Process book v2

design research reportProjects in Sustainable Design | FALL 2012

projects in sustainable design2 table of contents 3

table of contents

Introduction

Preliminary Research

Archival Procedures

Primary Research

Concept Development

Video Production

Recommendations (Conclusion)

Acknowledgements

5

7

19

25

41

57

63

65

projects in sustainable design4 introduction 5

introduction

In the Fall of 2013, I negotiated with students in the Projects in Sustainable Design course to experiment with a new way of teaching. We decided that this course would be collaboratively designed, with students inputting to the content of the syllabus, the projects and even helping with the grading criteria.

Early in these conversations, the students decided that they would like to work on one large collaborative project as an eight-person team. Not too long afterwards, an opportunity presented itself when a representative of the City of Vancouver contacted Emily Carr University to ask if we would look at disposable coffee cup waste in the downtown core.

The decision to embark on this project was made after a series of discussions, and more than one session of voting. It took time for everyone to realize just how far a simple

challenge like this could be taken. The paper coffee cup as a singular item might be small, but the research inquiry looked to be rich, and the challenge of changing North American coffee consumption behavior promised to be huge. In this, the team was not disappointed.

As the project gained momentum we connected with The Wilder Snail, a small community coffee shop not far from downtown. The owner, Boyd Thompson, met with students to discuss the challenges of running a business sustainably, and agreed to allow them access to his coffee shop to do some tests and experiments.

Alternating their work between the design studio and The Wilder Snail, the students self-managed in many different ways throughout the semester. They tested their ability to manage group process, to run a large group critique, to delegate authority, to

alternate leadership, to communicate among team members, to respond professionally to challenging moments in client relationships, and to allocate work to subgroups. They practiced managing large amounts of information, charting a critical path, goal-setting, sequential decision-making, and effective problem framing for good brainstorming.

In this project, the team showed more than passion and dedication; they demonstrated a generosity of spirit that allowed the flourishing of a multiplicity of individual talents and strengths. Together they created a real team.

- Louise St Pierre, Associate Professorat Emily Carr University of Art & Design

Louise St Pierre Ben Chan Derek Xu Omar Qubain Taegan Morgan Darryl Agawin Cléa Lautrey Theunis Snyman Jared Korb

preliminary researchGetting the facts straight

Starbucks

Blenz

Waves

Tim Hortons

Café Artigiano

Bean Around the World

McDonalds

JJ Bean

Transit

T

T

T

T

T T

projects in sustainable design8

coffee shops in vancouver’s downtown core

preliminary research 9

what we discoveredAt the early stages of our secondary research, we analyzed coffee consumer traffic patterns in downtown Vancouver. We mapped out all of the main franchised coffee shops in the downtown core, such as Starbucks, Blenz, Tim Horton’s, etc. We observed that there is often more than one coffee shop at a single

intersection and/or block, and that they are generally clustered around public transit hot spots; namely, Skytrain stations.

We compared this to a map of all the garbage cans in the area, and came to the same conclusion. It comes as no surprise that the

first garbage cans to overflow are those closest to transit – and, you guessed it, they are overflowing with paper cups.

Moving forward, we kept these conclusions in mind for determining a point of contact

EAT LESS, EAT hEALThy

Buy LESS, MAKE MOrE COnSErvE GrOw

unPLuG riDE


understanding consumption reduction:SCrATChinG ThE SurfACE Of BEhAviOur ChAnGE

consumptionConsumption of goods has been part of our lives since the beginning of social structures, and to question it would be to question social history itself. It is a fundamental aspect of our society, and to try and change those behaviours, one has to acknowledge the past and what the historical mechanisms of consumption are.1

Positive change comes about when the change is implemented very simply; when steps are achievable by anyone and the outcomes are inspiring. An environment that enables change is one that provides opportunities for people to become inspired by what they can achieve. “When we offer people a chance to take a step closer to the lives, businesses or farms they dream about (and we make that change feel safe) then they’ll do the changing for us.”2

theories of changeThere are many theories of change in management and design fields. Some theories offer a process that can be followed to deliver a specific outcome. They describe a strategy and set of well defined steps that become a series of specific planned interventions.

