Philips: green Kitchen Innovation
Project start: May 2022
Timeline: 2.5 Months
Client: Philips
Services: UX, User Research, Form Design
Philips is a global technology company specializing in healthcare, consumer lifestyle, and lighting products, including medical equipment, personal care devices, home appliances, and energy-efficient lighting solutions.
The Challenge
During my Master's program in Industrial Design and Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, the Philips design director challenged us to create a market-leading multifunctional kitchen tool. The goal was to develop innovative solutions for all food-related tasks at home, from preparation to consumption, without compromising on performance and ease of use.
My Role
I was the experience designer, working closely with 1 industrial designer and 2 engineers.
I worked on UX, user research, and form design.
Design process
We began with exploratory research and brainstorming on how people prepare food, store kitchen tools, and consume food. We categorized our findings into three themes: food waste, homegrown produce, and plant-based food diets. To dive deeper into each valuable touchpoint, we conducted interviews and created user journey maps.
Simultaneously, we studied existing multifunctional kitchen tools, specifically compost cyclers and food processors, to understand their functionality and usage in various user journeys.
Remote meeting with the Philips’ design director
Target Audience
Specific issue
We found that food waste results in $1.5 trillion in losses and 1.3 billion tons of edible food wasted annually, further exacerbated by the livestock industry. Consumers are increasingly interested in urban food production to support a plant-based lifestyle, seeking healthy, nutritious food, understanding its source, and recognizing the environmental impact of the food production process.
We asked ourselves how our multifunctional product could encourage users to embrace a homegrown food cycle, promote green growth, and positively impact the environment?
Scenarios
Highlights of touchpoints we aim to tackle
Benchmark of food compost cycler
tHE resultS
Benchmark of food processor
We designed a multi-purpose food and compost processor, providing a circular approach to homegrown produce from food preparation to fertilizer production.
To minimize new mold and product development costs, our design builds on the existing Philips Viva Collection Food Processor by adding a cleaning produce accessory and a compost processor.
This design encourages users to embrace a homegrown food cycle, promotes green growth, has a positive environmental impact, and ensures hygiene through effective food composting.
