On a fine Wednesday evening, four designers found themselves in a room. They had nothing to say or do. One of the managed to break the silence. One thing led to another and then this happened!

One of the designers shared an observation about our nearest and dearest chai vendor. Each morning, he would painstakingly broom away cigarette butts off the pavement. All because people wouldn’t use a bin to dispose of their cigarettes.

Looked like the designers had found themselves a problem to solve—one that wasn’t commissioned by a client. Oh, sweet creative freedom!

The designers planted themselves into the scene. They observed how customers interacted with the space. Here’s what they saw:

• Customers usually bought chai & sutta (cigarette) together

• They would finish the chai and throw the cups into the bin

• They would throw the cigarettes butts on the ground and put them out with their feet

• They would leave the butts behind on the ground

Once a butt was on the ground, nobody made an effort to pick it back up. But the very same customers dumped the chai cups into the bin. So this wasn’t due to ignorance. There had to be some other reason!

The designers hypothesised that customers were merely avoiding a fire hazard

Throwing lit cigarettes into a bin full of paper cups isn’t a bright idea, after all. The designers decided to take it up as a design challenge to help avoid throwing cigarettes onto the ground in the first place.

How might we provide customers a better way to put out cigarettes?

In an indoor setting, one might use an ashtray. Could the designers make a public ashtray? One that customers can use to put out cigarettes and then safely dispose of the butts into bins? They had an idea! 💡️

They ran around the office looking for raw materials and tools to create a prototype. The best they could manage was a wooden plank.

The designers hoped a giant ashtray with Einstein’s face on it would grab customers’ attention and appeal to their scientific sensibilities.

*Einstein *was ready. They found some light rope to tie the plank to a nearby lamp post. It turned out to be a tricky task. They struggled to mount Einstein — it kept sliding off. The customers looked in wonder and confusion as the designers hung their heads low.

Two carpenters working in the basement of an adjacent building noticed the struggle. They volunteered to help. They took Einstein into their workspace and drilled holes. This helped balance the plank as they tied it to a lamp post.

The designers installed the prototype and simply waited. They hoped people would

1. Notice the plank

2. Understand what its purpose is

Einstein’s tongue got darker with each passing day. The rest of his face was quite intact. There was no vandalism of any kind, nor did anybody steal the plank — this was a huge win!

Positive results inspired the designers to come back and improve the design. They started working on 2 new prototypes. They also identified another chai vendor in the vicinity to recreate the experiment.

They first sought to improve the original design. The new prototype was

• more compact in form,

• sturdier as it was made of metal, and

• more noticeable and more readable due to the contrast between the bright orange and pitch black colours

The plank now supports the improved prototype!

The result with this prototype were consistent with that of Einstein’s. The metal mesh got darker and darker with each passing day — a sign of its increasing usage.

The biggest drawback with the Einstein was that it had to be hung. They explored a new form factor that stood on its own. Say hello to Smoky!

Both prototypes were successful and remained in their original locations for months. The designers have since then parted ways and have not been able to check in on Einstein & Smoky. But they like to think all is well!

Thank you for reading this far. There is no larger message to this story other than what you will make of it. Take a moment. ❤

On a fine Wednesday evening, four designers found themselves in a room. They had nothing to say or do. One of the managed to break the silence. One thing led to another and then this happened!

One of the designers shared an observation about our nearest and dearest chai vendor. Each morning, he would painstakingly broom away cigarette butts off the pavement. All because people wouldn’t use a bin to dispose of their cigarettes.

Looked like the designers had found themselves a problem to solve—one that wasn’t commissioned by a client. Oh, sweet creative freedom!

The designers planted themselves into the scene. They observed how customers interacted with the space. Here’s what they saw:

• Customers usually bought chai & sutta (cigarette) together

• They would finish the chai and throw the cups into the bin

• They would throw the cigarettes butts on the ground and put them out with their feet

• They would leave the butts behind on the ground

Once a butt was on the ground, nobody made an effort to pick it back up. But the very same customers dumped the chai cups into the bin. So this wasn’t due to ignorance. There had to be some other reason!

The designers hypothesised that customers were merely avoiding a fire hazard

Throwing lit cigarettes into a bin full of paper cups isn’t a bright idea, after all. The designers decided to take it up as a design challenge to help avoid throwing cigarettes onto the ground in the first place.

How might we provide customers a better way to put out cigarettes?

In an indoor setting, one might use an ashtray. Could the designers make a public ashtray? One that customers can use to put out cigarettes and then safely dispose of the butts into bins? They had an idea! 💡️

They ran around the office looking for raw materials and tools to create a prototype. The best they could manage was a wooden plank.

The designers hoped a giant ashtray with Einstein’s face on it would grab customers’ attention and appeal to their scientific sensibilities.

*Einstein *was ready. They found some light rope to tie the plank to a nearby lamp post. It turned out to be a tricky task. They struggled to mount Einstein — it kept sliding off. The customers looked in wonder and confusion as the designers hung their heads low.

Two carpenters working in the basement of an adjacent building noticed the struggle. They volunteered to help. They took Einstein into their workspace and drilled holes. This helped balance the plank as they tied it to a lamp post.

The designers installed the prototype and simply waited. They hoped people would

1. Notice the plank

2. Understand what its purpose is

Einstein’s tongue got darker with each passing day. The rest of his face was quite intact. There was no vandalism of any kind, nor did anybody steal the plank — this was a huge win!

Positive results inspired the designers to come back and improve the design. They started working on 2 new prototypes. They also identified another chai vendor in the vicinity to recreate the experiment.

They first sought to improve the original design. The new prototype was

• more compact in form,

• sturdier as it was made of metal, and

• more noticeable and more readable due to the contrast between the bright orange and pitch black colours

The plank now supports the improved prototype!

The result with this prototype were consistent with that of Einstein’s. The metal mesh got darker and darker with each passing day — a sign of its increasing usage.

The biggest drawback with the Einstein was that it had to be hung. They explored a new form factor that stood on its own. Say hello to Smoky!

Both prototypes were successful and remained in their original locations for months. The designers have since then parted ways and have not been able to check in on Einstein & Smoky. But they like to think all is well!

Thank you for reading this far. There is no larger message to this story other than what you will make of it. Take a moment. ❤