StallMate: Bathroom Kiosk

The next step in ensuring a more private and comfortable experience the next time nature calls.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Platform

Interactive Kiosk

Time Frame

2 months

Employer

UCSD DSGN 100

Areas

Research, Design, Strategy

StallMate: Bathroom Kiosk

The next step in ensuring a more private and comfortable experience the next time nature calls.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Platform

Interactive Kiosk

Time Frame

2 months

Employer

UCSD DSGN 100

Areas

Research, Design, Strategy

StallMate: Bathroom Kiosk

The next step in ensuring a more private and comfortable experience the next time nature calls.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Platform

Interactive Kiosk

Time Frame

2 months

Employer

UCSD DSGN 100

Areas

Research, Design, Strategy

Background

DSGN 100: Prototyping

While at UCSD I enrolled in DSGN 100, a course focused on identifying and solving problems in the world through innovative solutions. My group's assignment tasked us with finding and fulfilling an unmet need through the form of a standing digital kiosk.

Initially, we looked for places that did not typically have kiosks and ruled out ones that did. I jokingly suggested we try public restrooms, but after further consideration we realized that this was a real opportunity for creative problem solving.

We had ideas of our own for problems we could solve in restrooms, but we needed to be sure that our assumptions were correct through primary and secondary research.

The final kiosk design physical form, created from laser-cut acrylic.

When first looking for ideas, we looked for places that didn't typically have kiosks.

Researching the Problem

The Issues with Public Restrooms

We limited our scope to researching to the needs and desires of college-aged adults. This would give us a small enough audience of users to narrow our focus on while also giving us a large pool of participants to survey and interview.

We took qualitative interviews with 13 students from UCSD, and collected anonymous survey responses from 55+ participants. Additionally, we combed through existing research on restroom design and the faults (and advantages) of US restroom norms.

Using the tool Dovetail, we took the written and audio records of those interviews and coded them according to patterns we found in their responses. Both our primary and secondary data reflected the most striking findings: users value cleanliness and privacy in public restrooms above all else.

Using these findings, we asked the following question: How might we design a kiosk for public restrooms at UCSD that addresses user needs for cleanliness and privacy?


Based on our research findings, we would focus on addressing cleanliness and privacy with our design.

Early wireframes and sketches of possible layouts and kiosk dimensions.

Researching the Problem

The Issues with Public Restrooms

We limited our scope to researching to the needs and desires of college-aged adults. This would give us a small enough audience of users to narrow our focus on while also giving us a large pool of participants to survey and interview.

We took qualitative interviews with 13 students from UCSD, and collected anonymous survey responses from 55+ participants. Additionally, we combed through existing research on restroom design and the faults (and advantages) of US restroom norms.

Using the tool Dovetail, we took the written and audio records of those interviews and coded them according to patterns we found in their responses. Both our primary and secondary data reflected the most striking findings: users value cleanliness and privacy in public restrooms above all else.

Using these findings, we asked the following question: How might we design a kiosk for public restrooms at UCSD that addresses user needs for cleanliness and privacy?


Based on our research findings, we would focus on addressing cleanliness and privacy with our design.

Early wireframes and sketches of possible layouts and kiosk dimensions.

Researching the Problem

The Issues with Public Restrooms

We limited our scope to researching to the needs and desires of college-aged adults. This would give us a small enough audience of users to narrow our focus on while also giving us a large pool of participants to survey and interview.

We took qualitative interviews with 13 students from UCSD, and collected anonymous survey responses from 55+ participants. Additionally, we combed through existing research on restroom design and the faults (and advantages) of US restroom norms.

Using the tool Dovetail, we took the written and audio records of those interviews and coded them according to patterns we found in their responses. Both our primary and secondary data reflected the most striking findings: users value cleanliness and privacy in public restrooms above all else.

Using these findings, we asked the following question: How might we design a kiosk for public restrooms at UCSD that addresses user needs for cleanliness and privacy?


Based on our research findings, we would focus on addressing cleanliness and privacy with our design.

Early wireframes and sketches of possible layouts and kiosk dimensions.

