DES100 - Discovery Phase

Initial Problems Brainstorm (As a Client)

As a Designer

My Client's Problem Space: Cooking

Main Points (Full interview below)

• Finding recipes, specifically like signature dishes e.g. dishes that are special to families

• Some recipes have special ingredients and he doesn't know where to buy them

• He can't find motivation to cook because he lives by himself and it's a lot of effort and time just for a small meal, but he still enjoys cooking

• Has a daily budget, frequently uses UberEats

Interview

Empathy Conversations

Observation/Photo journal

Problem Analysis

Reflection

He wakes up very late which could be affected by university assignments. It's possibly caused by having a big social life to compensate for living at home by himself, so he would go home late and then have to do university things. It's necessary to find a balance between social life and academic life but it's hard since he's alone so he can't get as much help to do things. This can affect mental and physical health, which is observed as he didn't eat when he woke up, therefore lacking the important nutrition and energy.

Out of ordering UberEats and looking to see what he has to cook with, whichever he does first, is most likely the option he would stick to. As he goes on UberEats first, it's more likely that he'll buy it from there because it's the easier and more convenient option. Whereas if he were to look properly at what he has to cook with first, then there's a higher chance he would be able to think up a meal instead of relying on ordering food.

Has lots of yoghurt and pre-made sauces/flavourings in fridge. Yoghurt is a quick ready-to-go type of food, shows how he doesn't have time to make proper meals all the time. The pre-made sauces/flavourings makes it quicker to add flavour instead of making the taste from scratch.

Uses tin foil which is commonly used when baking things in the oven and is a healthy alternative to frying things. Cooking in the oven doesn't require as much effort or active focus, which he doesn't seem to have much of.

In his pantry, there are lots of condiments. If he keeps buying new things but doesn't use it up fast enough, they might go to waste as they're unused which is not cost effective. This is caused by him not cooking as much and ordering instead.

Andrew uses very high quality ingredients (meat and oil) which are expensive and his UberEats options are also quite expensive. A lot of money goes towards ordering food and specific ingredients which means he requires a bigger budget each day but he has to save more since he doesn't have a job yet. With his budget of $30, he could cook a lot of food which could act as meal prep for uni.

Most of the food in his area or that was listed on his UberEats page was Asian so he has a preference as he is probably more familiar with the food and knows he will enjoy it.

I noticed that two out of the three people that I had an empathy conversation with, didn't like washing dishes. This is very common amongst people and can sometimes demotivate them to cook. In relation to Andrew, it may demotivate him to cook as he would have to do the cooking and the dishes, rather than someone else doing the dishes. Usually when ordering takeaway there's less dishes and the packaging can be thrown away so there's nothing to worry about after.

My friend and Andrew both live in apartments and have budgets for their meals which is likely to be because they have lower incomes.

Looking at my conversations with my grandpa and Andrew, I noticed that they both view cooking for themselves as something that is less positive. My grandpa finds more value in his cooking when it's for lots of people, as he can add 'flair' which is more in terms of the quantity - he always prepared cooked lots of dishes for dinner. Same with Andrew, who feels as if there's no reason to cook for himself sometimes when there's only him who's tasting it. In comparison, my aunty and friend viewed cooking for themselves more positively. My aunty is able to make her food her way and doesn't have to worry about the preferences of others, and my friend likes to try new recipes when eating by herself.

Overall, there was a theme of family in all my conversations through this discovery phase and they all required a sense of connection to create meaningful experiences through cooking.