Freeganista+Final+Project

=**Freeganista Final Project**=
 * Matthew Habecker** **Cole Altuzarra**   **Kendra Vanek**   **Vladek Berg**


 * Introduction**

There is something complex about understanding our connection to the nature around us. Since the early 20th century, the industrial revolution has perpetuated this notion that we need to constantly renovate our conception of technology. Novel ideas and products generate consumerist ideals and our inventions are woven into the very fabric of Capitalism. With newer products and more consumers, businesses strive to produce more with less—drawing from globalized resources. We have separated ourselves from our conception of nature. Through this project, we hoped to re-conceptualize conventionally wasteful modes of production and reconnect humanity with their surrounding nature. Through this pursuit, we designed a new carrier for milk. All pieces and parts are 100% natural, ecologically and socially sustainable, healthy, and reusable. With a new container, individuals can reconnect with a rising identity built from the environment, community and self.


 * Empathize**

At the beginning of our project, our team hoped to tackle two components with our final project: social sustainability and environmental sustainability. We generated ideas surrounding class equity, waste management, and health. Our main goal was not to pursue a project detrimental to humanity’s well-being, which brought us to start at the bottom. We traveled to two main locations, Garten Services Recycling Center and Arches Family Services. Various interviews and collected data excited our idealistic nature and left us ready to "define" what we understood to be true.

The harmful truth of plastic bottles, tubs, and cartons became apparent. Employees at Garten Services, a recycle management company here in Salem, explained how pollution arises from lack of resources in waste management. Just through Garten Services alone, 1,000 pounds of recycled materials flow in daily. Close to 400 men and women sort each item in shifts throughout the week and the materials are shipped across the globe for profit. We were intrigued by this problem and wanted to know more.

We went to Arches in Salem to learn about the less fortunate individuals well being. Before interviewing, we brainstormed questions we wanted to ask them about their nutrition, problems with it, access to healthy food, and their knowledge about it. It was very important for us to have open-ended questions for in depth and heartfelt responses. Examples of questions we asked were about their normal diet, education about healthy food options, or changes they wanted at Arches. We recorded the interviews and took notes during our conversations for greater analysis afterwards. The interviewees spoke about their nutrition and problems with it. They were very open and even told us personal things, which showed their honesty. After Arches, we interviewed people from the middle/upper class who could possibly help those less fortunate. We wanted to hear their point of view, knowledge, and feelings of this situation. We asked them open-ended questions if, how, and why they help the less fortunate community.

After we were done with the interviews, we analyzed our notes. We put them on sticky notes to sort them and figured out what was important. We were wondering about the lack of access to nutritional food. They also had a lack of knowledge about healthy food. The middle/upper class told us that they were trying to help the less fortunate people. They also said that they were not going to invest money in nutritional education and it is more important to give meals because there is the need.

We changed gears and discussed the impact of what waste management said about sustainability of products. This intrigued our group because the lack of opportunities for sustainable and reusable products. We wanted to move forward and define our product or service that could help those less fortunate or create sustainable products for the environment, if not both.




 * Define**

With a bundle of data from our target consumers, we began highlighting patterns within our collective findings through the use of sticky notes. This technique was helpful for maintaining organization while visually displaying relationships between ideas that we felt were meaningful. These relationships contained the essence of the problem that we were looking for. We focused on finding the concepts that had the greatest impact on the largest amount of people that we interviewed. Once we had made various distinctions and connections within our findings we decided to focus on the fact that the majority of people that we interviewed were not living sustainable lives. From this point we crafted composite characters that we felt were representative of the entire set of people that we interviewed. Each composite character had a particular problem or point of view with which we posed how might we questions to help us during our ideate process.


 * Ideate**

After defining the problems that we felt were relevant from our character composites it was time to begin generating ideas for possible solutions. During this process we posed various how might we questions from our design stage. The answers that we came up with for these questions served as our potential project ideas. Along these lines the specific how might we questions that we focused on were ones that we posed for a specific point of view: Susan wishes for a product or service design that will promote sustainability within the community while reinventing her daily need-meeting experiences. With this point of view as a guide, we knew that we wanted to brainstorm ideas that would put forth sustainability while meeting a common need of our consumers. We were able to come up with a variety of ideas along these lines over the course of a couple of brainstorming sessions.


 * Prototype and Test**

After contemplating all the different products and services our group brainstormed, we decided the best and most promising product would be the hexagonal glass milk container with a cork top. This product would be a sustainable method for customer use. We envisioned a product that would be green but aesthetically pleasing too. The name of our product is Freeganista. This stems from the word Freeganism that describes the practice of reclaiming and eating food that has been recycled and used widely as an anti-consumerist ideology of the mentality of alternative living.