Any attempt to change behavior must start with research in order to fully understand the motivations behind existing behaviours. This cannot be taken lightly, as it is a complex task. But as Roger Fabricant says, “many designers are no longer comfortable [merely supporting user needs], particularly with the growing awareness that every decision we make exerts an influence of some kind, whether intended or not.”3

1 Jackson, Tim. Motivating Sustainable Consumption: A Review of Evidence on Consumer Behaviour and Behavioural Change. Publication. Sustainable Development Research Network, Jan. 2005. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

2 Robinson, Les. “How the Science of Behaviour Change Can Help with Sustainability.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2012.

3 Fabricant, Robert. “Design With Intent.” : Change Observer: Design Observer. N.p., 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/feature/design-with-intent/14338/>.

People get inspired by real life peer examples.“ ”


precedents


precedentstoronto coffee cup ban (2009)

The plan was to ask the city’s retailers to stop using non-reusable paper cups with plastic lids and plastic take-away containers or face a fine of $100 to $400 per cup to pay for the excess garbage currently clogging its landfills. Toronto planned to ban paper coffee cups by the year 2010 and offers a 20-cent discount to coffee shop patrons who bring their own reusable mug. However, the responses from coffee shop owners and citizens were not at all positive. In the end, the whole plan failed to implement.

seattle recycles coffee cups (2009)

Seattle Public Utilities quietly rolled out an updated city-wide recycling plan with the type of efficiency critics rarely expect from government. Paper cups are included because Starbucks wants to expand by 2015; their goal being for communities within their consumer range to be able to recycle coffee cups. The challenge is to convince mills that coffee cups are decent fodder for boxes and other products they make. Once they prove there’s a value to the cups, it will create market pull.

Edible Cup Seed Cup (Throw & Grow) Lidless Cup Sleeveless Cup All refills are priced as a “small” drink when you bring your own refillable cup, regardless of size.

Researching precedents play an important role in understanding how other designers responded to similar challenges and opportunities. Analyzing case studies will also help inform our design direction so that we do not duplicate past mistakes.

projects in sustainable design preliminary research 15

scales of productionWhen figuring out how we were going to frame this problem of over-consumption, we explored how things are made and in what volumes. Three categories included the Continuous (Macro), Batch (Medium), and Single (Micro) levels. Many items are produced on the macro level, at tremendous scale, and distributed worldwide. A well cited example is IKEA. The vast majority of their inventory is distributed worldwide, mostly unchanged between regions. This sharply contrasts a local craftsperson or artisan, who for instance produces chairs made from local timber and sells them made to order to regional clients.

A significant part of how we assess scales of production stems from the final retail price. We find ourselves comparing the cost of locally produced tomatoes directly to those imported from Mexico or Asia. While we clearly see the product and final price, it is often difficult to visualize the so-called externalities that disappear along the chain of production. Issues of exploited labour, shifted economic burden correlating to economies of scale, and genetically modification are just a few examples of important production factors consumers may not be entirely aware of.

However, in recent years the trend has shifted to one of increase transparency, with consumers advocating for organic, local products. Our group began to wonder if there is was a middle way to consumption of products. How could local needs be addressed with a globally aware mindset? How could we leverage industrial processes for locally sustainable products and services? One example is The Soap Dispensary (left) which dispenses bulk soap into previously used soap containers. In what ways could innovative ideas flow two ways, with corporate and grassroots initiatives finding an equilibrium? Were the two even compatible from a production standpoint? These are some of the questions we grappled with in our research process.

Product becomes waste becomes product.

Stakeholders

Corporations

Coffee Retailers

Starbucks

Tim Horton's

JJ Bean

Cafe Artigiano

MCD

Waves

Blendz

Revolver

Manufacturer's

Packaging Distributors

General Pacific

Dixie

City of Vancouver

Waste Management Companies

Private & Public

1800GotJunk

Wastech Garbage

Government

Mayor

2020 Initiatives

Recycling Company ? Is this private?

What are their barriers to recycling?

Wax liner in cups

Unsorted Input

Dirty? Cleaning

Separation of lids

City Inhabitant

Tourists

Commuters

Passing Through: SkyTrain'ing from the burbs

Local WorkersOffice Workers

Construction Workers

LocalsAfter the Fireworks… they get annoyed

Barriers for Use

Time

Convenience / Effort

Knowledge

Organized Events

Fireworks

Parades / Festival

Gay Pride

Lantern Festival

Sporting Events

Hockey

FootballTailgating

Soccer

Concerts

Vogue Theatre

QE

VSO

Roger's Arena

Key Words

Closed Loop Economy

Product as Container

"Branding as Incriminator"

They're at fault for their company's litter.

