Luca Toscano - Eloma MT Joker

Eloma MT Joker

A modular UI for Eloma's ovens

ABOUT

Eloma, a leading German oven manufacturer, asked Studio Volpi to design a modular and user-friendly interface for their new MT Joker oven line. The interfaced needed to work on both the horizontal and vertical modules of the oven. It also needed to work with a physical knob.

MY ROLE

Research, UX & UI, Iconography, Design system

TEAMMATES

Nikola Mitrovic

DURATION

June 2019 - September 2019

RESEARCH

Testing the early designs

We conducted a preliminary UX analysis, considering various kitchen contexts and chefs' needs. In professional sectors like this one, operators must be able to freely rely on their equipment and save as much time as they can throughout the entire service. As we studies these use cases, we were able to derive common needs across small and large scale kitchen businesses, rationalize the shortcoming of the old user experience and highlight the constraints of the new machine's design.

Research insights

INSIGHT

Achieve a better UX consistency

As the Joker product line expanded, new features and interactions were added, resulting in a very chaotic experience. To lower the cognitive load and increase the time-on-task, we needed to come up with a more intuitive and consistent UX.

INSIGHT

Provide great usability on different modules

Another challenge was to design an interface that could be used both in portrait and landscape mode depending on the user's preferences. To overcome this, we needed to design a modular UX that could easily adapt toi both scenarios.

DEVELOPMENT

A complete UX makeover

After mapping out all the existing feature paths and testing them through a simulator, we started redesigning the core navigation. While working on the improved UX, we experimented with different layouts to ensure that the main programs and food preparations could be easily accessed, even with gloves, dirty hands, and varying light conditions. Finally we took on the visual inconsistencies, especially the color palette and iconography, which were judged as "scary" and "confusing" by some users.

Set of six low-fidelity screen designs for the Eloma's oven interface

Image of a low-fidelity screen design for the Eloma's oven interface

OUTCOME

A champion of modularity

Thanks to its flexibility and modular design, after being released on the market, the Joker combi line experienced a wave of appreciation from both Eloma's customers and partners. As a sign of this positive impact, in 2021 the product was awarded 2 design awards, including the prestigious IF Design Award. Tom Cindric, president of Winsight Exhibitions, also said that products like these, "that increase efficiency, productivity (...) are needed now more than ever as restaurants continue to operate through the ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic.”