September 2011 Archives

I've kind of already been keeping an idea wallet on Pinterest. I've consolidated the good stuff and added a few things to this pinboard:

Pinterest: Idea Wallet

As for the bug list, I did start a pinboard for my bug list as well, because some annoyances have to be shown, not written:

Pinterest - Bug List

But for the most part it's a list from my sketchbook:
01) Sidewalk rumble strips
02) Ballpoint pens that skip and smudge
03) The coating/paint on bobby pins that peels off in your hair
04) Bus stop request buttons right next to the seat

05) The browser button on my flip phone is placed so that I bump it when trying to flip open my phone
06) Glasses make the sides of your hair fuzzy - especially when you need to change glasses in the workshop
07) Locks where you have to hold the key to the side and turn the knob at the same time.
08) When the part of the flip flops that goes between your toes pulls out of the sole
09) Misaligned velcro on my knee pads always tears my derby tights
10) Bus layovers in the middle of the route
11) Soda/coffee gets inside the threads on bottle caps and spills the next time you open it.
12) If there's ice in your water bottle, it suddenly slides forward and makes the water splash out all over you.
13) If you get make-up on your hands or clothes, it doesn't wash off.
UPDATED 10/9/11
14) Bringing my groceries home, leaving them in the kitchen, going upstairs to grab a Sharpie, labeling all of my food before putting away (including wiping off anything cold/wet so I can write on it, which requires another trip upstairs where I keep my dish towels) - all because if I leave a single thing unlabeled or unattended, my roommates proceed to consume, soil, or abscond with it. I need a combination mini-fridge/safe (or better roommates).
15) I have an external hard drive that I use for storing work from previous semesters and large files. I have to plug it in separately in order to turn it on, and oftentimes that means unplugging my laptop or desk lamp.
16) Coffee drinks with the plastic wrapping you have to tear off to open it - so you're taking it "on the go" and suddenly have a handful of noisy, plastic garbage.
17) Doors that don't quite fit in their frame (usually in old houses/apartments) and clatter if you leave the window open.
18) Dishwasher racks that don't fit mugs or larger glasses.
19) Plastic condiment packets. Somehow they always manage to tear wide open and spill everywhere.
20) Delicious, unwieldy fruits. Pineapple, melons, pomegranates... all so tasty and so damn difficult to cut/peel/core/seed/etc.

The first and easiest step to identifying problems (opportunities!) for sinks seemed to be making a bug list. Obviously, the easiest way is not always the best way, and a bug list is limited to problems relevant to me, but I thought I'd let loose with Occam's Razor and hopefully find a few good points to branch off from.

Okay, so the bug list does its job. Lots of simple, irritating little things that happen often - mainly with bathroom or kitchen sinks. What I didn't really get out of it are: things that happen with less frequent situations (laundry tub, hand-washing clothes, pools, dish basins like they have at restaurants, industrial dishwashers), things that are perhaps more fun than functional (LED water faucets), and technical details (materials, assemblies, water pressure).

Since the assignment was to focus on one area, I stuck with the direction my bug list took: household sinks (kitchen and bathroom) and related tasks. I think fun things can fit into that category, as it relates to how kids approach mundane household activities.

Since I'm not a kid, I needed to figure out what kids might want or need in their daily routine. Time to create a persona. I asked a few friends who study or work in early childhood education for tips on what kids are into these days. Although I think solutions in this area might lean towards younger kids just learning good hygiene habits, I included a larger age range (3-13) at the "problems and opportunities" stage in case some other ideas come from it (a line of sink-related prank products for older kids?).

Persona: Kid

Again, this persona board is more broad than it would be if I were working on a solution, and basically gives an overview of what kids within the age range are into, as well as some products that have been marketed towards those ages.

For my third method of investigation, I thought I'd revisit the more refined concept of daily routine, and storyboard how some of the bug list items fit into the bigger picture.

I have photos to go with the storyboard that I'll upload as soon as I can get this stupid borrowed digital camera working (i.e., find a card reader because this adapter cord is shot).

