Role: UX Researcher & Designer
Team: Suruchi Tayshete, Viola Sun, Flora Nong, Kristin Romero
Timeline: 15 weeks, 2022
Tools: Figma, Adobe XD
Minis is a packaging solution program in partnership with DisneyParks hotels in terms of sustainable packaging as the solution to single-use waste. It sources sustainable materials such as kelp, bamboo, coconut, etc, and turns these into unique travel-size packaging solutions which are made into sustainable travel kit systems for the hotel industry. These products also have 2nd life as souvenirs to extend the lifecycle.
The Problem
How might we promote travel-size sustainable packaging in hotel industry so that they become widespread and adopted?
Research
We conducted research on hotel waste in United States.
There are 196 hotel chains in just the U.S. alone.
Just imagine how large the amounts of waste are!
Just imagine how large the amounts of waste are!
Insight (Recycling): Since the recycling system sucks, Minis will focus on reducing waste at the beginning of the product lifecycle to ease the worries about recycling.
Then we looked into alternative sustainable packaging materials:
Interview
We conducted interviews with solution space partners:
1. Nathan Shedroff (CCA MDes Faculty): feedback from a business feasibility standpoint
2. Mardis Bagley (CCA Industrial Design Faculty): feedback from an industrial design/sustainable materials
3. Bartlett Brands
Insights:
Usually, cosmetic products don't come in organic alternative packaging as the cosmetics would react with the packaging. Thus, they do contain some amount of recyclable plastic for the product to sustain for a longer duration.
Having organic packaging for travel-size products would be better, as they are for a shorter duration and 95% always end up in the landfills
Style Guide
Vending Machine UI
How it works
Meet Selena:
Selena is a self-proclaimed “Disney adult” and gets to take to Disneyland each year. For the holiday season, Selena decides to book a Disneyland trip for herself.
While booking a hotel, she sees information regarding a “sustainable travel kit” program. She clicks to get more information and sees adorable, interesting packaging plus a simple way to not use so much travel-size plastic-it’s a win-win.
To know more about the program, she clicks LEARN MORE and navigates to the MINIS website to see the fun packaging and innovative materials being used and how her opt-in will make an environmentally-friendly impact.
All this is for just a $4 refundable deposit. She opts in.
Before her trip, Selena receives a reminder email about her minis opt-in. She’s reminded that she doesn’t have to worry about bringing her travel-size items-all her essentials will be available when she arrives.
Selena arrives in Anaheim, California for their Disney vacation. After checking in at the front desk of their hotel, the hotel agent directs them toward the MINIS vending machine.
Selena enters the confirmation number and customizes the materials, products, quantities, and receives her MINIS travel kit items.
Choose on Vending Machine
Once Selena has made their selection, she receives their MINIS to use for her hotel stay.
Over the course of the week, Selena has a great time enjoying the park.
If she runs low on her MINIS products, she can refill them on Vending Machine without additional cost.
If she runs low on her MINIS products, she can refill them on Vending Machine without additional cost.
Refill on Vending Machine
At the end of the stay, Selena has TWO choices:
Option#1: Keep MINIS as souvenirs.
Option #2: Return for a full refund.
For this trip, Selena chooses to return her MINIS.
While returning, she is given the option to learn more about sustainable packaging materials and donate some or all of her deposit towards funding and research to make these materials more widely available in the near future.
Return on Vending Machine
Selena chooses to donate and receives a digital token that she can post to social media. She shares with her friends and family and they are able to learn more about these sustainable materials too.
Long-term Goal
Minis will be widespread all over the world.
Reflection
People's values: It was hard to change people's values, most of them that we talked with don't care about climate change and how our actions will impact the environment. But they care about the convenience of the product they are paying for.
Storytelling: We don't need to communicate climate change. It's communicating itself. We need to communicate the solutions.
Testing: Conducting usability testing is fundamental. We gathered a lot of valuable insights from our target users.
