Learnings
Given the time constraint I set myself, this whiteboard style exercise stressed the importance of building a framework when tackling the problem. I noticed that by creating a structured process I was able to play within the realms of each category and still keep focused on the tasks at hand.
At the start, I had a preconceived idea of how rice cakes were made, but I ensured to drop all judgement and allow the research to uncover crucial findings, which in turn impacted the final design.
The next step would be to create more ideas based off the research and test it with real customers by launching a trial run. Contextual inquiry would help show how useful the product change is. Other factors also need to be considered such as the environmental impact of adding stickers, if it needed to be created to a certain specification, the cost to the manufacturer, and therefore the end user - the customer.
