Human-Centered Design is a problem-solving approach that places people’s needs above rigid systems. NuVu High School students took on this concept in Winter Session II with coaches Nadine Zaza and Salma Islam in the lead. The goal was to identify and solve challenges faced by Central Sq. restaurant owners, staff, and customers—to help create a functional prototype and implementation plan.

Partnering with four local restaurants—Veggie Galaxy, Mariposa Bakery and Cafe, 1369 Coffeehouse, and Si Cara—the students worked with owners and stakeholders to better understand their needs and challenges.

“The students were trying to build a really compelling story of what those pain points are, and then tried to build out some level of a lower to mid fidelity prototype,” explains Coach Nadine. “But in essence they were building empathy through storytelling and presentation.”

For Salma, this type of studio is vital for a student’s design thinking—the awareness of designing for people—all people. “Ultimately, our design might be helpful for some people, but it might be harmful for others, and so it's important to consider that users vary heavily in our design. And this was a studio where we really centered around that.”

Unlike traditional design studio methods, where students start with a problem, the Human-Centered Design studio starts with the human.

“For this studio, we basically said ‘here are the clients. Go interview them,’” says Salma. “In a human-centered design method, we're not coming in with ego as designers. We're not coming in with ideas, but instead we're trying to glean what the user needs based on extensive interviews and research. So it's a different process and it can be challenging, but I think the students learned about the importance of centering a user in their work.”

For Veggie Galaxy, students talked to the owner and discovered that although the restaurant’s social media was thriving, a majority of their followers were not in the Greater Boston area. Aiming for a clear value proposition within a marketing strategy, students came up with incentives to get customers into the Central Sq. eatery.

“The students created a proposal that explored an app design to gamify the in-house reward system,” explains Nadine. “They backed up their design process with research showing that younger generations prefer gamified experiences.” The proposed app was positioned in a way to encourage users to return to Veggie Galaxy, and incentivize through a tiered reward system within the restaurant.

When it came to Mariposa Bakery, students found that the biggest pain point was catering. As a key revenue stream, catering is important for the small business, so the students designed a platform that specifically emphasized Mariposa’s farm-to-table value. "The students realized that the bakery's strong connection with local farmers wasn't well communicated on their website or in the cafe. They designed an online catering platform to highlight this, and the owner loved it," according to Nadine.

When moving across the street to chef owned and operated Si Cara pizzabar, the students learned of Chef Michael’s dedication to the food he crafts, and the brand he is trying to establish. “Michael shared that he really wanted to express the vision of Si Cara, not only to his staff, but to the general public,” says Nadine. “And if people wanted pizza, he wanted people to crave Si Cara pizza, not just any pizza.”

Chef Michael wanted his pizza to stand out. The students, recognizing the quality of his pizza (and they had quite a few pieces during their research), proposed a simple but surprising solution: a box redesign that would elevate the experience and highlight the pizza’s uniqueness.

The redesigned single-slice packaging helped capture the essence of Si Cara's vision and high-quality ingredients, featuring an innovative design and an illustration reflecting the restaurant's story.

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Lastly, at 1369 Coffeehouse, the students gathered insights from interviews with owners, staff, and clients. They discovered that the user journey for viewing and purchasing the art displayed on the walls was confusing. Artwork is exhibited every other month by local artists, but the process to engage with and buy the art needed improvement.

The students examined the rotating art process and created a streamlined online solution, improving the experience for artists, customers, and the art director curating the shows. “I think it was a really great way for the students to explore all three user experiences,” shared Nadine, “and they really dove into understanding all of these needs.”

“I was really impressed by how much the students were able to tell the story of their process, which was really beautiful,” shares Salma. “They were able to really pitch their project in a way that I hadn't really seen them do before. Plus, they handled critique and feedback so well and showed great self-motivation, which was awesome to witness.”