforward interface, and simple physical form.
A common accessory to the iPod is the case. The case has a protective function, but it also allows personalization. Many users see the iPod as something they want to customize. Since the music collection that is inside the iPod is so personal, it may be that many people want that personality to be reflected on the outside of the iPod as well.