The Flowerbed Charging Port combines functionality with beauty. It’s plant bed inspired look enhances spatial aesthetic, while being a useful charging station for users. Fully furnished with working and tested safe electrical systems, our product is the perfect mix of visual and useful. 

Challenged with an open design prompt, our team chose to work with Stacks Espresso Bar, a coffee shop in downtown Troy. Our decision to go this direction was influenced by the amount of “non-mainstream” (which we define as non-commercialized chains such as Dunkin or Starbucks) that are popular in the Troy area. In order to formulate our problem statement for these shops, we focused on balancing both the consumer's desire and the shop's needs/wants. In order to do so, we had to bridge the gap between the shop's perception of itself, and the consumer's perception of the shop. First, we had an interview with the CEO Susan Dunckel about the shop's formation, target market, goals, and business metrics. Next we analyzed the user base demographics through empirical observation in order to watch the type of consumer the shop attracts over the course of a week. In these findings, we have formed our base user demographics.

In our interview with Susan, we identified some of the consumer demographics through the company's own research and observation. There are four total stacks locations, but in our project we have focused on improving the Troy location, as it was identified as the “most popular one”. In our observation sessions, we went on a Wednesday morning, a Thursday afternoon, and a Saturday all day. What we noticed in these sessions is that Stacks stays true to its aim to reach a large user base. We found our age demographics to be anywhere from 16-80 years old, a large part of this being working adults and students. During the weekdays, we observed an increased number of adults, and on Saturdays, a more diverse body of consumers including students from local colleges, high schoolers, families and residents of the Troy area. Since the space is appealing to a wide range of demographics, we decided to look at less obvious generalized attributes, and identified that many of these individuals are social and hardworking.

Problem Statement: How might we create an environment that makes people stay longer than for a cup of coffee? 

After thorough research of the space, user group, and CEO’s vision, we started our ideation process. Taking into account the aesthetic constraints of Susan combined with our own building and time constraints, we aimed to make a product that would accentuate the aesthetic of the place while still having some use. In our interview, Susan expressed that the business was moving into the “5th Wave of coffee”, marked by a renewed commitment to customer experience and centricity, a refined commercial environment, investment in technology, and shop excellence. With these pillars in mind, we focused on what Susan wanted to see within the space to make this direction happen, and how we could provide a product to do so. Some more specific ideas Susan had in mind were something to hide the kitchen or ventilate it, more plants/making the space “livelier”, and a desire for people to become the space – essentially staying longer and interacting with it more. The overarching problem we identified together was that the space could be utilized more effectively to be able to shift into the 5th wave. To start, we created a moodboard from our observations as a general guideline for the aesthetic of the location, and to keep our ideas closely tied to Stacks, not just coffee shops in general. From this and our research we had two directions for two differing products in different Stacks problem spaces.

In our original research plan, our goal had been to form a sense of community in Stacks through our product. In our ideation and pinup presentation, we pivoted our ideas, which will be explained in more depth within the next section. We created four milestones for ourselves: #1 being our pinup and thumbnails, #2 being our rough prototype and testing, #3 being our detailed prototype and testing, and #4 being our finalized design along with the report and presentation. 

The first product aimed to focus more on the community aspect of Stacks, and create a product that could influence people to integrate themselves into the greater Troy community more while enrolling coffee into that community. This led to the creation of a community board that would double as a coffee bean bag stand. We observed a makeshift community board on a door tucked into the corner of Stacks, so we wanted to bring this out into the light more for people to interact with. Building upon the idea of placing flyers up, we had the idea to make part of the board a cork board to pin up flyers, and the other parts be a chalkboard that customers or local artists could draw on. In our pin up and thumbnails, we created different variations in mind to see what we could do to target the dead zone in Stacks as well. In our thumbnails we showed ways to potentially integrate the board into the space, such as around the pillars lined up within the shop, or as a physical stand next to the cashier. This idea of the board was aimed to form a communal feeling, as customers could go up and look at flyers for community events in Troy, as well as add their own personal flair or notes to the board. We chose to include this idea as it fit into Susan and the 5th wave's idea of customer centricity and experience, where users could feel a part of the community by being able to interact with an object in the key areas of the space with freedom and we believed that highlighting this aspect of Stacks would help create a more close knit customer base that shared in their love for the location, as well as influence them to come to Stacks more. 

