DESN501: Design Thinking Report - Beverage Design Project

This report details a student's design thinking process for a new beverage, covering the four key stages: empathize, define and ideate, business model, and prototype, test, and reflect. The student conducted interviews to understand user needs, utilizing empathy maps to visualize insights from two interviewees, identifying their coffee consumption habits, preferences, and problems. The report then defines a point of view and uses the lotus blossom ideation tool to generate design ideas, focusing on customizable, convenient, and health-conscious beverage options. A business model canvas is presented, outlining the beverage's value proposition, key activities, resources, and revenue streams. Finally, the report reflects on the prototyping experience and how feedback informed the final design, highlighting the iterative nature of the design thinking process and the importance of user-centered design.

Design Thinking Report
Complete all of the questions in this report. There are four parts to this report, each part
representing a key stage in the design thinking process. Each part is worth 10% of your
overall grade.

1. Reflect on your experience of interviewing a person for your design thinking
project. What new and interesting insights did you learn from them?
Interviewing someone is not an easy task to perform, but it was the best approach I could
come up with for my design thinking project. I kept certain factors in my mind while interviewing
the candidates for the project which included the atmosphere in the room, refreshments –snack or a
drink, and to identify the coffee drinkers and their association with it.
One of the interviewee, Tamica, who was 20 years old was a regular coffee drinker. I
learned that she consumed coffee once or twice a week and the problem she faced while drinking
was that it strained her teeth. Moreover, she explained that she had a positive association with the
beverage and that she occasionally dissolved sugar in her drink but made use of flavours such as
caramel shot at times for extra sweetness. She additionally described that a good experience
according to her is that coffee must be delicious and that it can be found in European countries
when compared to New Zealand.
From Taniel, my other interviewee, I learned that she too was a regular coffee drinker and
that she consumed it at least four times a week, if not more. Taniel, on the other hand, believed that
New Zealand had a strong coffee culture and for her drinking coffee was a positive association as it
tastes good and helps her get rid of hunger. Though, her problem with the beverage was that it does
not affect her alertness level or energy when she needs a boost. She also states that she never
consumes sugar with her drink but she prefers a flavoured coffee drink every now and then when
she craves for something sweet.
From the above two incidents, I learned that it was easy for them to communicate about
their likes and dislikes and with the help of the questionnaire, it became easier for me to
understand their perceptions and that there were some needs of the candidates which were not
being satisfied after consuming the beverage.
2. Choose one of the empathise tools (empathy map or persona tool). Provide visual
evidence of this tool and explain how it informed your project?

Empathy Map is a qualitative research date which is divided into four sections – think, do,
say, and feel. In this case, people whom I want to understand and empathise with were identified
first and then I began to question them and explore their mind as well as analyse their replies and
facial expressions. The interviewee’s were then asked to share their experience and views and how
this changed their insights. The two interviewee’s, Taniel and Tamaica, were interviewed and on
the basis of their individual response the below two Empathy Maps have been constructed. Based
on their answers and reactions, the map describes how they felt, what they said, what they think,
and what they actually did. With the help of this tool, I got a clear insight of my brand and the
products that it has to offer and as to how the approach would be by the university students. It can
be said that the review was positive and due to it, we plan to launch a few more beverages in the
next few months to provide our clients something different.
Part A – Empathise
This part is worth 10% of your overall grade.

DOES
SAYS THINKS
FEELS
No programs or events related to coffee making.
I go to cafés to get out of my house.
I do not like to meet people at cafés.
Am I wasting my money and time?
Maybe there are better cafés out there.
Which flavored coffee is best for me?
Compare the products.
Observe things and people around me.
Plan my day’s agenda.
Better way to deal with the customers.
Must make a stronger batch of coffee.
Overwhelmed yet anxious
Taniel

DOES
SAYS THINKS
FEELS
What size should I order?
I occasionally go to cafés to take a break.
I want something less sweet.
Do they think I am stupid?
I want something delicious and picturesque.
Is sugar intake good for me?
Read a book.
Surf the internet.
Make small decisions.
Better way to promote their products.
Improve the outlook of the place.
Excited
Tamica

Part B – Define and Ideate
This part is worth 10% of your overall grade.
3. State your point of view. Discuss why this is an interesting design challenge for
you to be working on.
Hannah needs to gain energy through coffee because she has to get through her busy lifestyle.
[user] [users’ needs] [insight]
I believe that this is an interesting design challenge, as every high schooler and
university student seem to have a jam-packed schedule. Their schedule generally involves
commuting from their home to the campus with the means of public transport and then
attending classes and taking part in extracurricular activities. So, between all this, they need
to consume something healthy to keep them functioning. Hence, I believe, coffee will be
beneficial as it will help Hannah to get through her busy day to day life. Given that this
product can be consumed on the go as well as it is economical. The purpose of working on
this product is that since it comes with reusable cups and works just fine with any
temperature of milk and water, it is pocket-friendly for the students. Moreover, it comes with
dissolvable sachet and a bamboo stirrer which is reusable as well in order to eliminate any
sort of hassle. If an individual requires extra sachets, then they can purchase that separately
as it comes in a pack of three. Lastly, the coffee pod is designed in such a way to keep the
coffee warm for a longer duration.
4. Choose one of the ideate tools from Week 9 (idea selection or lotus blossom).
Reflect on your experience of using this tool and how it helped to develop your
design ideas? Provide visual evidence of this tool.
From week 9, lotus blossom has been chosen from the ideate tools to reflect on my
personal experience as to how it helped me to develop the design ideas. The Lotus Blossom
technique focusses solely on the clout of brainstorming on the areas of my individual
interest. This is done with the help of a visual representation of thoughts as well as ideas and
is akin to that of a mind-map. Although, I believe, the lotus blossom is more structured and it
pushes the individual in ways they cannot experience in the classic mind – mapping tool. The
concept of Lotus Blossom is to start off with a central idea or a theme and then eventually
expand outwards along with the related ideas and themes in an iterative style. The technique
motivates as well as encourages me to have a fully planned and oriented idea space before
thinking that it is complete.
Reusable Cups Coffee Pods Decaf Option
Shapes and Colours of Cups COFFEE Flavours
Insulated Cartons (Milk and
sugar)
Customisable Reusable Stirrers
Initially, I thought of starting with the various scenarios as to why the beverage that
we will sell to the general public especially, the students will be better than our competitors.
We placed our item in the centremost square and broke down the other eight boxes as the
outer lotus blossoms. In order to achieve our target, we placed the eight crucial ways and
methods in each box that are as follows –

