Service Design-
MnY
Loughborough University has over the years taken various measures to reduce waste contamination, segregation of waste along of reduction of plastic food packaging in accommodation halls across the campus.
The first step was to redefine the brief, concentrating on a particular sector of the brief and the focus groups. The research was carried out with the sampled group to determine users wants/needs and gain insights into their lifestyles
Brief
The choice had to be made from 4 different briefs given by the university sustainability team, among which food packaging was hand-picked to be designed individually. The brief was to study the causes and design an effective solution to reduce the impact of plastic food packaging in the environment.
Keynotes-
| Divert the attention towards sustainability
| Encourage to maintain a healthy lifestyle
| Project image of well-being
| Maintain positive living with every new batch
How can we use services in the environment of student accommodation to improve consumer well-being?
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Hunt Statement
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To understand the food purchasing behaviour of postgraduates living in John Philips accommodation which is a non-catered, on-campus accommodation majorly for international students at Loughborough University.
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How the food packaging choices have an effect on the university recycling. The behaviour of the packaging, whether it is making a negative, positive or neutral influence to the recycling process.
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The attitude of the students toward the end disposal of the used packaging.
Motivation + Ability + Trigger = Behaviour
Process
User
Fulfilling a child's desire to fly like a superhero, inspired by a plac this fixture blends into their world
Task
Environmental Friendly
Health benefits
Customer Loyalty
Consulting
Environment
Kitchen/Dining
Sampling Rationale
Primary Research Methods
The book 'Universal Methods of Design' by Bella Martin and Bruce Hannington was studied to provide an opportunity to structure the research by appropriate methods. 2 methods were implemented for the research
Photo Studies
This method was achieved by
- Directing the participants to take shots of their meal preparation and
- The other direction where snapshots of the refrigerator from each flat were captured on a weekly basis to analyse the quantity and type of packaging getting disposed of.
Interviews
As the photo-studies gave answers to what were the food items being purchased by the students, it was also important to know ‘why’ and ‘what’ was influencing the behaviour of the participants towards making the choices that lead to increase in waste.
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All of the interviews were captured on ‘voice memos’ recording software, for documenting the main answers and derive further insights
WHO ARE THEY ?
Self Cooks
International Students
Age: 20-30
Busy Schedule
University Students-
John Philips Accommodation
Priority TWO
Students who eat at the dining halls.
Focusing on students who prepare their own meals on a daily basis in the halls, belong to a completely different culture and have recently moved to the UK.
Priority ONE
1 of 3 parts of the packaging are
non-recyclable
Weekly purchase
High meat consumption
Behaviour Mapping
Unclear instructions
High general waste disposal
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Affinity Diagram
Data Analysis
A method which helps organise a large quantity of data gathered, segregate into grouping different topics to extract insights. Can be done digitally or completely written by hand.
Highlight the recorded responses from the interview and analyse the collected data to extract insights for further concept development.
| Find connections between data
| Reduce complexity
| Identify and segregate useful data
How is AD helpful?
All of the responses were transcribed, noted and colour coded to extract insights.
Affinity Diagram and AEIOU method tools were used for analysis
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A
activity
Purchase of food items from preferred outlets. Preparing meals to satisfy their hunger.
E
environment
Kitchen spaces where the students prepare their meals. This activity takes place individually or in a group of 2-3 peers preparing their meal together.
I
interaction
The first interaction takes place with the refrigerator where all the main food ingredients are stored along with focus on waste bin where an empty package is disposed.
O
objects
Refrigerators and freezers, increase the lifespan of the food item. Waste bins are the end relations to the whole cooking experience.
U
user
The international postgraduate students who are currently residing at John Philips accommodation (non-catered hall).
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Insights
| Cultural differences and background play a key role in daily food choices.
| 100% of Chinese students are the major consumers of frozen food/meat
| Pain Point- Less scope for reduction of meat consumption
| 80% of Indian students rely on half-food cooked on a daily basis
| All meat packaging is plastic material which cannot be recycled, Half-cooked meal packaging is partly non-recyclable
| Students are unaware/not clear regarding which bin the packaging should be thrown into
| Post-Grad lifestyle does not accommodate enough time space for the students to contribute towards the betterment of the environment, neither are they encouraged towards it. (including when making a purchase)
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HMW?
How Might We?
Insights into Opportunities
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Create a sense of sensitivity even when students are preoccupied?
redesign food storage/protection which won't harm the environment?
Include the university sustainable events to encourage student participation/contribution?
Design Opportunities
- Create visual cues to increase awareness of their buying behaviour.
- A system where the user is encouraged to contribute towards the betterment of the future.
- Associate spending with rewards in return.
- Provide a network to make the user aware of the plastic repercussion towards the environment.
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Proposal
- Introduce an app along with a product packaging/material which works together, in stores as well as at home.
- Providing a reward system at every purchase along with sustainable activities, encouraging the user to work towards the betterment (consciously/unconsciously) perfectly fitting into their busy schedules.
Design Strategies
Next stage development involved developing concepts and evaluating the best possible techniques.
Design concepts involved strategies of behaviour steering and Feedback methods.
1
Behaviour Steering
Engagement takes place when the user is made aware to pay attention to the instructions on the label.
-Sustainable behaviour adopted by the current simple action of opening the film of the food packaging.
-The user, after peeling the packaging film engages the app to scan the QR Code present at the back side of the label, in order to score loyalty points.
2
Feedback
The packaging and the App work along together. Scanning the QR Code, the app projects visual graphics of the points gained and how close they are towards winning a coupon/sustainable item.
-The App also gives feedback by communicating how the user is providing support for improving the plastic waste issue.
-Behaviour Steering and Feedback work along when the user has an opportunity to gave more points by attending the sustainable events in their city/university.
CONCEPT
Packaging
Pain Point- Almost 100% of the plastic film used for sealing is not recyclable and is a part of every food product targetted in this research.
-MnY (Me and You) produces a plant-based film used for food packaging and is sold only at Sainsbury's. (Source- This concept is currently available for shopping bags produced in Bali- called Avani)
-Further research showed that the Plant starch derived packaging is safe for food.
APP
The App MnY (Me and You) is designed to encourage and maintain customer loyalty by rewarding points to the users by scanning the QR Code on every meat/half-cooked food package label.
- Having links with the University Sustainability department, MnY App alerts the user of the events organised by the team along with Sustainable events held within the city.
The user is encouraged to attend the events, as loyalty points can be earned by attending the events, in their respective booths.
Meets Sustainability goals | Extends freshness up to 40% | Production energy cut into half
The label/print on top of the film has a QR Code, which can only be accessed when the user peels the cover to expose the code at the back of the label.
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UI Prototype
Student Installs the app. The app starts by asking questions regarding food preferences and stores for further references
The app introduces the new packaging and informs the accessibility. Sara heads to Sainsbury's, and food label directs him to QR Code. Code is scanned to rewards Sara for buying the product.
One product rewards one point. 20 points to win a coupon. Sara Collects points and also is alerted with upcoming events.