This is the first thing that came to mind when I started working on the mind maps project:

Also, if you get a kick out of mind maps and such, you should go watch Important Things with Demetri Martin. Each episode centers around a topic and starts with a mind-map of that topic... and in between comedy sketches, there are usually a few stand-up bits involving charts.

Aaand for anyone who was wondering about the grey leg-face man I mentioned at Huge today: it's from a British comedy called "The Mighty Boosh." I highly recommend it for anyone who thinks laughing is fun.

I accidentally did the wrong assignment, doing mind maps and silly ideas for tape-based products. I blame this on my chosen method of getting into a creative/humorous mood: watching Fraggle Rock for the first time. While the muppets were quirky and delightful, I'm pretty sure they switched off the rational part of my brain that thinks to double-check my assignment notes.

A sample of the tape work:

Getting started on my second mind map, for the sink/basin prompt, I opted to watch a few episodes of The Guild, which made for a few good laughs without the side effect of absent-mindedness. I started with some basic divisions that come to mind when I think of sinks and basins, mainly that I think of sinks as having plumbing (running water and a drain) and basins as being the reservoir for holding water (and other things). That allowed me to work on associations and features for each, and I eventually found I had much more possibilities for sinks and the considerations involved in obtaining, dispensing, disposing, holding, and even altering water.

Although I tend to brainstorm in list form, devising headings or categories and adding items to each, I worked a little more loosely for this mind map, coming up with associations and then figuring out how they connected. I thought this might be a way of discovering connections that weren't obvious: for example, I ended up connecting water pressure to the places sinks are used as well as the attachments that alter the flow from the faucet, which highlighted the variable nature of water pressure. Had I started with categories, I'd likely have slotted water pressure as a feature, thinking about it statically.

Here's the map.

For silly ideas, I came up with a collection of cross products by clicking onto the Target.com weekly ad and choosing a few products to combine with sinks/basins. I wish I hadn't spent so much time thinking of silly tape ideas because I didn't have a lot of time for this part and I didn't come up with much.

Silly Sink Ideas:

Next time I'll get the assignment right. For now I'm gonna dance my cares away.

My cookies are inspired by tiki bars and okonomiyaki. "Okonomiyaki tiki cookie." It's kind of a bizarre word-final alliteration.

Cookie
I did a bit of research and found a lot of very basic shortbread-like cookies that lent themselves well to a variety of flavors and shapes. From Japanese biscuit-sticks to Swedish butter cookies, simple vanilla-based cookies seemed like a good place to start. I read through a few shortbread and sugar cookie recipes to get some ideas.

Tiki
I'm a big fan of things with themes, so I wanted to base my cookie around a concept. I've seen several recipes for margarita cupcakes, beer bread, and oatmeal stout cake, but never anything similar for cookies. Since cookie recipes involve much less moisture than cake recipes, basing a cookie flavor on a drink was tricky. With a challenge in hand, I looked to my favorite concept spot, a sprawling, kitschy tiki lounge in Northeast Minneapolis for flavor inspiration. Their rum-based drinks feature a slew of tropical flavors and come with wacky garnishes in whimsical ceramic mugs.

Okonomiyaki
Having decided I wanted to use tropical flavors like rum, coconut, and lime, I needed a way to give the cookies a rum-like taste without turning them into a soggy mess. I could have used rum flavoring, but that seemed too easy. I had tried my hand at infusing liquor before, so I decided to use actual rum to flavor my other ingredients. The alcohol would cook off during baking, leaving just a hint of spicy rum flavor clinging to the coconut and lime pulp. All of the "flavoring" ingredients went in a dish together to make a kind of tropical cole slaw. It reminded me of the batter for okonomiyaki, a kind of pancake made with shredded cabbage and other vegetables and toppings. Okonomiyaki batter is griddle-fried into a solid snack that's popular as a street food in Japan. This gave me an idea for using a lot of liquid to make a easy-to-handle treat.

I had found a few good recipes for sugar cookies, which turned out to be similar to pancake batter recipes except for the liquid content. By adjusting the amount of flour and sugar, I was able to make a hybrid batter/dough that seemed like it would hold its shape on the pan and bake into a solid, chewy cookie. The sugar cookie recipe called for butter and lemon zest; in keeping with my flavor choices, I substituted coconut cream for half of the butter and lime zest in place of lemon.

