Human Factors Study | CMU Fall 2015
Attention was given in great detail to the physical design, with a digital touchscreen that directed users to the terminal as point-of-contact. The setting of the screen provided a private space, for the customer to browse and select the cupcake they were choosing to purchase. The familiar credit-card slot was immediately apparent in which that would be the form of payment.
Elements of surprise and delight fascinated first-time users, who were given hints about how the machine dispensed, through the tinted windows below (mostly noticed by children, and those who did not need to crouch down to view the scene).
A latch door revealed a light-lit box, with the boxes of cupcakes ordered from the screen at its center...glowing in magnificently. A real human emotional connection, delivered by an almost completely robotic (cupcakes are made fresh by humans in bakery) service!
The study of human factors is to find the consideration of human characteristics, expectations, and behaviors in the design of the things people use in their everyday lives.
I chose the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM machine as my topic of research, which are attached to the side of an operating Sprinkles bakery. It provided customers an alternative outlet for retrieving their goods in a new, refreshing, delightful way. I was curious to see though there was no line at the bakery, why there was a line for this machine.
After observing customers for 1-2 hours who tried to access this machine, a variety of emotional, physical, and cognitive responses were triggered. Human curiosity was the first to capture the attention of the ATM-machine on the side of the street, which was not colored like a bank, but a colorful mint and pink which suggested the ATM machine was not your typical cash dispensary.