Choco Lato: Experience Design
For this project, I wanted to redesign a chocolate shop. I always have had a hard time deciding exactly what I want to eat, but also which chocolates would pair together best for an elevated chocolate tasting experience. To combat this, I want to design a kiosk that you order from. Instead of choosing which individual chocolates you want, you input what flavors and chocolate types you like, and an ai system takes your choices and curates a box for you. I want to have the flow be similar to a coffee shop. You order (at the kiosk) and then there is a glass window where you can look in and see people making chocolate, and then there is opening at the end where your name is called to pick up your box. This also helps when you want to pick up chocolates as a present. You are able to get something elevated and curated, and you are less likely to choose something they are not going to like.
Initial Research
Interview Responses
Customer Journey Map
Audience Notes
-what kind of people buy chocolates
-does this open up a new chocolate buying audience
-my father and boyfriend buy chocolate
-my mother eats a lot of chocolate she does not pick it out
Branding Guidelines
I decided on a chocolate shop because one of my mentors suggested I created an elevated food-based branding design for my portfolio for a job I was interested in. I thought a chocolate shop could be a great way to capture my aesthetic in a slightly cutesy sophisticated way. Also brown, and other warm tones are all great chocolate branding colors. I love using warm tones in my designs. I went on to complete a customer journey as well as some interviews to help me prepare for this project. It took me a bit of time the decide how I wanted to redesign buying chocolate.
Experience Design
The experience itself came easy; the redesign was more difficult. I was thinking about different reasons why people buy chocolate and that is when the idea came to me. People, a lot of the time, buy chocolate as a present. What happens if you do not know what to choose for another person? You guess awkwardly and hope you end up with good choices for the other person. So with my design instead, you can choose the types of flavors other people like, and the system picks out a curated box for them. I also plan on including basic options that appeal to wide audiences if a person has no idea what to pick. This would also be fun for a person choosing chocolates for themselves. There is a sense of mystery and fun in not being able to choose something yourself. It is like those blind boxes, but you have the chance to influence it. My interviewees also agreed with this point. One of them is not that interested in chocolate, but the fact that a robot chooses them for you instead makes them want to try.
Maquette
Sketch of Physical Space
Kiosk Screen Prototypes
In the end I am happy with my finished project. I think it looks great, and a lot of the people I have pitched it to have been interested. With more time, I would like to have fine-tuned the interface more. It would be very important to include a section to input allergies and dietary restrictions. Also, I keep on going back and forth if it would be better to include what chocolates are included after the quiz or make it a surprise when the box is received. It would be nice to have a card that is tucked in the box that is custom printed for each order that details what is inside. I am unsure about these logistics and how long it would take to print out one of these sheets for each. Ideally it would be full color with and image and description on high quality paper. While working in food service with an online ordering platform, I was able to draw inspiration from this platform on things to include. This project is a great start, but to be a real possibility there is still more work to be done.