Design Plan: Coffee Shops for UNCW Students
Each semester, full-time college students take 12 or more credit hours at a time, studying and doing homework when not in class, and holding jobs on top of that. With so much going on in their lives, college students often turn to caffeine to stay awake while studying or to get a boost of energy before going to class or to work. Many college students at UNCW visit local coffee shops to get that extra caffeine jolt and also to study. With this in mind, it would be helpful for college students to have an idea of what the atmosphere of a coffee shop is like so that they will know if it's too loud to study there before actually visiting the coffee shop, and it would be helpful for them to know the coffee shops' hours of operation, so that if they are up late studying for an exam and need caffeine to stay awake, they won't drive to a coffee shop that is closed. Many college students also want internet access to be available at the coffee shops they visit, so it would be important for them to know beforehand whether internet service is available. Additionally, given the economic recession, college students may be concerned with the price they will pay for coffee at each coffee shop. Most importantly, students will need to know where the coffee shops are located. Since college students are busy, it would be beneficial for them to have one source that provides all of this information on local coffee shops. Having all of this information in one place would be convenient because it would save college students time. A Google Map is the best way to provide students with information because different media, specifically video, audio, and pictures, are presented simultaneously.
To accomplish the map's purpose, information on each coffee shop, including store hours, wireless internet availability, prices of each shop's medium latte, and links to the coffee shops' websites (if available), are shown on the map. To show the distinct atmospheres of the coffee shops, photos, videos and audio recordings of the coffee shops are provided in the map through YouTube video. The videos illustrate the customer-to-employee interactions that take place and address the question: "Is this a good place to study?" (Because some coffee shops do not allow video to be recorded inside, video is not be available for every coffee shop on the map.) Whether or not a particular coffee shop allows video recording, all coffee shop managers have been informed that their coffee shops are listed on a Google Map, and the map’s purpose has been made clear to them.
When students access the map, they see a brief description to the left of the map that provides an immediate understanding of the map’s purpose. On the map itself, each coffee shop has its own distinct placemark. Company logos have been used as placemarks wherever possible to enable students to recognize the coffee shops' signs, thus making it easier to find the coffee shops while driving. Each site description on the map contains the name of the coffee shop, its store hours, its coffee prices, whether it has internet access, and what the atmosphere of the coffee shop is like. This basic information will hopefully help viewers make an informed decision on the coffee shop they choose.
Even though it is likely that students will frequent particular coffee shops and become familiar with them, the map still serves an important function because college students are a mobile group. They are not always in the same place, and they often meet with others in different areas for group projects and discussions. Because the map is online, it is always readily available when needed. It also may be updated easily as new coffee shops open (or close), or as their information changes.
The map has been tested first through an in-class presentation, which lasted for approximately ten minutes. Class members are familiar with Google Maps, and were able to give comments and ask questions about the map. Because audience members were college students, their opinions were crucial in deciding whether or not this map is effective for the student population. An additional mode of testing is built into the map itself. After students visit the coffee shops in person, hopefully they will return to the section of the map allotted for customer reviews and comment on their personal experiences there. Users also can rate the map. This feedback will test if the map is being utilized and whether users find it helpful. The map will be considered successful if college students find it user-friendly and utilize it for its intended purpose.
By providing information about Wilmington coffee shops’ hours, prices, internet capabilities, and atmospheres through a convenient, always-on interface, this map seeks to provide busy college students with information they need to keep studying. The map’s use of icons and the multimedia data it contains gives this audience an effective way to make an important choice when time is limited.