The second product was a fake planter box that served as an outlet. In our empirical observation and exploration of the space, we learned that there were barely any plugs in the very back, and  customers of the shop expressed some frustration with working back there if there were no seats in the front. Factoring in Susan's request for influencing people to stay longer, more plants, and making the space more inviting, we created this product with customer experience in mind especially since the placement of them would not get in the way of customer foot traffic. We chose to present the plant box plug because it was able to fit into the 5th wave movement the company aims for, as it not only embraces the customer experience, but fits the new technological innovation that comes with moving into the 5th wave. Especially since both Susan and customers of the shop expressed a desire for better utilization of the space in the back, our planter boxes were designed to invite people to enjoy the space more effectively and for longer as well as have a functional purpose that provided a better working experience within Stacks. 

In our pinup and thumbnail presentation, both ideas were received well. In our critiques, the planter box was more liked due to its usefulness alongside fitting the aesthetic of the space. A major critique was that the wiring could potentially be “ugly” and a tripping hazard, and we were suggested to either hang the cords from the ceiling like vines, or just place rubber mats down. The board on the other hand was thought to not provide the intended experience we had in mind. Our users were concerned that  the board would draw people away from the communal spaces, and instead cause crowding in some areas due to its size. Another concern was that since customers would interact with the board, they would be unable to interact with each other, which in turn would not cultivate a communal environment. Since the coffee beans they sell would be placed upon the board's stand, users were concerned that less people would pay attention to the coffee due to all that is already happening on the board's surface, distancing coffee as a part of the Stacks experience which is counterintuitive to the business. We had originally leaned more into the idea of the board to improve the location's community, but we considered the critiques valid in their concerns, so we decided to pivot and focus more on getting the community that already comes to Stacks to stay. Overall, the planter box was considered to fit Stacks’ aesthetic, functional, and communal needs, so we chose to continue this direction. With Susan's approval, we got started on our rough prototype. 

As we began our rough prototype, we focused on the form of the box to visualize its sizing and look within the Stacks space. With a high visual fidelity, we emphasized the book and feel of the box. Aesthetically, we identified the space held a calm confidence, and strong, clean lines, plus a minimalist decoration layout, so we focused on bringing this into our design. We used a wooden box for our base which we figured would be a good sizing for the table it would be placed on. Since the box was an open wooden crate, white and brown felt was used to cover these holes and prepare it to be wrapped in the cream fabric as seen on the outside. We used this color fabric because it matched the lighter creams used within Stacks color scheme, as well as aimed to brighten the back area up a bit, as it had the least amount of both natural and artificial lighting. Within the box, we used a foam block wrapped in brown felt to make the fake “dirt” that would hold the plants. Three holes were poked in the block to place the fake plants so they could be interchangeable depending on the businesses preferences. To hold the box to the table, we used industrial c-clamps to simulate how the box's holding mechanism would work. While the industrial c-clamps would not fit the aesthetic, their function is how we wanted to hold the product to the table. We wanted to avoid having to drill or change the tables in any way to make the box easier to put away, as the back area is also used for shows late at night. Finally, to simulate where the plug would be, we placed an outlet sized piece of felt on where we wanted the plug to go. 

We used these materials because we wanted to make the box look as close to our envisioned product as possible. We wanted to focus on a high visual fidelity in order to be able to change the product more efficiently depending on user feedback and a medium depth of functionality with the c-clamps to show how the box would fit in the space. Especially since we planned our polished prototype to have working electricity, it was vital to make sure the product's form was well-liked by the user group before committing to the box's look. By using these materials, we were successful in our rough prototype vision.

