Why did we make a smart straw?
We began our research by exploring a fundamental question: why do people want to track their liquid consumption, and how do they currently do it?
Sip N' Sense
August 2025 - October 2025
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Role: Product Designer
Research Methods: Systems Design, Interviewing, Qualitative Analysis, Surveying, Usability Testing​
Team: Journey Brown-Saintel, Jackie Nam
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Platforms: Figma, Arduino
Problem Area
Business Gap
Currently, most hydration-tracking products (e.g: Bottles & apps):
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1. Require manual logging or syncing with external apps/devices.
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2. Rely solely on visual interfaces (e.g., phone screens, LED bottles).
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3. Fail to provide multisensory, real-time feedback that integrates naturally into the act of drinking.
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User Problem
Health-conscious individuals struggle to:
1. Accurately monitor fluid intake throughout the day.
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2. Stay consistent with hydration or dietary goals because tracking is often manual, inconvenient, or easy to forget.
3. Access real-time, embodied feedback that’s both subtle and intuitive (without checking a phone or smartwatch).
Problem Statement
How can we leverage senses beyond vision to gain information about liquid consumption while providing a feedback system that enables better tracking without detracting from the drinking experience?
Competitive Analysis
Low-Salt Support Tableware
Kirin, in collaboration with Meiji University, developed the Low-Salt Support Tableware which amplifies saltiness and umami through the power of electricity.​​
What it does well: Intuitive to use, health benefits without sensory deprivation, adjustability.
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Where it falls short: Limited taste modalities, physical accessibility (dexterity concerns), lack of portability.
Bubble Lick
Bubble Lick is a flavored, lickable bubble solution designed to be safe for kids, pets, and adults. It uses FDA-approved ingredients to reduce health risks while adding fun, edible flavoring.
What it does well: Reduced health risk, enhances existing experiences.
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Where it falls short: underwhelming flavor profile, short user window, limited functionality.
Sip n’ Sound Straws
Sip n’ Sound straws are interactive straws that allow the user to hear animated sounds when liquid is passed through them.
What it does well: Multi-sensory engagement, hydration incentive, low-cost.
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Where it falls short: Unhygienic, entertainment > assistive need.
Objectives
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Enhance existing consumption experiences without sensory deprivation
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Create multi-sensory engagement beyond single modalities
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Ensure safety, accessibility, and practical usability
Research
Brainstorming
We started by iterating on our competitor's projects...
Initial Usability Testing
Experiment Setup:
This initial prototype tested user intuition. Participants were asked to drink what they estimated to be 2oz of water while we provided three different feedback modalities in each round.
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Research Goals:
Assess how different sensory modalities affect user experience, preference, and monitoring accuracy for liquid intake.
Key Findings
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Tracking style – Most participants said they currently track hydration using a water bottle rather than cups, straws, or apps.
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Preferred modality – Users strongly favored haptic (buzzing/touch) feedback because it was subtle, private, and didn’t interrupt their flow.
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Least preferred modality – Light feedback was disliked. Users found blinking lights distracting, less intuitive, and hard to interpret in everyday contexts.
What does this mean for us?
Overall, users showed that hydration tracking works best when it builds on existing habits (e.g. bottles, straws) and when feedback is subtle and intuitive (i.e. haptic feedback).
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This testing gave us a clearer direction for iteration: prioritize haptic-first design, explore integration with bottle-based tracking, and reconsider the role of visual cues in hydration tools.
Design
Arduino
Digital Interface
Tactile Interface
Takeaways
1. Multi-sensory design expands communication
First, Multisensory Design is about expanding communication, not replacing one sense with another. Our project is a success because it provides layered feedback in the form of haptic, audio, tactile, and visual cues, proving that complex data like liquid level can be conveyed intuitively without relying on sight alone.
2. Using accessibility as the starting point matters a lot
The entire process of the project reinforced that accessibility must be the starting point. By prioritizing layered sensory feedback, we created an equitable product that inherently serves users with a wide range of sensory needs, making it better for everyone.