Designing Services, Baking Dough, and Catching Sun
Weeknotes from 06 June 2025
Things I did #
At work #
Back to one design hat #
It's been a great few weeks, with new designers onboarded, I've stepped back from the Interaction work on my current project. I'm still keen to be designing and testing but at a service level.
Trip to Sheffield #
I had a great day in the office, meeting up with other Service Designers, working Prison services. Really collaborative day and great to meet up with other Service Designers, and see what's happening elsewhere in the prison space.
At play #
Pizza dough calculator app #
I've been making a lot more pizza recently, using my trusted old ooni Koda 12, that I bought 6 years ago! I've re-started our tradition of Friday Night Pizza. This usually involves me rushing about in a panic, while making a massive mess of the kitchen, the family try to avoid me for the 35 minutes before I serve up 6 pizza (more like 5 as one pizza often ends up mangled and in my gob, as I eat through the tears and shame!).. but all in all its a good night!
I've been changing my dough recipe as it was never consistent before, and after looking through different tools and apps I decided to create one for myself.
Introducing Dough Jo - Recipe generator. I'm not massively sure of the user need, if I'm totally honest. The main driver for me was I wanted to save and tweak dough recipes each week, and create a recipe and and give it a rating, so I can learn as I go. Other apps exist in this space, but I wanted to use some of the tools I've been playing with. I'm still working on improving the accessibility before moving it on to its own domain, if I even do that.
I got side tracked by tone, and design (UCD fail) but the tool allows me to tweak default recipes, show me the prep method, but adding notes is manual. I can copy the recipe into notes and add feedback there. I can also save a recipe I'm happy with and store it in the session.
Tools used:
- Chat GPT for the initial v0.dev prompts
- V0.dev for the UI components and look and feel (about 3 versions but wasn't too happy with the output)
- Cursor AI, I restarted the project in here and it worked great
The tool I've created is pretty simple, and doesn't use any python, its all hosted on Netlify and the feedback form is using Netlify contact form integration.
As I mentioned, there's not a overwhelming user need answered here, a feature or two that similar tools are missing, but due to the minimum effort to create the payoff was worth it.
However it does make me think, with lower boundaries to entry and less friction between concept and delivery...
How do we validate ideas before the become a reality!
New ? old oven #
I purchased a second hand electric pizza oven (effeuno p134H), as keen to do more NY style pizzas, crispier base and better heat retention, mainly as my ooni looses heat between pizzas and as I make around 6 pizzas per session it does become a bit of a faff. A bonus is that I can just about power it on solar and the battery!
Solar Panel and Battery update #
It's taken ages, but finally got the required documents back from the grid, to allow me to start selling unused energy to my energy supplier. I think it still takes another few more weeks for my tariff to change, but moving in the right direction.
I'm currently generating more than I can use, so charging my car on a slow charge while the suns shining, but hopefully be selling back to the grid soon enough.
Thats enough ramblings for now, I'll be honest I struggle to write work related weeknotes, due to the sensitivity of some of the areas i work in, hence more non work jibba jabba.
Till next time!
A bit about me:
I'm a UCD specialist focused on Service Design, with a passion for accessibility and creating services for all. I navigate the world with a dry sense of humor, finding the funny side in the most mundane tasks.