In our user testing, we focused on the general form and shape, as well as the location of the outlet. When presented to the studio, one of our users was also an avid customer of Stacks, and was able to give us some feedback from her personal experiences in the shop. The product was considered useful and balanced the aesthetic of the shop well. Some aesthetic changes the first user group would like to see was adding more plants to the plant section, as they felt it was kind of bare and could use more to fill in the empty space that only having three plants caused. We found that users would prefer a “fuller” looking box, because they appreciated the use of plants to enhance the space in the back, which has the least amount of plants. Users also requested that the location of the plug be changed from facing outward to being on the shorter sides of the box. This was because users felt that having the plug face outward made it harder to see where the outlet for a plug was. They also tested plugging in their devices and noticed that the wire went over and through the plants, causing a disruption in the plants placement. Users suggested that placing the plugs on the side would make the product more intuitive to use, and that the users in Stacks would notice the box is an outlet more easily by having the outlets be facing towards the user. The last main critique was the clamps being visible. Users felt that this upset the box's aesthetic, and that the clamps, while a good form of clamp, were too industrial looking. They suggested including an overhanging lip to hide the clamps, or including them as a part of the box compared to their current look as an external addition. Users wanted this because they felt that it would add to the box's aesthetic by being able to hide the way it hung to create a seamless visible connection between the box and the table it was placed on. We found that our second and third user groups, Stacks customers, had similar concerns to our studio user group, both wanted more plants because they felt the box looked empty, and that the placement of the outlet was difficult to utilize properly. What our Stacks user group requested was having a way to include USB plugs into the outlet, as many of them use USB cords without a physical plug. They said that having this would be beneficial for their workflow, and that while they would use it, they would have a higher incentive to use it if it was slightly more versatile. Across the board though, users were confident that they would use it, and expressed excitement that such a product would be available in Stacks after much frustration with plugs in the back space. 

To build the polished box, we used ½in pinewood and built a 12x6x4 box in the woodshop. We built a simple box and sanded it down to create a smooth texture to prime it for staining and painting. We included the c-clamps again for functionality, but added an overhang on top of them in order to hide them, and make the box have a more natural looking placement with the table. We used darker paints to match the darker wood aesthetic of the back, and to seamlessly integrate it into the space as much as possible. With our polished prototype, we aimed to make it fully functional now that we knew where our outlets would go. Taking into account our user testing suggestions, we included two outlets, one on each short side. In order to create a working outlet system, we had to utilize a system similar to extension cords. What we did was cut the two holes into the side of the box, and then installed single gang boxes. Then, to include wires we stripped the wire and crimp spade terminations to create a secure connection. We then spliced wire into pigtails with wire nuts to be able to have the two plugs be connected through a singular wire. After this was done, we wired the outlets and taped them in to finish the system. After including and securing the electric system, we tested the outlets to make sure they were safe, and they passed the test. We also made sure to protect the wires and the outlets to avoid any damage that could come from potential spillage of drinks. On top of this, we included the foam block again, with more plant placement holes in order to increase the foliage that our users requested. Using higher quality materials, as well as including a working system gave us the perfect polished base to fully test the working potential of our product. 

In our user testing, we focused on how Stacks customers would use it in the space. In our studio user group critique, we found that USB and a fuller plant design were the main desires. This is because users wanted more plug versatility, and again, more plants were desired to make the box look fuller. Even though we added more plants, users felt that making a full bed of plants would accentuate the designs aesthetic, as well as emphasize its flower bed like look. Users also expressed a bit of concern with the extension wire for the box, and suggested rubber mats being placed down over them so customers do not trip or have the thick black cord be obviously present in the space and bringing down the visual aesthetic. In a desk critique with Jim Malazita and Brian Clyne, the c-clamp clips we used were not liked because they were not secure to the box and the table. They also disliked the gap between the table and suggested making the overhang flush to the table, and creating a c-clamp within the box rather than external connection points for extra security. In our future testing we were suggested to “abuse” the box to make sure that naturally occurring incidents like hip checking and tripping would not knock the box off the table. With our users in Stacks, we placed the box on the table and let our user use it as they saw fit. We made our testing this way in order to get feedback in a context where the user would have no prior knowledge of the product, and would use it how they believe it should be used, not with our direction. After letting the user try it, we asked questions about the experience. Our users said they believed the product would be beneficial, as they experienced many problems with not having enough accessible plugs, which made them have to move or leave the space, opposite of what Susan wanted for her customers. Again, a common desire was a form of USB, but outside of this, Stacks customers loved the product and hoped to see it as a permanent addition in the shop. 

In our final concept, we changed the c-clamp to be built into the box and tightened by one focal point screw at the bottom. Rather than having two individual clamps, we created one flat board with rubber grip to have more surface area and grip to the table. This also made it easier to tighten the clamp in one move, rather than having to separately tighten both. We also added more plants into the box, creating the well loved flower bed look our users consistently requested. In the outlet, we added the highly requested USB ports, as it was the most requested change, and would allow greater use of the product. Moving forward we hope to be able to produce three of these in order to be able to provide both the product and the experience to Stacks in a physical way. We plan to give our polished prototype to the location and hope it will be installed as a permanent part of the space.