USER EXPERIENCE DESIGN

Term: Spring 2021

***

Class Code: UXDG 490-02

Faculty: June Yoon

Department: UX Design, School of Design

Project Name: Harm Reduction Works: Anchoring Love

***

Group members: Kelly Pobgee, team lead, UX research, information architecture

Kelechi Ogbuaku, visual design, UI design

Madeline Walz, product design, prototyping, copywriting

***

Project Description*: Most support groups for people who use drugs (PWUD) are based on twelve-step programs, only support abstinence, or come with other specific methods. While these methods work for many people they do not work for everyone. There is no one-size-fits-all path to recovery.

​

Harm Reduction Works (HRW), a harm reduction organization founded in 2019, is an alternative to these formats. HRW has no requirement for abstinence, although meeting attendees can pursue abstinence if they wish. Some may want to transition from injecting drugs to smoking them, or stop sharing needles and instead visit a syringe exchange. Perhaps they are considering giving methadone a try, or perhaps a participant is simply looking for a shoulder to lean on.

 

One of the most important things a PWUD can have is a support system. Ideally, this support system would be made up of friends and family, but these people are often unable to provide the support the PWUD in their lives need. They struggle with complex emotions around their loved one’s usage, communication issues, and damaged or strained relationships with their loved one.

 

Following the format and values of HRW, Anchoring Love is geared towards the specific needs of the loved ones of people who use drugs. This system is focused on helping loved ones process their complex emotions, understand and communicate with their loved one who uses drugs, and in the end, mend their relationship.

 

HRW: Anchoring Love has three key parts: the Anchor, exercise prompts, and support group meetings. The Anchor is made up of blocks that can be arranged and re-arranged, and decorated and redecorated. It is a tool that you can use to ground your emotions and take them into a physical space where you can reflect on them. In the Anchor app, there is a set of art therapy exercise prompts focused on relationship building, facilitating conversation with PWUD, and better understanding emotions around loved ones’ drug use. You use the Anchor to explore the prompt, then reflect on what you made. Every week, there is a group meeting following the HRW format, prioritizing feedback and discussion about participants’ Anchors and progress with their loved one who uses drugs.

 

HRW: Anchoring Love provides an integral experience by allowing loved ones of people who use drugs to explore their emotions and relationships through a physical anchor.

 

*This description is for the project as it was after the second of two quarters of work. The final project, described above, is completely different from the first quarter.

​

Term: Winter 2021

***

Class Code: UXDG 450-02

Faculty: June Yoon

Department: UX Design, School of Design

Project Name: HRW Create to Heal

***

Group members: Kelly Pobgee, team lead, UX research, information architecture

Kelechi Ogbuaku, visual design, UI design

Madeline Walz, product design, prototyping, copywriting

***

Project Description*: The United States is about five percent of the global population. Despite that, Americans account for eighty percent of global opioid consumption. In addition to that, someone in the United States dies from an opioid overdose every sixteen minutes, and someone is arrested for drug possession every twenty-five seconds. All of this is in spite of the war on drugs America has been fighting since 1970. Clearly, something needs to change in the current methods of handling drug use.

 

Common methods for handling opioid use include abstinence, twelve-step programs, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meetings, and tough love from family and friends. While many of these do work for some people, they are not the only—or sometimes the best—method. The alternative to these is harm reduction. As defined by the National Harm Reduction Coalition, harm reduction is “a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing the negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.”

 

Most of the harm reduction system focuses directly on people who use opioids. Harm reduction organizations provide naloxone, syringe exchanges, and spaces for safer drug use, among other services. However, people who use drugs are not the only ones affected. Family and friends of people who use opioids often lack the training required to most effectively support them, as well as the ability to manage their own mental and emotional health while doing so.

 

In March 2019, the founders of HRH413, a harm reduction organization, founded Harm Reduction Works (HRW), a harm reduction-based alternative to abstinence-based self-help and mutual aid groups. HRW meetings provide a safe space for people who use drugs, their families and friends, and others interested in harm reduction to learn and share.

 

Create to Heal is a personalized group support meeting for family and friends of people who use opioids, following the framework of Harm Reduction Works. Participants use art and narrative therapy exercises to improve their emotional intelligence and self-awareness. Exercises for each meeting are personalized to the participants’ individual intentions for that meeting. Create to Heal also includes an interactive zine that contains art and narrative submissions from meeting participants, as well as added support and education. This personalized combination of meetings and art therapy enables them to support their loved one who uses opioids while better managing their own mental and emotional health.

 

*This description is for the project as it was after the first of two quarters of work. During the second quarter, the project changed significantly from what is described above.

​

Term: Fall 2020

***

Class Code: UXDG 415-01/IACT 435-01

Faculty: Sung Park

Department: UX Design, School of Design

Project Name: Medicus

***

Group Members: Jasmine Attanasio, Team Lead

Isha Ray

Kayla Haselein

Madeline Walz

***

Project Description: There is a lot of pressure on EMTs to do their job well. Despite this expectation, the current methods for communication and information exchange are not effective. The process begins with a call from the emergency operator. The operator gives the EMT team a brief overview of the accident, with perhaps a single-line summary of how it occurred. No patient status information is given. Arrival at the scene is the first chance EMTs have to figure out what happened. They have to analyze the situation, talk to bystanders, assess patients, begin treatment, and take photos and notes about the scene. All of this information and assessment has to be accurate. They have to complete it all in ten minutes or fewer, but can’t rush. Once a patient is in the ambulance, assessment and treatment continue.

