JACOBS INSTITUTE FOR DESIGN INNOVATION

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, UC BERKELEY

Prototype Design for Business Mixers

I worked with a team of five diverse students (engineers, computer science majors, and social science majors) to design a prototype that improves interaction between people during business networking mixers. 

Design Process

As a team, we approached this project beginning with interviews. I interviewed three people and asked them what struggles, frustrations, and problems they found when attending business mixers. Next, my group met and assessed the problem we wanted to solve:   alleviating awkward interactions while making food and drink more natural and easier to consume.  As a group, we brainstormed prototypes, discussed which products we wanted to pursue, and conducted a decision matrix.

Our team, 99% Invisible, designed a prototype that would naturally bring people together and cultivate a friendly environment for participants to meet, exchange information,  and easily interact. Our final product was a table-chair system that provides a comfortable space for people to interact with an incentive for food and/or drinks.

MECHANICS

The seats of this product are connected to the table by a 4-bar linkage. This system forces the table to alternate between vertical and horizontal positions. When weight is exerted on one seat, the opposite section of the table becomes horizontal.

Essentially, four people need to be seated for the table to be fully horizontal. When all four people are seated,  a popcorn machine is activated in the middle of the table.

This product brings people together in a more natural way and additionally acts as a pre-text and conversation starter to invite three other people to sit down with you in an organic and engaging manner.