Graphic Design student at Noroff, who is passionate about art and design. This is my personal blog that will be reflecting all my work and thought processes throughout the course.
The assignment didn’t specify what kind of rice we were to use, so I went ahead and chose the “special” kinds.
The rices I chose to present:
Purple Thai Rice, grown in – yes – Thailand.Arborio Rice, grown in Italy’s Po Valley.Black Rice / Forbidden Rice, grown in China.Colusari Red Rice, grown in Sacramento Valley, California.Bhutaneese Red Rice, grown in Bhutan, Himalaya’s.
How I used the SCAMPER method:
S – I substituted normal rice with delicacies
C – I combined the product with an educational “system”
A – I adapted it to todays globalization.
M – This rice packaging would be rather large, so that you can see the countries clearly.
P – The purpose is to get people to try new things and to get to know other cultures. On the bottom of the packaging, there will be a box with some facts about the place the rice comes from.
E – I eliminated some of the cardboard in order to make a window into the packaging (in the area it comes from on the map) so you can see the colors.
R – The process is rearranged in the sense that it is first and foremost an educational tool.
On the back of the packaging I would have some more information on where the rice comes, the history of the rice, and some nice pictures.
Here’s how I would use the SCAMPER method using a teaspoon.
I came up with a few ideas, but I know that some of my ideas have already been used in the market already.
Teaspoon for your morning coffee at work. I’ve substituted the end of the spoon with a pen. Made of plastic – Polyethylene terephthalate, safe to eat from.
Some sort of combo – Knife, fork, and spoon all in one. Rotation mechanism where you can click the desired object into place. I realized however that a teaspoon could easily be substituted buy a normal spoon… which would defeat the point.
A clock – the dials being made of a fork and a teaspoon. I picture it on the wall of an Italian restaurant – and I imagine it to be quite big.
I think this one is my favorite. A giant teaspoon as a lamp – combining modern technology with an antique-ish looking spoon. You see this idea on the left side of the picture above. It could be part of a set… it could be marketed, for example, in a store where they sell kitchenware, or furniture.
We were asked to research the history of the fast food chain McDonald’s, and to explain which parts of the SCAMPER model are evident in its development onto its current success. This assignment was supposed to take a day, but it took significantly longer because when I do research, I go all out – which isn’t always a good thing because I spend more time on these things than necessary! Their history starts in 1940 and I ended up with a 13 page research paper… But at least I know everything there is to know about McD’s now!
To start off, let me just explain what the SCAMPER method is:
SCAMPER is a method used to develop new products or services.
S – SUBSTITUTE – What elements of this product/service can be substituted?
C – COMBINE – How can this product/service be combined with other products/services?
A – ADAPT – What idea from elsewhere can be altered or adapted?
M – MODIFY/MAGNIFY – Can any component be greatly enlarged or greatly reduced?
P – PURPOSE – What completely different purpose can the product/service have?
E – ELIMINATE – What elements of the product/service can be eliminated?
R – REVERSE/REARANGE – How can the the product/service be rearranged / can the process be reversed?
There is evidence of this method throughout McDonald’s history. Instead of doing this chronologically, I’m going to go through this step by step with a few examples.
SUBSTITUTE
The first example of substitution I noticed, was the small change from potato chips to french fries made in 1949. This may seem like a small change, but McDonald’s wouldn’t be the McDonalds we know today without those beloved french fries!
In 1961, they substituted the then “Speedee” logo with the iconic Golden Arches logo – which was inspired by McDonald’s architecture at the time – I’ll come back to that.
COMBINE
McDonald’s focus went from just burgers, to a whole new range of products and services. Simple things like introducing the “Triple Thick Milkshakes”, “Big Mac”, and the “Hot Apple Pie”, are all good examples of this. The Happy meal, introduced in 1979 is probably my favorite – special meals directed towards children.
ADAPT
“Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature’s inexorable imperative.” – H.G. Wells
In 1965, the “Filet-O-Fish” was added to the National menu. This was “created by Lou Groen, to help build volume in the predominately Roman Catholic community in which his store was located”.
In 1975, the first drive-thruis opened in Arizona. Soldiers from nearby were forbidden to get out of their cars in army fatigues – and they thus solved the problem.
MODIFY/MAGNIFY
After some alterations made in 1948, they reduced the, then, large menu.
The McDonald’s brothers aspired to become a nationwide franchise, and in 1965 they reached 700 restaurants throughout the US. They then went international in 1967, opening restaurants in Canada and Puerto Rico. Today, they are in 119 countries around the world.
PURPOSE
Now, I hope I understood this correctly…
In 1968, McDonald’s began its support of the Olympic movement by airlifting hamburgers to homesick US athletes competing in France.
In 1974, the first Ronald McDonald House opens. A football player had the need for such a facility at the children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, where his child was being treated for leukemia. His dilemma led to the first Ronald McDonald House.
In 1977, the first All American High School Basketball Team is selected.
ELIMINATE
After the alterations in 1948, the restaurant went from a typical drive-in, with a car hop service, to a self-service drive-in. For those of you who don’t know (because I know I didn’t), “car-hopping” is a service where waitresses will take your order from your car, and bring the food to your car.
McDonald’s old car hop service
In 1961, Ray Kroc buys out the McDonald brothers (he also buys rights to the McDonald’s name ) for $2.7 million.
REVERSE/REARANGE
Again, I hope I understood this correctly. I only found one example of this.
In 1956, Harry Sonneborn establishes a model whereby McDonald’s Corporation leases land to licensees, which combined with the 1.9% service fee (0.5% of which went to the McDonald brothers) made the company financially sustainable.
Ashley's Reflected Journal 