EPR: Extended Producer Responsibility

PROJECT IDEAS

Sound Wall

Visible TrashTubeCoffee Grinder

BeatBlock by Ben Chan

1,ooo,ooo Cups, Chris JordanReturning Product to Commodity

Gamification

Social Innovation

Bar cup cleaner"Put that caffeine high to good use

Partnerships

Participation


stakeholders

archival proceduresOrganizing the documentation of the design process

projects in sustainable design20 archival procedures 21

a b

project trajectory

action steps

Always begin action steps with a verb.

resources

notes, links, files, sketches.

how to capture action steps

BenWhole Class

whiteboard minutes action steps

Brainstorming ideas.

Track each meeting. Post weekly tasks to Moodle for homework.

Taegan

projects in sustainable design22 archival procedures 23

how to capture resources

Zotero

Archived research in group folder. Tagged / Searchable.

dropboX

Group folder of working files.

weekly insight

photo capture

reflection exercise.Encourages critical thinking through contintual engagement with problem space.

Process documentation, both in class and out.

how to document project trajectory

videoblog

process book

weekly interviews that tell story week by week.

weekly pages documenting key moments.

primary researchAsking the right questions

The coffee cups pile up in the waste bins so fast that sometimes our city waste management crews can’t keep up.

“”Photo: Eugene Palomado primary research 27

meeting with paul gagnonPaul Gagnon is a Corporate Zero Waste Officer for the City of Vancouver. His question sparked this whole project: “What can designers do to help reduce the amount of disposable coffee cup waste in downtown Vancouver?” Paul is passionate about this topic and has designed stations to help people sort recycling in offices. One of his approaches has been to try and encourage consumers to sort the paper cup from the plastic lid, so that the plastic can be recycled and the paper can be reground.

The entire class visited Paul at his office to interview him. The interview notes are on the following page. In his visits to our class, Paul was very supportive of our desire to look at strategies to reduce consumption rather than redirecting waste. We really appreciate that he gave us the inspiration to start this project.


Questions & answerswho is responsible for the containers?When people put garbage on benches, ledges, or roadsides, who is responsible for it?A lot of the BIA (business impact analysis) people ask for more litter cans. Each unit cost $600-$900, but the servicing cost (equipment + capital) is expensive (based on 1300-1500 cans per night). It is challenging to put out more. And it ties into behavior change.

is there any current legislated plan for epr (extended producer responsibility)?The municipality is struggling with how EPR will impact the operation. It is hard to envision how the landscape is going to change when EPR kicks in in 2015 (packaging for example). They are figuring out who will pay to remove the waste from the litter can from street.

what is the Zero waste station?Within the facilities department, there is recycling initiative. Moving towards zero waste by collecting more streams than in the past. About 30% of waste from metro Vancouver goes to the incinerator in Burnaby. Organics receptacles will be added to all staff kitchens and cafeterias. For washrooms, there will be receptacles just for paper towels and separate

receptacles for garbage. Paper towels will go to organic stream. Soft plastics will be collected in a separate bin for the contractor (Urban Impact) to process. The mixed container bin will take coffee cup lids. Paul hopes to separate more streams such as batteries through the industry funded take back program (Call2Recycle: http://www.call2recycle.ca/). Also the writing instruments supplied by Grand & Toy will be taking back to the manufacturers, who pay the coast, to recycle (down cycle). This was launched last Monday (Sept 17th) in the central library and this Monday (Sept 24th) in the city hall. It took 9 months to plan on colors and shapes and other details. All staff desk side garbage can and recycle bin will be switched to a smaller blue bin, and they will take it to the Zero Waste Station and sort the waste (sort at discard). Instead of 500-600 garbage cans, there will be 50-60 Zero Waste Stations in a building.

how would you envision this take shape in more residential applications?This is the engineering department’s problem. The residential program already accepts mixed containers and mixed paper including newspaper. Multifamily homes want organic recycling. There are drop sites available (one

on the west end, community garden, no specific locations for others), and they are partially funded by the city (Green Grants). The city is looking for service providers who can take more than just the original blue box items and paper (bind by old contract). Considering EPR, do we move fast and shift again in 2015? The city is cautious on taking directions and making behavior changes (divergence VS. reduction). “Education” is difficult when people don’t like being told what to do but we want to raise awareness.