Since the dough was much runnier than that of traditional sugar cookies, which are rolled out and cut, I used a drop-cookie method to form the shapes. With so much coconut suspended in the dough, the drops didn't spread out like traditional cookies, and the first batch were critiqued by my taste testers for being overly thick and a little heavy on the lime (I used the juice and pulp from three).

One of my testers suggested balancing the lime flavor with a sweet icing, but since the cookie itself was already thick, with an unusual texture, I wanted to avoid adding an additional layer. Instead, I thinned the dough using a few teaspoons of rum, and made sure to flatten the drops using the back of a spoon. Adding a liquid such as rum helped with the thickness problem, and also balanced out the lime flavor. To add a little sweetness to the spice of the rum and the bitter tartness of the lime, I added a single maraschino cherry to the tops of the cookies.

The result was these, the finished product. My intrepid volunteers thought the thinner cookies were more manageable, and the cherries were a nice addition to flavor and presentation.

Tiki-Yaki Tropical Cookies
10.5oz sweetened coconut, flaked or shredded (about 3/4 of a 14oz bag)
Juice and pulp of 2 medium limes
1 cup dark spiced rum (I used Kraken)

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks, softened)
1 cup coconut cream (skimmed from one 14oz can of coconut milk - don't shake can before opening)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lime zest
3 TBS rum*

5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder*
1 tsp salt

30-36 Maraschino cherries (drained)

*Variations:
Replace 2 tsp baking powder with 2 tsp baking soda for crispier cookies
Replace rum with coconut milk to reduce alcohol content

1) Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
2) Mix coconut, lime juice/pulp, and rum in small bowl. Set aside.
3) In large bowl, mix butter, coconut cream, sugar, egg, lime zest, and vanilla. Some small lumps are okay.
4) Drain coconut/lime mixture. Add 3 TBS rum. Fold mixture into sugar mixture.
5) Add flour, baking powder, and salt to sugar mixture one cup at a time, stirring in between cups until just blended.
6) Refrigerate dough for 15 minutes. Drop by heaping tablespoon onto cookie sheet, flattening slightly with back of spoon.
7) Press one cherry into the center of each cookie
8) Bake for approximately 15 minutes, checking every 5. The tops of the cookies will not appear brown, so look at the edges. When sides begin turning brown, cookies are done.
9) Cool before serving - the cherries will be very hot.

UPDATE:
My second (larger) set of taste testers said they thought the cookies would be better if they were less spongy and more crispy. To achieve this, use baking soda instead of baking powder (same amount). The cookies presented in class on Monday will use this variation, as well as batter thinned with coconut milk rather than rum to limit the amount of alcohol included in the cookies (since not all alcohol is cooked off during baking). The coconut/lime mixture is drained before being added to the batter, so only trace amounts of rum are included in the variation to be presented in class.

In order to come up with a new kind of cookie, a little research on existing cookies was in order. Fortunately, a small local grocery store stocks a pretty extensive selection.

I included some of my favorite cookies, Yan-Yan and Hello Pandas. Both are simple, biscuit-like cookies with strawberry creme and a printed message. Yan-Yan features cookie sticks with silly phrases printed on them; the sticks are dipped in the included creme. Hello Pandas are hollow, creme-filled biscuits with sporty animals printed on them. Both fall into the category of Japanese novelty snacks, which often involve cute packaging, interactive elements, and unexpected flavors (including savory and floral flavors not often seen in American cookies).

I had never tried the Ballerina cookies, but I wanted to include a Scandinavian shortbread cookie because of their ubiquity in Minnesotan culture. The store had a quarter of an aisle dedicated to myriad flavors, shapes, and fillings of small, simple shortbread cookies. A large blue tin filled with an assortment of such cookies was a holiday tradition in my family.

Other cookies I'm including in my benchmarking efforts include Jaffa Cakes (an orange-topped, chocolate covered British "biscuit"), and seasonal Oreos (mint, strawberry). The idea of a very simple cookie base (shortbread or sugar cookie) with flavored coatings or fillings seems like a good place to start branching out.