//__Prototype and Test 1__//

The first test was whether our product would be purchased by our target market. More importantly, was the bottle’s sustainability aspect attractive, using both glass and a cork. Was the hexagonal shape aesthetically pleasing for consumers to purchase? Our first thought was to transport the milk containers to different households. Using the hexagonal shape, it would save space when stacking. We wanted to use a biomimicry design similar to that of a beehive. The shape could offer structural support and space saving opportunity when transporting.

Plastic has become a resource that not only plagues waste facilities, but also is very harmful to the earth. Our mission is to create a bottle that is sustainable, earth friendly, and offer the same capabilities as plastic containers. Glass was our best option in terms of sustainability and recyclability. The lid was much more challenging. We did not want to use any type of metal or plastic material, which left us with fewer choices for sustainable material. It was soon researched that a cork is not only sustainable, but also very suitable for a lid. Take for example many wine brands, they incorporate both glass bottles and cork lids. We decided these were the most sustainable materials to manufacture this product.

Our initial interviews and tests were very positive and showed that Freeganista had potential. The biggest feedback was the sustainable part of this product. Our test sample showed that being sustainable is very important to them. The hexagonal shape proved to be a positive feature for aesthetics. The negative aspect of this design was how to prevent someone from tampering with the liquids inside. This was important but also created additional with our sustainability act of avoiding plastic materials. Delivering the milk containers was not favorable from our test sample. The prices of milk are expensive and they do not want to pay a high premium to have milk delivered to their home. Furthermore, they found it might be difficult to coordinate when to have milk dropped off, as our users consume different amounts each week. The insights and feedback helped us design our second prototype.

//__Prototype and Test 2__//

Our second prototype implemented many of the features of our first prototype but we created cardboard mock ups for our test sample to actually touch and grasp. The test showed positive and negative results from our sample test users. The difference between sketches and actual model sparked much more questions. Size was an overarching concern with this product. We wanted to create a product in size similar to a gallon milk jug. The problem was instantly mentioned by many test users that without a handle, they would not purchase the product. Unfortunately, during this prototype, we still could not figure out how to seal the product sustainably, which was a concern to some users. In terms of size, user suggestions are to create a smaller and easier prototype to handle the container. Many loved the name and gave the same responses as our first test users; they would purchase the product for its sustainable and aesthetically pleasing look. Another aspect, which will help drive its sustainability, is that Freeganista product can be reused. The aesthetically pleasing bottle can be used for different purposes in the kitchen. Due to this user feedback, we wanted the labels on Freeganista to be as appealing as possible. We used the advice and suggestions from our test users and applied them to our modifications on our third prototype. //__Prototype and Test 3__//

Our third prototype was not much different in terms of what we wanted to show our test users. More importantly, for this test, we created a smaller more manageable prototype. Our test users responded much more favorably. It was easier to envision this product into a full fledge glass container. The cork was a concern about how it will stay on during transit and how large it is. For the seal, we were able to find a sustainable method, which involves using wax strip across one or multiple sides of the cork. The wax is sustainable and would prevent someone from tampering with the liquid inside. The definition for Freeganista is, (n) one who embraces community, ecological sustainability, and seeks to oppose conformity. For each different milk product (fat free, 1%, 2%, and whole) we will use the same label but different colors. As we finished our last prototype and test session, we understood that the possibilities of this product are viable. Understandably, the liquid container market is very saturated. Our competitive advantage in the market would be our unique way of approaching the bottling industry. Enforcing and educating the community about Freeganista and how it is a product that allows for sustainability but is also aesthetically pleasing. Consumers can purchase the product and because the labels and bottle is so eloquently done, they will want to use it again for other means. The biggest obstacle will be translating the green ethos we want Freeganista to represent. The size has been chosen to be about a liter. It is easily manageable and transported.

Unfortunately, due to budget and time constraints, we could not develop a real working glass prototype. This would take considerable time and effort, requiring additional expertise.


 * Conclusion**

In conclusion, the entire design thinking major project was a valuable learning experience for the whole group. The initial empathize stages were new opportunities to explore the world around us. Talking with those less fortunate at Arches was helpful in learning their necessities. Moreover, talking with Garten and waste management opened our eyes to the destruction many unsustainable items have on the nature and the environment around us.

Going through the define and ideate stages was very difficult for our team because of our wide range of interviews. In the end, we felt that the biggest impact our group could make was with Freeganista, the sustainable containers. It was evident this was a great idea by the positive and impactful results that our test users responded to.

In the end, we found that this major project was a success. We learned valuable lessons on how to design a product based on user interviews and finding a need. The prototypes and user tests further strengthened the notion that the design was fulfilling a need. Looking forward we would like to create a glass prototype to further the design thinking process. Overall, we are confident that where we ended up as a group is on the right track to promoting more sustainable lives across the globe.