Solution

User Testing Leads the Way

Based on our problem statement, we developed a restroom kiosk with two main functions: 1) reporting cleanliness issues to maintenance and 2) vending items privately. These kiosks were designed to be installed inside bathroom stalls and in the restroom lobby to display stall statuses.

I led the interface design, ensuring consistency between the software and hardware. A key decision was whether to use checkboxes or buttons for reporting multiple issues. Although I initially favored buttons, I was concerned users might not realize they could select more than one.

User testing revealed that while users preferred the button design, they tended to select only one button. To address this, I added descriptive text to indicate multiple selections were possible, and users then successfully reported multiple issues at once.

I took charge of creating the design guidelines and user flows for this project.

Solution

User Testing Leads the Way

Based on our problem statement, we developed a restroom kiosk with two main functions: 1) reporting cleanliness issues to maintenance and 2) vending items privately. These kiosks were designed to be installed inside bathroom stalls and in the restroom lobby to display stall statuses.

I led the interface design, ensuring consistency between the software and hardware. A key decision was whether to use checkboxes or buttons for reporting multiple issues. Although I initially favored buttons, I was concerned users might not realize they could select more than one.

User testing revealed that while users preferred the button design, they tended to select only one button. To address this, I added descriptive text to indicate multiple selections were possible, and users then successfully reported multiple issues at once.

I took charge of creating the design guidelines and user flows for this project.

User testing showed me that users preferred pressing buttons over checkboxes.

Solution

User Testing Leads the Way

Based on our problem statement, we developed a restroom kiosk with two main functions: 1) reporting cleanliness issues to maintenance and 2) vending items privately. These kiosks were designed to be installed inside bathroom stalls and in the restroom lobby to display stall statuses.

I led the interface design, ensuring consistency between the software and hardware. A key decision was whether to use checkboxes or buttons for reporting multiple issues. Although I initially favored buttons, I was concerned users might not realize they could select more than one.

User testing revealed that while users preferred the button design, they tended to select only one button. To address this, I added descriptive text to indicate multiple selections were possible, and users then successfully reported multiple issues at once.

I took charge of creating the design guidelines and user flows for this project.

User testing showed me that users preferred pressing buttons over checkboxes.

Final Designs

Final Designs

Quantitatively, our solutions led to increased user satisfaction, as evidenced by positive feedback and reduced complaints related to cleanliness and convenience. Additionally, our team was the highest-scoring project among DSGN 100’s winter quarter class.

Qualitatively, users expressed excitement for an improved restroom experience and the ability to easily request maintenance and access essential items.

Maintenance Request demo

Maintenance Request demo

Maintenance Request demo

Item Vending Demo

Item Vending Demo

Item Vending Demo

Review

Postmortem

The biggest obstacle for this project was time management. As a team of 5, it was rare for us to have shared time outside of class, which led to a chaotic final 2 weeks of development.

We had split development of the kiosk into two parts - first the kiosk design, and then the interface design. Because we had split development, communication about or tweaks to the kiosk could not be made without serious time loss. This led to inconsistencies between the final kiosk design and the final interface design, like the radius of the bezel covering the edges of the screen, adding friction to the user experience.

Overall, such a fast-paced project taught me much about team and project management. In later projects, I would take these lessons and make sure to ensure proper communication between teams for larger projects like this to ensure the best user experience.

#1

Rated Class Project

13

In-Depth Interviews

55+

Survey Responses

More Projects.

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply | 2024

Promotional Materials Page

Voices for Children | 2024

Volunteer + Donation Action Pages

Voices for Children | 2024

More Projects.

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply | 2024

Promotional Materials Page

Voices for Children | 2024

Volunteer + Donation Action Pages

Voices for Children | 2024

More Projects.

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply

SNS Salon + Beauty Supply | 2024

Promotional Materials Page

Voices for Children | 2024

Volunteer + Donation Action Pages

Voices for Children | 2024

nicholasregli@outlook.com

© 2024 Nicholas Regli

nicholasregli@outlook.com

© 2024 Nicholas Regli

nicholasregli@outlook.com

© 2024 Nicholas Regli