Design Kit: Human-Centered Design | Team Oaklandish

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

Team Oaklandish

Bringing Healthier Food Options to People in Need

The Process

The Challenge

Inspiration

Our Insights

Our Solution

3

6

14

29

34

2

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

The Process

3

The Human-Centered Design Process Pioneered by IDEO, the HCD process asks its practitioners to approach developing design solutions to social challenges by focusing on the needs of its end users, channeling deep empathy and gathering constant feedback while continually generating and iterating on ideas in a convergent and divergent manner.

Inspiration

Ideation

Implementation

4

The Human-Centered Design Process Our Team: Team Oaklandish Alex Krzyzosiak Cindy Bayley Celeste Layne Radha Seshagiri Tammy Chung

5

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

The Challenge

6

How Might We Provide Healthier Food Options for People in Need?

7

As part of this design challenge, the team considered existing barriers to getting healthier food options to low-income residents of West Oakland including infrastructure, distribution, storage, education, access, and capital

How Might We Provide Healthier Food Options for People in Need?

8

With consideration to our end-users, we have defined “healthier” to mean: Primarily: Balanced Meal

But what do we mean by “healthier”?

Unprocessed / Fresh Vegetables & Fruits (shelf stable)

Secondarily: Low Salt / Low Sugar Home-cooked Organic

9

Why West Oakland?

“It is easier to stay drunk than it is to eat�

- Oakland resident Gregory Higgins

West Oakland is a food desert where there is an average of only one supermarket per 93,126 residents

Source: City Slicker Farms http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/west-oakland; https://oaklandnorth.net/few-food-choices/

10

In contrast, there are over 40 liquor stores selling tobacco, alcohol, and little to no fresh foods Access to healthy food is further restricted due to economic reasons: the average household has three people and an income of only $21,124 per year—32% of the 21,000 residents live below the poverty level Source: City Slicker Farms http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/west-oakland; https://oaklandnorth.net/few-food-choices/

11

We tested our own knowledge...

What do we know?

What are our assumptions?

Food is cultural

Food waste (from produce markets, farms) in the area is an issue

Produce markets are a short bus ride away

Healthy food is expensive

There are existing organizations dedicated to relieving food access issues in West Oakland

Healthy food is boring

12

... And determined our gaps What don’t we know? What do we have to find out?

Why is there a disconnect between availability in nearby Chinatown and people in need in other parts of Oakland?

How do people choose what they eat?

What current infrastructure for food access is in place and available?

What are people’s perceptions about food, healthy vs. unhealthy?

13

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

Inspiration

14

Seeking Inspiration In light of our information gaps, the team identified several key people and organizations to immerse ourselves into West Oakland’s challenge: People to Learn From:

Experts to Speak to:

• Families located in West

• Nutritionists

Oakland’s food deserts • Children attending public schools

in the region • Food distributors

• Food suppliers • City Slicker Farms (local urban farming

organization) • Social worker and child behavioralist

15

Seeking Inspiration Our learning could be grouped into three distinct themes: 1. Knowledge 2. Resources 3. Motivation

16

Knowledge There are varying degrees to how much knowledge residents have regarding how to cook and eat healthfully. Further, there is varying opinion as to which foods qualify as “healthy�

17

“You have to consider their economic status and what they can afford to eat. It would be unfair to say you have to buy everything fresh. It’s important to find a good balance.”

- Andrea Robles, Nutrition Researcher at Stanford University

18

“The vegetables at school aren’t salty enough - they need to have ‘zang’ [ to taste good ]!”

- Destiny, 10 years old, student at KIPP Bridge

19

“Many people have trouble understanding food labels�

- Andrea Robles, Nutrition Researcher at Stanford University

20

Resources Residents lack time to reach supermarkets where they may find healthier food and lack access to infrastructure for which to cook more healthfully

21

“I would buy milk and bread for my son at the liquor store.�

- Jennifer Dhillon, West Oakland resident

22

“People in the neighborhood can cook food here on the spot [if they don’t have access to kitchens]... If time is tight, they can make a juice.”

- Larry Davis, People’s Grocery 23

Motivation Eating is emotional—there is a need to stay sensitive to existing cultural norms around eating and communicating about food

24

“Even though these programs exist, many low income families in need are too embarrassed to actually use them�

- Maddy Conboy, Social Worker / Child Behavioralist

25

“Culturally appropriate food is sometimes in conflict with what’s considered healthy” - Joseph Davis, City Slicker Farms 26

“We need to be intentional about outreach�

- Andrionna, Mandela Food Cooperative

27

“Word of mouth is the primary way people hear about City Slicker Farms.”

- Joseph Davis, City Slicker Farms 28

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

Our Insights

29

Insights Into Opportunities Our research provided insights and the framework for opportunity areas for which to design against: 1. Existing Behaviors 2. Food Waste & Food Surplus 3. Grassroots Communication

30

INSIGHT People often have engrained existing behaviors around food that can act as a barrier to eating balanced and healthfully

INSIGHT 1

Existing Behaviors

HMW Q

How might we enable more balanced (healthy) eating over time by understanding and leveraging people's existing behaviors around food?

31

INSIGHT There is often limited access to food, but at the same time, some organizations often have a surplus of food

INSIGHT 2

Food Waste & Food Surplus

HMW Q

How might we bridge the gap between lack of access to food and existing surplus of food?

32

INSIGHT Organizers find grassroots methods of communication most effective

INSIGHT 3

Grassroots Communication

HMW Q

How might we leverage grassroots means to bring awareness to healthy eating options and behaviors?

