A global tech company asked our team to re-envision their communal employee pantry experience, a core aspect of their culture of collaboration and innovation. This project encompassed three areas of scope: service design; food strategy; and interior architecture.
the snack pantry is the first thing guests and employees encounter as they arrive each day.
THE CHALLENGE
Servicing over 5,000 employees daily, the snack pantry at our client’s headquarters was a key feature of the employee and guest reception experience. Because of rapid expansion, the company needed my team at Rockwell Group to rethink the entire program, from what they served to how to serve it. They also wanted to explore the possibility of offering employees on-site meals in a “for-pay” cafeteria.
MY ROLES
Project Lead
User Experience Designer
Service Designer
THIS TECH GIANT NEEDED TO RETHINK WHAT KIND OF FOOD TO OFFER THEIR EMPLOYEES; HOW TO DISTRIBUTE IT; AND WHAT SETTING TO PROVIDE FOR EATING IT.
PROJECT APPROACH
This project was a highly collaborative logistical challenge involving three teams from different design firms. My team led strategy, while the other teams focused mainly on floor plans, digital signage, and messaging content. With loosely defined scope, some overlap in team skillsets, and reluctance from the client to decide on an implementation budget, we faced a lot of ambiguity. We also had a tight timeline of four months to deliver final concepts for a board meeting. To ensure everyone stayed on track, I maintained weekly check-ins throughout the process with the other team leads, and bi-weekly meetings with the client.
DISCOVERY
SITE STUDY
Starting with a site study and detailed discussions with the facility and food service managers, we began to understand how the space functioned, and its major operational challenges.
ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Extensive field observation in the arrival and snack areas helped me identify pain points, work-arounds, and patterns of behavior through key points of the day.
STAKEHOLDER MAP SHOWING tiers of ownership.
STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS
We interviewed stakeholders from seven different departments, ranging from Sustainability to Marketing, at different levels of seniority.
SYNTHESIS
As we gathered research, I began to synthesize our findings into insights to drive design decisions, and identify opportunity areas.
USER MODES
We found that our user base was very diverse, from employees to prospective hires and potential clients. People used the pantry with different mindsets throughout the day. The same person might switch modes depending on their situation. Instead of user personas, we defined three distinct need states—or user modes.
Commuter
Employees & regular visitors trying to quickly get to their destination, heads down, distraction free.
Tourist
Visitors who wait for their host, or need guidance on where to go. Often interested in learning more about the company.
Stroller
People using the space as a social and functional hub. They enter the space to linger and meet someone, take a snack break, etc.
USER JOURNEYS
To articulate our users’ needs and pain points at critical touchpoints, I mapped out a user journey for each user mode.
IDEATION
Equipped with insights and frameworks, we were ready to think about solutions for this complex design problem.
BRAINSTORMING
We invited different stakeholders and designers to brainstorm around a variety of prompts for each user mode. How might our physical architecture cultivate community among users in ‘tourist’ mode? How might we create a convenient food distribution model that supports & empowers employees in ‘commuter’ mode”? How can our food program nourish & energize the ‘stroller,’ and communicate a culture of innovation?
ANALAGOUS MODELS
Our clients’ snack area functioned as a more than just a food service area—it was a central community space. Using an ideation technique examining analogies to our design problem, I extracted ideas and best practices from different types of spaces and programs that serve as community anchors.
THE VISION
We developed a three-pronged strategy for the pantry program: 1) a food strategy; 2) a service design model; and 3) an architectural strategy.
1) FOOD STRATEGY
SMART FUEL: A PROGRAM OFFERING HEALTHY, HAND-HELD MINI MEALS FOR BUSY PEOPLE
Upgrading from the client’s existing snack program of mainly packaged junk food, our Smart Fuel strategy proposed mini portions of fresh, portable food. Inspired by street food, this hand-held nourishment would offer the convenience of eating on the go—either one portion for a snack or several for a meal. This approach eliminated the need for separate snack and meal programs, keeping the selection simple.
2) SERVICE DESIGN
MODULAR FOOD SERVICE: A STREET-FOOD INSPIRED SERVICE MODEL WITH MULTIPLE PICK-UP POINTS REPLENISHED BY MOBILE CARTS
Taking cues from street food vendors, we designed a decentralized service strategy with mobile carts distributing food at multiple stalls throughout the building and snack area. This would not only be more convenient for employees, but also relieve congestion in the main pantry area. Employees would receive a monthly food allowance through a cashless pay system tracked by employee ID cards.
stack diagram showing food distribution throughout the building
FOOD CARTS WOULD DOCK INTO STALLS THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING AND MAIN PANTRY
Portable cart modules could be stocked with food prepped off-site, and distributed throughout the office building. The modules would dock into the food stalls, where workers could distribute the food.
diagram showing back-of-house food carts that dock into pick-up points throughout the building and main pantry
THREE TYPES OF FOOD PICK-UPS POINTS: PERMANENT FOOD STALLS, SATELLITE FOOD STALLS, & FOOD CARTS
Employees would have the option to pick up food from stalls in the main pantry area or smaller satellite areas throughout the building. Specialty food carts throughout the pantry would offer feature tastings.
permanent food stalls in the main pantry, stocked with back-of-house food cart modules.
specialty food carts. stationed throughout the pantry
satellite food stalls in the upper floors, stocked with food by three food cart modules.
A HIGH-LEVEL SERVICE BLUEPRINT TO MAP OUT CRITICAL ELEMENTS, PROCESSES, AND RESOURCES FOR EACH TOUCHPOINT.
service blueprint showing front and backstage activities, as well as essential support systems, along each step of the user journey
3) ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN STRATEGY
INDOOR PARK: A MULTI-USE, COMMUNAL SEATING AREA FOR LUNCH BREAKS, INFORMAL MEETINGS, AND EVENTS.
What type of architecture would support our dynamic food and service strategies? We ran an employee survey, and found that many preferred to eat lunch while working, though they liked to get away from their desks for a change of surroundings.
Instead of a typical cafeteria, we proposed an informal, park-like setting that would provide perches for quick meals and community space for casual, impromptu interaction. This would eliminate the problem of underutilized space between meal times that corporate cafeterias often face, and offer a lively hub reflecting the company’s culture of collaboration.
OUR DESIGN STRATEGY TOOK INSPIRATION FROM URBAN PARKS, WHERE PEOPLE PERCH FOR LUNCH, MEET TO TALK , OR JUST TAKE A BREAK.
BIRDS-EYE VIEW OF THE MULTI-USE SPACE DESIGN. A VARIETY OF SEATING AND SURFACES ALLOW FOR FLEXIBILITY OF SPACE THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
THE STRATEGY WAS TO CREATE A COMMUNITY HUB, SUPPORTING COLLABORATION AND SHARING THROUGH IMPROMPTU DISCUSSION.
PARK-LIKE SEATING BOTH INDOORS AND OUTSIDE ON THE TERRACE.
THE DESIGN OFFERS A FLEXIBLE SPACE SUPPORTING EVERYTHING FROM WORK TO SPECIAL EVENTS.
FULL PERSPECTIVE RENDERING OF THE INDOOR PARK