design kit: human-centered design | team oaklandish

DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered DesignTeam OaklandishBringing Healthier Food Options to People in Need

The Process

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The Challenge Inspiration Our Insights Our Solution

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DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered Design

The Process

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The Human-Centered Design ProcessPioneered 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.

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Inspiration Ideation Implementation

The Human-Centered Design ProcessOur Team:Team Oaklandish

Alex KrzyzosiakCindy BayleyCeleste LayneRadha SeshagiriTammy Chung

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The Challenge

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

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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

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With consideration to our end-users, we have defined

“healthier” to mean:

Primarily:

Balanced Meal

Unprocessed / Fresh

Vegetables & Fruits (shelf stable)

Secondarily:

Low Salt / Low Sugar

Home-cooked

Organic

But what do we mean by “healthier”?

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

“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

Why West Oakland?

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http://www.cityslickerfarms.org/west-oakland




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/

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We tested our own knowledge...What do we know?

Food is cultural

Produce markets are a short bus ride away

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

What are our assumptions?

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

Healthy food is expensive

Healthy food is boring

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... And determined our gapsWhat 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?

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Inspiration

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

• Families located in West Oakland’s food deserts

• Children attending public schools in the region

• Food distributors

• Nutritionists

• Food suppliers

• City Slicker Farms (local urban farming organization)

• Social worker and child behavioralist

People to Learn From: Experts to Speak to:

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Seeking InspirationOur learning could be grouped into three distinct themes:

1. Knowledge

2. Resources

3. Motivation

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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”

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“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

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

- Destiny, 10 years old, student at KIPP Bridge

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“Many people have trouble understanding food labels”

- Andrea Robles, Nutrition Researcher at Stanford University

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

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

- Jennifer Dhillon, West Oakland resident

“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

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

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

- Maddy Conboy, Social Worker / Child Behavioralist

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“Culturally appropriate food is sometimes in conflict with what’s considered healthy”

- Joseph Davis, City Slicker Farms

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“We need to be intentional about outreach”

- Andrionna, Mandela Food Cooperative

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

- Joseph Davis, City Slicker Farms

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Our Insights

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Insights Into OpportunitiesOur research provided insights and the framework for opportunity areas for which to design against:

1. Existing Behaviors2. Food Waste & Food Surplus3. Grassroots Communication

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INSIGHT 1

Existing Behaviors

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

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

HMW Q

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INSIGHT 2

Food Waste & Food Surplus

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

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

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HMW Q

INSIGHT 3

Grassroots Communication

INSIGHTOrganizers find grassroots methods of communication most effective

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

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HMW Q


Our Solution

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Insights Into Ideas

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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

Our Solution:A Liquor Store Redesign

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A Liquor Store Redesign


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.

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A Liquor Store Redesign

OUR IDEA

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

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

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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.

Branded signage to draw recognition amongst the network of partners

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

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


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

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SIGNAGE:

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

Pick a Pricing Level:

Level A – Reduced PriceFor when money is tight and income is intermittent.

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

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

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PROTOTYPE BAn indoor cart/unit, clearly displays healthy, shelf-stable options below the register where customers are making their purchases.

Hearing About the Store

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.

Discovery

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

Meet Jennifer

37, Nurse’s Aid (night shift)

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

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The Experience

The Experience

Checking-Out

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.

Healthy Meals at Home

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.

Initial Purchase

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.

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The Experience

Spreading the Word

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.

Full Adoption

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.

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Testing Our Prototype

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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.

^ Prototype A

Prototype B >

Feedback: Strengths to Leverage

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• 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

Feedback: Potential Barriers to Consider

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• 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

Feedback: Ideas to Build Upon

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• 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

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:

operations, inventory management, community outreach, development, and design & engineering

• Preparation for sell-in, including a pitch for funders

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West Oakland is classified as a food

desert—for every 93,000 residents,

there is only one supermarket. A

Healthy Oakland, A Healthy You is a

partnership among West Oakland

corner stores aiming to address this

issue and bring healthy food within

reach. By designing a new approach

to leverage surplus food for people in

need, the corner store will become a

convenient resource for local

residents to buy healthier food

options right in their neighborhood.

THE PITCH

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

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DESIGN KIT: The Course for Human-Centered DesignTeam OaklandishBringing Healthier Food Options to People in Need

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