For the first week, we were tasked with completing our project phase one. This phase of the project required us to create a design persona and create conceptual sketches for products or solutions we could offer our user. 

The week prior to submitting this assignment, we went over to the café where our intended end-product would be used. While we were there, we spoke with the founder of the café and learned more about them and their goals. During that session we also had the help of two of their employees for translation. Our team used this opportunity to learn more about the work environment and the baristas that work there. These baristas are all hard of hearing and use various methods to communicate with others. We were able to learn that they wanted to keep the presence of disability lowkey and avoided drawing attention to the fact. Additionally, they also were not keen on the use of available technology such as an iPad for improving communication between the workers and customers. The purpose of the café was to allow those with hearing impairments to develop their social confidence. Based on the information they told us, we were then able to assemble our personas. 

Additionally, we collectively created two concepts that we could then create. The first idea was an ambient lamp that would also use radio to transmit sound from a small area directly to the servers. The second idea was to create a language that could be used when ordering. After further discussion in our class, we also discussed the possibility of having a physical feature that would include different symbols that might be related to drink customization. During our discussion, we also decided that our next step would be to present these various ideas to the café and hear their perspectives before moving forward. We also began to test whether these ideas would be feasible in terms of coding and fabrication.