Blog 11

Kaizen is a process of doing work which constantly improves the application or design. It is a process of making small/minuscule changes that add up to big/gigantic results. Kaizen can be directly linked to the fifth theme of good design, entails continual redesign, as first drafts almost never work, great designs come from many redesigns, and redesign is a successive approximation to an unobtainable goal.

One concept our group came up with for project #6 was to revamp the restaurant or bar's menu to incorporate healthier foods. Right away our group thought of changing the entire menu of the restaurant/bar to healthy foods, eliminating foods that lead to high cholesterol and high risks of blood pressure, things like that. Having thought about this further, not everyone would be willing to eat at a place in which was almost turned into for vegans.

After implementing a little kaizen, our group made some minor changes to our concept. Our idea is not fully developed, but we are making strides forward. We came up with an idea to have a customizable menu. The menu would be an interactive design where the user can choose his/her own ingredients in the preparation of their meal. This would provide an easy way of eating healthy for those users who are actively trying to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Another concept we are generating is implementing ideas such as 'black bean brownies'. These brownies give off the illusion of chocolate, however are healthier for you than chocolate would be. This, almost placebo effect, could also be implemented into the menu at our restaurant/bar.