This is SPAM

The best, most effective snack dispenser is a parent.

I don't think this poster is selling anything, so I wouldn't call it spam. The linked site, however, is difficult to use. Navigation is not intuitive, many of the hand-written notes on various drawings are illegibly small, and the fact that you're requiring people to register and provide an email address in order to comment makes participating seem (to me, at least) not worth the effort.

Here's a great healthy snack dispenser already on the market......... (see link)

Here is a link that might be useful:

Its not spam. It shocks me how unwilling many people are to help a design student who just wants some feedback!

Critisism is fine, but is there anything constructive?

As for the website. The two problems mentioned I cant change due to the software I have used. Its very frustrating, but do you think if you didnt have to put in an email address, people would be more willing to post?

I wont post if I have to put in an email address, out of general principle, but I encourage your project.

It's one thing to design a snack dispenser, but it won't be used unless it satisfies a need unmet any other way. I think this is at the root of the criticisms so far.

Our snacks are kept in a handy pantry shelf & in a spot in the refrigerator; no need for a special purpose gizmo. People eat what's available; they can't get at "the chocolate & crisps" if they're not purchased & put in an accessible place.

I was able to look without registesterig and found it interesting. I'm not going to comment there because I don't need any more email :) But if designmea is revisiting the site here they can read my comments. (I don't mind helping since I'm a design student when DS allows it as well).

I have a 2 year old who isn't well and because of this I measure precisely what he eats, including snacks. For me, it would be nice to have a quick tool to dispense snacks in specific amounts. So here are a few thoughts...

Would you be allowed to control the amount...ie for snack one I might want one ounce but can I get 1/2 cup or some such measurement of snack two or are they all a set amount?

I have used a few snack type dispensers and they work well with sweet things that are small (ie m&m's, jellie beans, etc). You show yours with beans, which a child wouldn't eat...so what snack can be dispensed from these? And frankly...my son is ill and I'm all about his calories, not quality :oP So he eats M&M's and "sweet stuff" as well as chips. If I were marketing I'd call it a snack dispenser and leave off with the preaching on "healthy" stuff. There are MANY parents like me who allow their children to have the things you apparently don't want them to have because of medical reasons, or maybe it's just because normal kids eat M&M's. Any product that starts with a lecture does not get my money...think about it ok?

I also (and Momj47 pointed this out) wouldn't allow my child to self feed from any snack dispenser. My son dosen't only eat M&M's and when he does eat them I want it controlled. I would use a product that worked, but if the goal is self feeding for kids...any snack is better provided by mom or dad's hands. Even "healthy" snacks shouldn't replace dinner and if you leave them that available, kids will eat them and not have room for their real meals.

Ok now on the designs; The birdfeeder type would be messy and takes up too much space (have you seen the floors at grocery stores below things like that?)

Draw type feeders tend to dispense inaccurately. Have you tried them with foods of different sizes and weights to see if you can get equal measurements? Try puffy treats (they come in healthy and not LOL) as well as whatever you want to try ie M&M"s. (If your goal is perfectly healthy...gad find some carob chips or something).

I personally think the wheel would work best, but I have to ask...how do I clean it? Cleaning in those little corners would be a pain I think....you should think hat through.

I like the look of the puzzle dispenser best, but onder how it would wrk after a month or two of sliding around snacks in it (crumbs and all). I'd again take out the beans and add snacks of different consistencies that are actually able to be eaten. See how that works.

What bothers me about the OP is that it seems he/she will be using our ideas, but getting the credit for it in school, and towards his/her degree. If someone posted on a Forum, "Please help me get an A on my term paper; submit your writing on my blog", we'd think it was cheating. This person's school assignment is to come up with ideas for a snack dispenser. It looks like this student will instead be choosing among the ideas submitted by others to the website, and putting his/her name on it.

The most fundamental aspect of design is meeting a need. I see nothing wrong with someone designing something doing a needs assessment. The OP wasn't asking us to do the work for him/her, just to contribute to the needs assessment phase.

That said, it seems that most of us have little need for a snack dispenser, so providing constructive advice is difficult. If I were to buy a product like this, though, it would be important to me that the device had a good way to seal so that the items would stay fresh. I keep my bulk snacks (nuts, dried fruit, crackers) in airtight Tupperware containers or in the refrigerator, so a new device would have to offer something those places would not.

Hi,

thanks for the posts, especially from igloochic, you bring up some interesting points that I hadn't necessarily considered. The ideas posted on the website are only initial thoughts, so there is plenty of opportunity for me to take on board thoughts and comments and make plenty of changes! I will think about the fact that kids may not be allowed to use the dispenser on their own, different measured portions, freshness and cleaning the product.

Thanks!

Any more thoughts?

www.designwithme.moonfruit.com

As for havning to put in an email address, I do apologise for this, i cant turn it off due to the software I have used, but I do assure anyone that feels like posting that it wouldnt actually be used for any purpose.
Also, i would like to assure you that I am not simply using other peoples ideas. All designers should work with the people who could potentially be using their product to create something that is appropriate. I am simply posting up my ideas and asking for thoughts/comments and experiences to help direct the product development.

"All designers" are not students. Either the student project includes working with people to get their ideas or it does not. I am not in a position to know what the professor has required but in these days of rampant cheating, unless given information that surveying people and requesting their ideas is a required part of the class, I would assume it was NOT.

I assure you my tutors are very keen on me using this method, and thinks its a new exciting way of designing!
What would be the point in getting a degree in design, if we cant use professional methods? I'd be unemployable if I wasnt allowed to do any user research to come up with designs. The designs would also be rubbish, because im not designing for myself, im designing for other people. Surely it makes sense to ask the potential user what they think?

Rampant cheating? Not on my course...we all work unbelieveably hard, spending 8+ hours a day in the studio, 5 days a week.

Anyway, getting back to the point. Ive recieved plenty of very useful comments on the website and on this forum, which I now feel i can use to develop a wheel type dispenser design. I'll be posting up more developed designs in the next few days!

designmea-I am not a very creative person so I cant give you any ideas but I will look at your website. I just want to throw some encouragement you way and wish you good luck with your project!

I don't need a snacks dispenser of any kind in my home. I don't need a dispenser of any kind.

(My kids have a gumball machine, but that's all about fun, not about how easy it is for them to get a gumball, etc.)

The place that a "healthy snacks dispenser" would be useful is at a commercial place, the same sort of place there would be a soda machine or a candy machine.

I am also going to expand this project to create a more commercial dispenser to replace the crisp/chocolate machines in gyms/schools etc. I think the benefits could be even greater there like you say.

I understand that many people may not need a dispenser in their home, but this is my reaction to a specific request by a client. I am trying the expand the possibilities of the dispenser to make it useful to everyone, and to encourage more people to teach their children about healthy snacks.