33

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

Our Solution

34

Insights Into Ideas Given our three ‘how might we’ questions, the team ideated around potential design solutions, rapidly generating a large volume of ideas to capture the gamut of opportunities and to build off of one another’s ideas

35

Our Solution:

A Liquor Store Redesign

36

How Might We Provide Healthier Food Options for People in Need?

With the insight that there is and excess of liquor stores in West Oakland where residents often visit to re-stock on staple food products, we identified an opportunity to leverage people’s existing behaviors in order to implement incremental change.

A Liquor Store Redesign

37

OUR IDEA A Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You: A partnership amongst West Oakland corner stores bringing healthy foods within reach

A Liquor Store Redesign

An effort to redesign the liquor store to better promote healthy and balanced eating, meeting people where they buy their food today

38

A Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You Our team ideated realistic solutions for corner store owners that were low-cost and easy to implement.

Further, to take into account each customers’ varying circumstances, we incorporated a dual-level pricing system.

39

A Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You PROTOTYPE A A cart outside displays healthy, fresh food. This food is surplus food collected from local organizations and is sold at a heavily discounted price.

Branded signage to draw recognition amongst the network of partners

Tiered pricing based on an ‘honor system.’ Customers decide whether they can afford the full price or need to purchase food at a reduced rate

Low-cost, versatile, mobile cart unit that is easily collapsable (for storage) and adaptable for a variety of store layouts 40

SIGNAGE: Our Mission To provide accessible, healthy food for West Oakland residents, taking into account each of our customers’ different circumstances.

Pick a Pricing Level: Level A – Reduced Price For when money is tight and income is intermittent.

Level B – Regular Price For those who have greater access to cash, pay a little more to help a neighbor!

41

A Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You PROTOTYPE B An indoor cart/unit, clearly displays healthy, shelf-stable options below the register where customers are making their purchases.

Branded signage and a mission statement with information about the dual pricing model

42

The Experience

Meet Jennifer

Hearing About the Store

Discovery

37, Nurse’s Aid (night shift)

Jennifer hears from a neighbor about how the corner store down the block is now selling an expanded offering of fresh groceries and shelf stable vegetables and fruit.

Jennifer has decided to make chicken, rice, beans and collard greens for dinner. While the kids are at school, she goes to the corner store to check out the assortment. She realizes that there’s now a new produce cart outside the store

Resident of West Oakland with two kids (10, 13 yo), and a single parent

43

The Experience

Initial Purchase

Checking-Out

Healthy Meals at Home

Jennifer picks up collard greens from the cart outside and continues to enter the corner store. Immediately, she sees there’s a new dedicated section to shelf stable vegetables.

She sees the pricing sign near the shelf and learns about the dual-level pricing system. A reduced rate is available for those who aren’t able to afford the full price. She pays the reduced rate, as money is currently tight for her family.

Jennifer cooks her family’s favorite meal and is happy that she had time to prepare it before she had to leave for work. She’s especially glad that her kids are happy and full.

44

The Experience

Full Adoption

Spreading the Word

Next time, Jennifer takes her kids to the corner store, which now comes to mind first when she thinks about buying groceries for dinner. She tells her kids that they can come by to purchase groceries when she’s unable to.

Jennifer runs into her friend Paul, who asks to borrow milk and eggs. She tells him how easy it is now to pick up fresh groceries at the corner store down the street. Paul had no idea about the change to the store, and goes the next day.

45

To test our prototype, we leveraged our diagrams to gather feedback from those outside of our process, role playing with them to discover the concept’s strengths and areas for improvement.

Testing Our Prototype

^ Prototype A

Prototype B > 46

Feedback: Strengths to Leverage • Cart: A mobile, versatile, and approachable way to introduce healthier

foods into the corner store setting • Branded Element: Brings credibility, imbues Oakland pride, and is a

recognizable element (e.g., badge, signage, colors); consider using badge to brand produce

47

Feedback: Potential Barriers to Consider • Pricing Ambiguity: May need further guidance to customers on how to

determine their level; honor system may cause an awkward disposition for customers; the proposition may not be relevant to level B customers (thus, potentially no need for different levels) • Corner Store Owners’ POV: May not have capacity (shelf space, floor

space) or resources to upkeep; may not be incentivized to house the cart within their stores

48

Feedback: Ideas to Build Upon • Identify the Source: Leverage signage or other materials to indicate where

the fresh produce is sourced from (e.g., local farms, nearby city farms) • Share Inspiration: Display and distribute 10-minute recipe cards,

pamphlets with tips on cooking more healthfully, and suggest alternatives to foods and beverages • Educational Materials: Leverage space to provide information on serving

suggestions and other nutritional benefits 49

What’s Next?

The Design Kit: The Course for Human Centered Design course concludes at the Implementation phase, whereby the team identifies key next steps to bring A Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You to life: • Continued prototyping and iteration incorporating feedback received • Identification of key roles necessary to staff to execute on our plan, including:

y 93,0 desert—for ever one supermarket. A there is only nd, A Healthy You is a Healthy Oakla mong West Oakland partnership aaiming to address this corner stores g healthy food within issue and brinigning a new approach reach. By des plus food for people in to leverage surer store will become a need, the cornr e s ou r c e f or l o c a l c on v e n i e n t buy healthier food residents to their neighborhood. options right in

50

H

THE PITC

operations, inventory management, community outreach, development, and design & engineering as a food d ie if s s la c • Preparation for sell-in, including a pitch for funders is West Oakland 00 residents,

Thank You! Team Oaklandish wishes to thank the folks at IDEO.org and +ACUMEN for introducing us to a new way of thinking, and our fellow classmates for their feedback and inspiration.

- Alex, Celeste, Cindy, Radha & Tammy

51

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

Team Oaklandish

Bringing Healthier Food Options to People in Need

52