 We plan to provide decaf and caffeinated coffee options to our clients;
 The cups provided to our customers will be made of glass to keep the coffee
warm;
 Sugar and milk jellies are provided separately that comes in a pack of three;
 Reusable bamboo stirrers are provided to eliminate additional expenses;
 Cups provided will be reusable;
 The beverage can be customised as per the requirement of an individual;
 Square/mini pod shaped packaging with aesthetically pleasing colour is
available;
 Sweet coffee, vanilla, plain, caramel flavoured beverages are available.

Part C – Business Model
This part is worth 10% of your overall grade.
5. What is your beverage’s business model? Complete the business model canvas on
the following page.
Summarise your beverage’s value proposition. What are the key elements that
will make your beverage a success?
The launch of this beverage will not only be beneficial for the college and the university
students, but it will also be beneficial for the individuals who are health conscious and want to
consume something healthy yet delicious. It is a given fact that this beverage is inclusive of
everyone in terms of diet as well as it is ethical environmentally friendly, that is it involves fair
trade and has zero harmful waste. This eventually assures that consumers can purchase this
beverage without having to think twice. As the saying goes, ‘less is more’ the product fulfils it by
providing an outlet for the students of university near their university campus. This will make them
travel less for the drink and will keep them healthy by providing them energy at all times. In
addition to this, keeping the main aim of the product in mind which is to provide energy with the
help of a refreshing yet healthy drink, we strive to target more and more customers in the near
future. This will be done by implementing effective strategies and promoting our services. Lastly,
our beverages include only the natural ingredients and no harmful added preservatives to hamper
the health of an individual. We believe that this is one of the factors or the aspects about our
product which will help our brand distinguish itself from the competitors in the longer run, if not
immediately.

Key Partners
 Supermarkets
 Health stores
 Transportation
companies
 Cafes
 Gymnasiums
and yoga centres
Key Activities
 Designing
 Customer
insights
 Focus on
production
 Research and
development
 Social media
interaction
activities
Value Proposition
 Convenient
 Environment
friendly
 Cost effective
 Value for health
 Inclusive
Customer
Relationships
 Advertise the
experience
 Customer
acquisition with
the help of
product tasting
 Deals and
promotions
Customer
Segments
 Delivering to the
millennials as
well as the
generation Z
 Behavioural
customers who
want less for
more
 Psychographic
customers who
want to purchase
organic products
 Geographically,
that is the who of
the city along
with the rural
areas
Key Resources
 Staff members
 Cash / credit
payment
 Humans
 Distribution
networks
 Partnership
 Manufacturing
facilities
Channels
 Radio
 Social media
such as
Instagram,
Facebook, and
Twitter
 Campaigns
 YouTube
 Bus stops
Cost Structure
 Packaging
 Staff members
 Rent
 Print
 Wages
 Raw materials
Revenue Streams
 Online distribution
 Coffee tasting
 Integrated Marketing Communication Mix
 Campaigns

Part D – Prototype, Test and Reflect
This part is worth 10% of your overall grade.
6. Reflect on your experience of prototyping. How did feedback from others inform
your final design?
I believe that this experience was very helpful for me as it helped me develop as well as grow my
brand. Starting from the interview process to understanding the individual behaviour and answers
of the customers and then formulating an empathy map for each of them, enabled me to have a
clear understanding of the requirements of my customers and where I will stand when compared to
the competitors. The empathy map made me think quite deeply and understand why everyone was
particularly looking for a healthy yet delicious beverage. I believe that introducing our coffee pod
will be beneficial for the customers that is college or the university students, as it will help them
get through their hectic day to day schedule with something healthy. Design thinking helped me
construct the problem and find the solution to it, as well as engage the stakeholders and the
customers. In addition to this, the feedback that I received was quite pleasant as well as heart -
warming. There were only a few interviewees who thought otherwise for the product. All in all, I
believe that this beverage will be a success as it comes with a lot of additional facilities such as, it
keeps the beverage warm for a longer duration; it is environmental friendly, extra sachets of milk
and sugar, and most importantly it is economical as the cup and stirrer are reusable.
7. What did you personally find to be most challenging about the creative design
process?
From the above design thinking experiment, I personally found it extremely difficult as well as
challenging to address the needs of the customers at first as the needs and wants of the customers
very not quite alike. Although, later in the process, I understood and got a grasp of it and was able
to answer to their individual requirements. Also, the most challenging issue that we faced was that
it was difficult for us to be in a completely new group as in the initial five weeks of the semester,
we had a good group but when we started off with this project, we had another group. Eventually,
it was difficult for me as I did not really know anyone and nobody spoke to each other. In addition
to this, there were some more challenges that I faced which were, in today’s time and age, a lot of
the businesses have a tendency to focus on the users and not on the humans or their clients.
Another challenging issue was that a lot of the organisations do not really know how to cope up
with disruptions in this society, although we have not yet experienced yet but it is possible for us to
expect it in the near future as our business model can easily be replicated.