primary research 29

about contaminated loadsWhen the contamination level is high in a load, the processer cannot process it, and that load will go to incinerator. There are no specific numbers around this yet, but Paul will collect relevant data in the future. The biggest issue is the paper towel separation which ends up in the garbage stream all the time. One small contamination will “landfill” a big bucket of paper towel. The Zero Waste Station starts with staff because it is hard to control public environment.

about coffee cups. what does paul expect from us?For a street litter can, about 3.5kg of waste was collected through out a day, but it was filled up by coffee cups because of that low density. Every year, 20 litter cans are audited by sorting and weighing. Other than coffee cups, newspaper is another source for the volume. Closer to the public transits, there are a lot of newspapers because of the free dailies. To respond to that, 95 gallon blue roller carts were placed on Broadway between MacDonald and Commercial for newspaper recycling ( been there for 2.5 years). Every 10 days they weigh how much is in the carts and form data on spread sheets. They also

reposition them to see where is the best place to site these receptacles. Paul has this idea that if we want another stream to be sorted, add another can beside the stand alone litter cans. Also, maybe we can ask coffee shops to put out their own receptacles when they open (Seattle has done it). The coffee cup issue is relatively Vancouver specific.

is there any relevant legislation? can the city ask the coffee shops to ask customers if they like their coffee for here or to go?Remains unclearThere are definitely ways to achieve that such as reduction of property taxes, or showing the costumers they care by putting of the receptacles. Starbucks never ask if their customers want to use paper cup or not. There is a consumer union in Germany that may have the power to change the behavior pattern of the people that sell products.

is there a database or network that available to the public?Our generation with tools (social media) that we understand the best can make a difference, and don’t rely on government to make change. Maybe we can approach Metro Vancouver and use their larger outreach network. They would probably be very excited. They have a large advertising budget to deal with zero waste.

how difficult is it to push a project through such as the Zero waste station?For Zero Waste Station, it was lucky because all the consulting reports were complete about 10 months ago and Paul already has the budget and the main idea. All he has to do is work out a plan and work with the communication department and purchasing department and get a contract in place with the service provider and move forward. It took years, maybe 3 years at least to make it happen.

if we want to change public behavior, what would be a good thing to do?You got to keep it simple and make it easy to do. Paul made posters with illustrations. The mixed paper bin of the Zero Waste Station has a narrow slot, so that you have to take off the lid of a coffee cup and crush it to put in.


Q&a cont. & meeting conclusions

is there any initiative that takes coffee cup and processes them in to something else?After the waste leaves the loading bay, it goes to Urban Impact and they will sell it (they would be able to tell where they recently sold it to). The ideal is still never using these coffee cups.

about the toronto coffee cup banThey have never heard of the Toronto coffee cup ban, possibly because it never went through.

suggestions & commentsPaul suggests that we study the barriers for people to carry their travel mugs.Are they bulky? Why people don’t like to carry them? What if we design a travel mug that people want to carry? Maybe there are only 20%-30% people carry their travel mugs. How could we get the others carry travel mugs also? What is it that will attract them? There is certain mindset against plastic cup (toxicity, etc.). What if Apple makes a travel mug? What can we learn from Apple (their design, their

branding)? Some education on the side would be good, maybe with numbers, but we don’t want too many numbers to turn off people’s interests.

assume that we have developed a coffee cup design that works; what kind of help we can get from paul?They can’t promise anything but they can look into it. The sustainability group and the deputy city manager would be very interested. We can do some more research and meet again.

reduction tacticsEventually, we have to go up the stream and reduce. This is the area that we are expected to work in. This is one of the streams that need to be tackled for the 2020 green city.

are there any metrics, statistics, or spreadsheets for us to analyze?Paul will have to get those from engineering department.

about the garbage can mapThere are about 1300 litter cans in downtown area. There are three guys with three trucks empty all of them over night. We may be able to talk to them.

primary research 31

Missing in the photo:Theunis Snyman


observing behaviours & space

$

Waves Coffee at Richard & Hasting

Our experiment led us to major insights about coffee culture and how consumers behave in space and time. We analyzed if people were getting their coffee to go or if people where sitting down and enjoying their java in a café. We also observed how the barista interacted with the customer and whether they asked the question “for here or to go” when placing one’s order. This was important to our research as we discovered many consumers were sitting and drinking their coffee in-house and still received their beverage in a paper cup. We used this insight to explore concepts of the barista being a point of interception

primary research 33

insights from the eXperiment

and how educating the barista on paper cup consumption and its effects would then be transferred to the consumer.

