The GroceryMate
CHI 2008 Student Design Competition Finalist

Designers: Jenny Allen | Rajasee Rege | Bob Molnar | Eric Drewski

Design Summary: People who are homeless in the United States lack adequate amounts of nutritious food which is detrimental to their health. We have designed a grocery shopping assistance device that strategically requests affordable and nutritious food donations that charitable organizations need to feed the homeless. We target grocery shoppers, since doing so allows us to leverage mass participation, as well as frequent and balanced community participation. This device employs persuasive technology to elicit emotions of empathy and alter the behavior of grocery shoppers to encourage them to donate. The device provides the shopper with an enhanced, personalized shopping experience making it appealing to use. Methods Used: Focus Group Contextual Inquiry Interviews Fly on the Wall Observation Affinity Diagramming Low and High Fidelity Prototyping Usability Testing The GroceryMate: Eliciting Community Empathy and Transforming It into Purposeful Action