terry
December 2015
‘terry’ is an Internet of Things system and device developed in response to the ‘Waste Not Want Not’ breif set by the RSA. The brief was to find a solution which would reduce the massive amount of food waste.
The project taught me how to be highly collaborative, and how to both lead and be a key part of a creative team over a long project. Delegation of tasks and creative teamwork became essential in delivering a wide range of product features to a high level of definition.
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We had a highly energetic design process which began with an assessment of the food waste problem and the production of a whole range of solutions.
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The iterative idea generation stage - which involved people swapping ideas in order to move them along - resulted in a wide range of resonably well thought out ideas, and went in parallel with continued research on the issues of food waste.
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Over the project our understanding of the selected terry system shifted from a device-centric approach to 'system thinking', considering the product as merely a touchpoint of a wider system of services.
We employed video prototyping to both present and refine our ideas.
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After talking to a multitude of different user groups, we considered each and how they would access the system. This led us to divide features up between app and device. This gives older people a helpful, easy to use inventory management product that doesn't need an online connection; young people a helpful app which will help them spend less; and gives families, with the device, wifi, and the app, the best of both worlds.
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The device and interface revolve around an e-ink screen, and a clicky, capacitive bezel which allows users to interact with menus and features without getting oily fingers on the screen. The interface has been prototyped digitally and tested with potential users.
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The app's features have been comprehensively designed. The mainly neutual color palette puts it on equal ground with the e-ink screen of the product. Many features are built into the app, including a streamlined 'chat' to manage food plans on the go, connections with other users, and potential to monitise the app itself through adverts and brand tie-ins.
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We were required to provide a 'reflective journal', this PDF is an interesting account of the design process
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This PDF serves as a look into the technical details of the system and device, and provides more details on features.
by Tom Lever, Grant Chrichton, Oliver Barragán, Johhny Willis and Sarah Irving
a more critical appraisal of this project can be found on my blog at http://blog.tomlever.co.uk/2016/07/terry.html