In addition, we also wanted to note what type of recycling methods and containers where being used in local coffee shops. This furthered our project by allowing us to analyze if recycling could be a place of design intervention or if the issue of paper cup consumption went deeper. When doing so, we were able to identify a specific user group that frequents many cafes, The Wi-fi User. We considered many different ways people

interact with cafés to use wi-fi and how could a designed system support the utilization of the ceramic mug over the paper cup.

Moreover, we found that each café had a different culture and atmosphere that reflected the consumer and the surrounding neighborhood. This directly affects they way people function in the space. This was a major insight that led us to focus our experiments on a grassroots scale and amplify our results to function, and be applied to larger facilities and different cultures.

As a result of our insights and findings to date, we conducted a preliminary experiment, based on coffee consumption behaviours in coffee shops. Each team member was sent to a different coffee shop in the Vancouver area (varying both in company and location) and given a list of questions to answer based on a 30 to 60 minute observation. Activities included analysing the ration of disposable cups, “to-go” tumblers and ceramic “for here” mugs in that particular location.

setting up a collaboration ground:GrASSrOOTS & AMPLify

35primary research

In order to further understand the disposable coffee cup culture in Vancouver, we took on a design approach that starts at a small, local, grassroots level with hopes to take our findings to scale up or amplify to a larger scope.

Our local community partner was a grocery store-café called the Wilder’s Snail, which is located in the Strathcona community. The Wilder Snail is a locally owned and operated small-business which has a customer-base that matches our criteria as early adopters – a community with members that have an

awareness of local sustainable initiatives, has an active level of peer to peer engagement and has a diverse, multi-ethnic heritage.

The Wilder Snail served as our test-bed for collecting quantitative and qualitative information about coffee culture. We conducted a series of experiments, which included logging the daily amount consumption of disposable paper cups, visualizing that data, and showing to the customer the environmental and social implications of this problem. It was this

space that allowed our ideas come to life and to illustrate the feasibilities of our ideas. By showcasing that our ideas work in a small community, we can have a stronger case to amplify our concept to a larger, more mainstream scale, which might include corporations such as Starbucks, Blenz Coffee, Waves Coffee and JJ Bean.


meeting withboyd thomson

37

gathering preliminary data

primary research

Boyd Thomson is the owner and operator of the Wilder Snail Grocery Store and Café. Aside from being a local grocery store in the Strathcona community, Boyd has created a hub for the locals to not only shop for locally grown, fresh organic produce and sustainably-conscious household products, he has created a cafe space where people can converse with friends, or relax and sit in quiet.

With his engineering background, Boyd is an early adopter to technology and is passionate about environmentally sustainable initiatives.

Boyd has been a large part of the development of our project. We set up a collaboration with The Wilder Snail as a ground for data collection and experimentation. Boyd was very enthusiastic about working with us, and seeing how his coffee shop could positively affect the local community.

In any experiment, it is imperative to establish performance metrics. Before we implemented any prototypes, we established a baseline to compare with when we implement prototypes at the Wilder’s Snail. We logged the distribution of cups which represented the typical consumption

of paper cups, sit-in mugs and tumbler mugs. By establishing the baseline, we could compare the effects of our prototypes on the coffee culture at the Wilder Snail.

projects in sustainable design38 CHAPTER HEAding 39

PAGE HEADER

midterm review of ideasWe distilled our information down into categories that would describe our experiment concept: Paper Cup Reduction including Design Activism, Alternatives/ Personalization, Point of contact, Cup Redesign, Culture/ Generational Predisposition and Up Selling.

