IH02-KareyPark
From IEOR 170 Spring 2007
Persuasive Design for Campus, City and Community
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[edit] Problem Description
In all of the Cal dining commons, it is the natural instinct of virtually every patron to bus his or her own tray. To not do so would create the illusion that someone is not finished eating but has simply gone to get more food or go to the bathroom. However, another thing that all dining hall patrons are instructed to do is to discard all napkins and paper products (wrappers, cartons, etc) in the trash before bussing their tray. I observed that less than one-fourth of people actually do. There must be a more effective way to get people to take a little effort involving a couple extra seconds.
[edit] Target User Group
The target user group for a design like this would be students who eat in the Cal dining commons on a semi-regular basis, at the very least, which would be a vast majority of freshman, in addition to a handful of upperclassmen. However, a design like this could also be extended to any kind of restaurant. As such, in any given instance, being students, we can assume that most are pretty strapped for time and will value any and all designs that require little to no time on their part
[edit] Problem Context and Forces
Similar efforts to try to get people to recycle have died down, and this has probably had something to do with the similar apathy regarding composting paper products in dining halls. This is made worse by another problem, however. A tray with several dishes and some unfinished food can be rather unwieldy, and most people need both hands to hold it and fit it into the dish rack. Letting go of the tray with one hand, to then compost paper products, presents a risk that many students are not willing to take, as it turns out. Being able to hold a tray with one hand would not only eliminate this risk, but also extend beyond this problem, allowing users to hold more food, answer a phone call from a friend, and so forth.
[edit] Solution Sketch
You need to somehow allow users to get a good grip on a tray with a single hand. That is not everything though, as they also need to have the security and the confidence that it is safe, otherwise, even a good design will end up a failure.
When most people are instructed to throw away paper, they are unwilling to let go of the tray with one hand
This possible solution allows for much easier handling, especially when their fingers are greasy.
