Procter & Gamble

Designing a dishwashing tool that makes an everyday chore feel more intuitive, practical, and delightful.

Role

Product Designer

UX Researcher

Product Designer

UX Researcher

Product Designer

UX Researcher

Timeline

Sept 2024-Dec 2024

Team

Riley Nicholson

Eva Ford

Ibra Bah

Johnny Chen

This case study is still under construction, but here’s a quick look at the work I did!

In a sponsored project with Procter & Gamble, our team explored how to improve the dishwashing experience through a human-centered product direction for Dawn. Because the project is under NDA, this case study focuses on my process across research, prototyping, and concept development.


As the lead researcher and designer, I translated consumer insights into an early product vision that balanced usability, delight, brand fit, and feasibility. Through in-home interviews, task observation, testing, and iterative prototyping, we uncovered small but repeated frustrations in the dishwashing routine and shaped them into a final concept presented to P&G leadership at headquarters.

My role

I led research across three rounds of iteration and helped shape the early product vision as both a researcher and designer. My work spanned user insight synthesis, concept development, early prototyping, and visual product direction, including color, finish, silhouette, and alignment with the Dawn brand.


I also collaborated with engineers to make sure the design direction was feasible, not just desirable, so our final concept could respond to real user needs while staying grounded in practical product constraints.

Research Process

The biggest learning for me was that the strongest ideas often come from observing familiar routines closely and noticing the small frustrations people have learned to work around.

Round 1: Understanding the routine
We conducted in-home interviews and task observations to understand how people actually wash dishes in their own kitchens. Rather than jumping straight into solutions, we focused on identifying the deeper opportunities for innovation: where the routine felt frustrating, inefficient, or emotionally unsatisfying. This helped us uncover repeated pain points, hidden workarounds, and small moments of friction people had normalized over time.


Round 2: Testing early prototypes
We brought early-stage prototypes into central site testing to understand what people liked, disliked, and found confusing. This round helped us evaluate both functional needs, like grip, usability, and storage, and emotional needs, like confidence, satisfaction, and delight.


Round 3: Narrowing the direction
Based on feedback from the second round, we narrowed our work into three stronger prototype directions. In the final round of testing, we compared these concepts to understand which solution best balanced user needs, brand fit, and feasibility.

Round 1: Understanding the routine
We conducted in-home interviews and task observations to understand how people actually wash dishes in their own kitchens. Rather than jumping straight into solutions, we focused on identifying the deeper opportunities for innovation: where the routine felt frustrating, inefficient, or emotionally unsatisfying. This helped us uncover repeated pain points, hidden workarounds, and small moments of friction people had normalized over time.


Round 2: Testing early prototypes
We brought early-stage prototypes into central site testing to understand what people liked, disliked, and found confusing. This round helped us evaluate both functional needs, like grip, usability, and storage, and emotional needs, like confidence, satisfaction, and delight.


Round 3: Narrowing the direction
Based on feedback from the second round, we narrowed our work into three stronger prototype directions. In the final round of testing, we compared these concepts to understand which solution best balanced user needs, brand fit, and feasibility.

Round 1: Understanding the routine
We conducted in-home interviews and task observations to understand how people actually wash dishes in their own kitchens. Rather than jumping straight into solutions, we focused on identifying the deeper opportunities for innovation: where the routine felt frustrating, inefficient, or emotionally unsatisfying. This helped us uncover repeated pain points, hidden workarounds, and small moments of friction people had normalized over time.


Round 2: Testing early prototypes
We brought early-stage prototypes into central site testing to understand what people liked, disliked, and found confusing. This round helped us evaluate both functional needs, like grip, usability, and storage, and emotional needs, like confidence, satisfaction, and delight.


Round 3: Narrowing the direction
Based on feedback from the second round, we narrowed our work into three stronger prototype directions. In the final round of testing, we compared these concepts to understand which solution best balanced user needs, brand fit, and feasibility.

Outcome & Reflection

At the end of the project, our team presented a final product direction to P&G leadership at their headquarters in Cincinnati. The concept balanced consumer needs, tactile usability, Dawn brand alignment, and product feasibility, while staying grounded in the behaviors and pain points we uncovered through research.


This project showed me how much design opportunity lives in the details of everyday behavior. The strongest ideas came from watching how people actually moved through a familiar routine and identifying the small frustrations they had normalized. It taught me that meaningful innovation does not always have to be loud. Sometimes, it comes from making a mundane task feel easier, more intuitive, and even a little more delightful.

Yay! We've made it to the finish line.

Have a question, some feedback, or an outrageous idea? 🔍

tiffchenn.design@gmail.com

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