Our exploration took us through many different ideas that we considered. One concept was looking at Adoption Cycles. We investigated many different loyalty programs and incentives that probe people to get involved and change their behavior. We also studied the idea of celebrating the local. How can we brand a mug or tumbler to become an object of desire and identity so the user will

take it everywhere with them? Furthermore, we looked into applying arts and crafts methods and how the knowledge and routines of elders could influence the new generation of coffee drinking, people who no longer need to take a thermos to work. Through looking at social change, we inspected the ideas of making the coffee cup famous with the movie Kony 2012 as our inspiration. We also looked at the ideas of beer gardens being coffee gardens; or using parking stalls as spaces for cafés to utilize as a coffee break destination like Park(ing) Day. This could influence people to take coffee breaks and enjoy their rest time, rather then taking a coffee moment and heading right back to work. In addition, using the concept of social interaction, we played with the idea of a Mug Co-op.

We also discussed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the opposing idea of consumer Unions. The idea of who is responsible for waste and how can those people be influential on making change.

More importantly we looked at the idea of user convince and routine and how behavior could be influenced so they user would be minimally inconvenienced. This helped us explore the ideas of instant feedback and communicating data and facts so people can make educated decisions.

Exploring a wide range of ideas helped us be insightful and choose a method of paper cup reduction that could be viable in coffee culture.

cost accessoriesbarriers emotional value

actions social value

concept development2D and 3D Sketch Prototypes

projects in sustainable design42 concept development 43

imagining scenarios

for here..

please

Communal Game

those who order a beverage for here or those who get their own cups/ tumblers get to

play a game: e.g. hangman

Shame Button

planets’ health dependson customers choice

sick planet healthy planet

to GObutton

for herebutton

possibly synced to social media sites e.g. facebook & twitter

Flash Mob

clap clap..

whistle

clap clap..

horay to

you.horay...

lets celebrate

Chuck the Cup Campaign

public art installationmade from a 100%

discarded cups

[#] disposable cups consumed every hour

in Van alone!

suggested location: robson square (downtown)

crazy!wow..

Grenade Cup

local seedsinside

today

made from eco-friendly clay.dissolves when exposed to excess

moisture (rain).

one month three months

Coffee Bean Cup

cup made from discardedcoffee ground

100% eco-friendly

Over the course of the term, our team came up with dozens of possible solutions to address the wicked problem at hand. The sketches below are a few samples portraying

line design eXperimentsPeople respond predictably to positive and negative incentives. The idea here was to give people who got their own mugs and tumblers priority service over people who didn’t. Our goal was to observe whether or not we could bring about positive behavior change.

the diverse approaches we considered. These ideas ranged from public art installations to flash mobs and even sustainable cups made from ground coffee.

projects in sustainable design44 concept development 45

line design eXperiments - iterations floor graphic

learning outcomes & surprisesWith this experiment, we learned how sensitive businesses are toward the possibility of alienating their customers. While we thought using the tag, “Don’t be that guy” would convey our message humorously, it quickly became evident that it could also be interpreted as negative feedback for customers who need to or wish to use a paper cup.

This led us to some serious questions about how to inform people about the negative consequences of disposable cup use in a way that encouraged new behaviours rather than discouraging them through shaming, and risk losing business.

don’tbethatguy

Floor graphic experiment installed at the Wilder Snail.

Model: Erich Stüssi


designing a smart mug

47concept development

The goal of this exploration was to create an object of desire and therefore changing consumer behavior with strategic product placement. One of the brainstormed solutions was to look at embedding technology into coffee mugs. It could be a barcode, a magnetic strip, or an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). We decided to use RFID, which would act as a liaison between the customer and the barista, carrying information and credits as a value proposition. The product and its system enables quick payment and store personal information such as your interests and favourite or most common drink order..

More importantly, once the barista scans the cup, the customers’ names and photos will appear on a screen. Being greeted by name makes the customer feel at home and connected to their local, and the barista, given enough servings, gets to know the customer and their preferences. Inherently, this interaction builds new relationships between customer and vendor.

early concept

Initially, we focused on a customizable solution. By using fast dry silicone putty, we were able to design a product that contains raw material for the customers to DIY their own RFID mug straps. We thought that this design could engage the users more and increase the value of the straps. As a result, we decided to move away from this idea due to the consideration of skill requirement, complicated process, and critical time constraints.

projects in sustainable design48 49concept development

eureka moment

Our final concept was inspired by zap straps. We can still embed RFID tags in the straps and the mechanism to attach the straps is easy. A unique and identifiable shape was formed after putting one end of the strap through the hole on other end. We also decided that the packaging of this product should be part of the product that provides function.

