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Redesigning the Microwave Interface

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Ziyi Yan
In a few screens or less, redesign the interface of a microwave. We are interested in your creativity and problem solving, not your process. Include callouts of how it works, explanation of any tough tradeoffs you made, and a list of things you’d explore more with additional time.
How do microwaves look like?
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Title
Photos
Comments
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Online Retails
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Best selling microwaves on Amazon, Target
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My Own
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At school’s common room kitchen
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Best Microwaves of 2021
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From the article
Best Microwaves of 2021
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Other Interesting Ones I saw Online
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Whirlpool White Countertop Microwave
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Haden Silt Green Dorchester Microwave
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Micro on the Wall
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Microwave categories
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Category
Appearance
Pros
Cons
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Traditional microwaves (by 2021)
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Widely used (familiarity, less learning curve)
Express buttons
So many buttons
Never bothered to read the long instructions
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Innovative microwaves (by 2021)
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Touch screen
Prettier appearance
Expensive
Unique interface interactions
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Retro/portable microwaves
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Simple interactions
Few buttons, little cognitive load
Less functions
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Futuristic microwaves
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Super unique characteristics
Fun interactions
High cost
Huge learning curve
Big tradeoffs
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Who am I designing for?

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Kids — Still learning about using microwaves.
“What does this button do?”
“How long should I microwave this?”
“Can I put this in? (hope it doesn’t explode ^^)”
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General adults — Use microwaves regularly, but only for heating up lunchboxes.
“Never bothered to read the instructions”
“Only knows express cook button 1, 2, 3”
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House chefs — Use microwaves on a daily basis, more functions mean easier work.
“Takes forever to use — I need to press on that button for 4 times to set it up”
“Have to enter everything manually”
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Elders — Use microwaves, but might be having some troubles with them.
“What does this button do?”
“Technology is hard”
“The words are too small, can’t see”

Main Takeaways & Missions

Easy to use interface and simple interactions
Accessible design — readable, clickable, understandable
Instructions & help if needed
Basic Interface Layout
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Vertical Layout
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Horizontal View
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The microwave interface usually looks like a “bar” on the side or bottom of the microwave. From my understanding, this is due to technology restrictions that the interface should be protected from microwavable content.
As for my redesign, I would prefer to go with the vertical layout since it’s more common for all (less learning curve for people) and allows more space for interaction. Here’re some tradeoffs:
✔️ Common for all, less learning curve for people
✔️ Allows more space for interaction
✔️ Less cost, few technology restrictions
❌ Less space for heating food
❌ (Potentially) bigger in size

A closer look at the Interfaces

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This is a typical microwave from LG — it has 31 buttons on that small interface area!
✔️ Number pad allows more functionality & flexibility
❌ Tiny words, flat buttons, 0 tactile feedback ... Please make it better.
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Wow! So neat! This Samsung microwave only has 2 knobs to adjust time and heat level. The designer sacrificed many functional buttons to allow the simplest interaction — heating food.
✔️ Knobs — easy interaction
❌ Less functionality, 0 instruction
❌ Wired order — the knob on top should be the first interaction, which should be setting up temperature instead of time

My Design

Missions & Goals
Easy to use interface and simple interactions
Accessible design — readable, clickable, understandable
Instructions & help if needed
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microwave.png
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Functions
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Name
Design
Details
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Bar Code Scanner
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✔️ Scan the bar code from food packaging to enter food data (shortcut)
✔️ Quick & automated input (less cognitive load)
✔️ Easy to use, no need for instructions.
✔️ Designed for children, workers, and elders. Simple user flow.
❌. Additional cost for hardware & database
Idea oriented from
locker bar code scanner
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, and
food calories tracking apps
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Knobs
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✔️ Knobs with information displayed on the front — based on users’ adjustments. ✔️ Quick & easy input (less cognitive load) ✔️ Fun interaction ✔️ Accessible for all ✔️ Aligned the knobs separately to avoid mis-clicks ❌. Additional cost for hardware & interface
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Top-to-bottom order
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✔️ People generally take in information in the order or top → bottom, left → right ✔️ Information input order matches with people’s preference, easy interaction ❌. Slightly different from people’s general interaction with microwaves
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More about the Knobs

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Inspiration from the smart knob-like thermostat

Moving Forward

Test & refine interface design
This was a fun exercise and I took a while to look into many microwave products. However, I didn’t spend enough time tweaking the visual details or testing the interface. If given more time, I’ll make more screens & prototypes to test the idea out with people & gather more feedback
Costs & stakeholders
For my design, I focused more on the user experience so did not pay a lot of attention at the cost. However, as a technology product that every common household owns, the cost is fairly important and need to be taken into consideration.
Crazier ideas?
As for this redesign, I stayed in the scope of a traditional microwave to design for all. However, I’m curious to learn & see if I can implement more innovative thoughts on designing the microwave interface.
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