prototyping

projects in sustainable design50 projects in sustainable design 51

final prototypeSiLiCOnE wrAP ArOunD BAnD

rfiD TAGGinG

PrODuCT PACKAGinG BECOMES COASTEr


results & implications

5

3

1

0

For the third week of data, we altered the info graphic layout to directly tie the stats to the respective coffee containers. This increased the readability dramatically, and highlighted the clear “winner” for that week. We noticed a correlation in sequential weeks, after the data was publicly displayed, to an increase in Snail mug use. Although difficult to draw specific causal relationships, it was evident that the graphic did spark a lot of discussion, according to the baristas on site.The challenge moving forward was to link this observational experiment with implications customers would find relevant and compelling.

concept development 53

5

3

1

0

data visualiZation

Straightforward data visualization was used to generate conversation with customers at the Wilder Snail. Consumption patterns were placed on a sign that hung above the barista counter. By illustrating actual container usage trend for the prior week, customers could see how their choices were reflected in the over all

By layering the information week by week, the trending consumption data resides ghosted behind, what we called a “snail trail”.

numbers for a particular day when they were recent patrons. By simply displaying numbers, we avoided “judging” any particular customer preference. Rather, we left it up the the viewer to draw their own conclusions as to why this data was being illustrated.

55

PLEDGE / RESPONSE

CALL TO ACTION

INFORMATIVE QUESTION

This lid is designed to connect the disposable cup to the larger picture of consumption. Labeled with an informative question on top, we sought to engage the customer with a response (push tab), and a call to action via social media. This Twitter account posts regular information linking to recycling and zero waste initiatives.

lid concept

FOLLOW US @DESISECUAD

0-1 2-4 4+HO

W M

ANY PAPER CUPS COULD YOU SAVE THIS WEEK?

concept developmentprojects in sustainable design54


video productionPromoting the results of our research


video storyboardingOne of the most important stages of planning out a video is creating a storyboard. A storyboard is a graphic representation of how a video will unfold, shot by shot. The following are just a few of the storyboards we brainstormed.

video production 59

mocking up the user interfaceAs part of our video prototype, we simulated a touch-screen interface for the point of sale.

The drink order scenario goes as follows:The barista identifies the customer’s drinking vessel. If they have a tumbler with a Perk band, the customer places their tumbler on the scanner. The customer’s profile pops up, including their name, favourite drink and a small identifier that sparks a personal connection, making the customer feel special and rewarded for their loyalty.

projects in sustainable design60 video production 61

Video prototypes offer a relatively inexpensive way to visualize new design interventions. The goal behind this video is to communicate the overall feel of a new user experience. Using video as our primary medium we set out to create a fluid, interactive mock-up of our smart band system.

on set at the wilder snail

project conclusionsScalable recommendations


scalable recommendationsBased on our findings from this project, here is a general list of best practices that not only apply to local coffee retailers at a grassroots level, but that can be amplified to apply to larger corporations such as Starbucks.

engage the consumerLoyal customers appreciate being recognized for doing the right thing. Establishing a personal connection, for example by greeting them with their name, you put the customer at ease and establish a trust - which can become a communication ground for positive change.

use your barista as a point of interventionOne of the greatest barriers to change is lack of information. Most people, baristas included, are unaware that disposable coffee cups are not recyclable. By sharing this knowledge within the network of coffee shop owners, baristas and customers, not only do you start a conversation but you raise awareness about the issue.

use sustainable incentivesInstead of making consumers feel bad about using disposable cups, give them reasons to prefer using a tumbler or ceramic mug. For instance, if the tumbler becomes the currency for purchasing a beverage, the customer is less likely to forget it.

complement your customer’s lifestyleA common expectation when or-dering coffee is speed, efficiency and convenience. Ensure that your initiatives complement those needs as opposed to discarding them. Perk remembers your name, your drink and saves you time fumbling around for change. It blends in with your life instead of trying to change it

implement ubiquitous technologyBy implementing platforms that most people are accustomed to such as credit cards and online banking, changing behaviours becomes a lot less intimidating.

project conclusions 65

acknowledgementsPaul Gagnon

Boyd Thomson

Max Brunki

The Wilder Snail Staff

Graham Houston

Emily Carr DESIS Lab

City of Vancouver

The class would also like to thankLouise St Pierre for her mentorship and expertise.

Technology

Process book v2