 

With the current system, EMTs take scene photos with a phone camera. This often leads to a negative perception from bystanders, who see the phone and don’t realize the paramedics are still doing their jobs. EMTs take notes on-scene, either with their phone or on paper. In the ambulance, EMTs have a tablet computer they can use for notes. Note-taking and documentation, however, are not as important as patient care.

 

While ambulances include a lot of medical equipment, such as ECG monitors, defibrillators, ventilators, and ultrasound, much of the patient assessment is still visual. It is difficult for EMTs to determine if there are internal injuries. If the patient is unconscious, medical conditions and medications may be near-impossible to identify.

 

This is where Medicus comes in. Medicus is a system for EMTs that streamlines triage, diagnosis, and treatment. Its infrared camera uses artificial intelligence to quickly identify potential symptoms and injuries. The included tablet puts scene pictures, ambulance notes, and multiple patients’ information in one place. Medicus enables EMTs to do their jobs faster and more efficiently.

​

Term: Fall 2019

***

Class Code: IACT 330-02

Faculty: Sung Park

Department: UX Design, School of Design

Project Name: Bud

Medium: Arduino Prototype, Mobile Application

***

Group members: Varun Khatri, Team Lead

Aparna Somvanshi, Research Lead

Sheryl Chan, Branding Lead

Madeline Walz, Product Lead

***

Project Description: Despite growing trends in houseplants, many people struggle to effectively take care of their plants. A quick Google search will reveal dozens of articles about plant care and people’s struggles with it. Looking at a question-and-answer site like Quora shows many questions from people trying to figure out why their plant is not thriving. We created Bud to remedy this problem. Bud is a two-part system that consists of a face-tracking voice assistant that displays emotions on its screen, and sensors that can gather and record plant health information. There is also an app for setup and tracking long-term plant health data.

 

Sensors called Seeds, which are placed in the soil with the plant, detect plant health. They have a soil moisture sensor to determine when the plant needs to be watered, a light sensor to determine sunlight needs, and an LED to communicate these needs to the user. The user can have multiple Seeds for multiple plants. Bud is a voice assistant module that receives the plant health data from the Seeds. When prompted vocally by the user, Bud can give information about the plants’ health. It can also move to follow the user with its camera. The app can set up new Seed sensors, track long-term plant health, and notify the user when a plant needs something. To determine what exactly the plant needs, the user has to ask the Bud voice assistant module.

​

Term: Spring 2020

***

Class Code: IACT 375-02

Faculty: Sung Park

Department: UX Design, School of Design

Project Name: Ebb

***

Group Members: Kelly Pobgee, Team Lead and Research Lead

Kayla Haselein, UI Lead and Videographer

Lina Cai, Visual Design Lead

Tang Tantivirun, Information Architect and Videographer

Madeline Walz, Product Designer and Copywriter

***

Project Description: With prolonged stress increasing the chances for everything from the common cold to cardiovascular disease, stress is a major health risk. It has also become a normal part of life. In fact, over eighty percent of workers report experiencing stress in the workplace. People try to relieve their stress in many ways, including exercise and journaling. However, these methods do not always work. Other methods are needed. This is where Ebb comes in.

 

Ebb is a two-part system for biofeedback monitoring, consisting of a smart device and an app. Unlike most biofeedback devices, however, it is completely contactless. Ebb’s monitoring device, called the Worry Stone, uses WiFi signals to determine your stress level, and is accurate up to twenty-six feet away.

 

Every time you move, you disturb the WiFi signals in the air, which are mapped by the Worry Stone. Breathing and heartbeats make a regular pattern in these disturbances which can be measured. When you are stressed, your breathing rate and heart rate increase. These changes are noted by the Worry Stone and sent to the app. Within the app, you can view your stress level over time, as measured by the Worry Stone. You can also do various stress-reducing exercises with the app, such as meditation or muscle relaxation. As you continue to do these exercises, you will get better at lowering your stress level.

​

Project: SCADpro – Deloitte Human Capital

Term: Fall 2020

Faculty: David Meyers, Margot Ecke

***

Process Book Introduction*: The world has changed. That much is true, no matter how much we may wish it wasn’t. Instead of gathering to work with whiteboards and sticky notes, we’re meeting online with laptops and messaging. And yet, good has come from the change. Our work is no less collaborative than it was before. If anything, it is more collaborative. Working remotely, spread across the country and across the world, has forced us all to up our game. We’ve had to learn effective communication. We’ve had to use new technologies. We’ve had to discover new methods to meet with the users that are so vital to our work.

 

Yes, we are apart physically. But our team has never been closer. We have grown these last few months. No matter what happens in the months to come, our design methods will never be the same. We’ve used what we’ve learned to help others like us as they begin their job search and compiled it here to share their stories. Our stories. So turn the page, and let’s go back to the beginning...

 

*My submitted draft for the introduction. The final introduction was a compilation of writing from all three copywriters’ submissions

Project Name: Lumi

***

Student Name: Madeline Walz

Role: Research

Quarter: Winter 2020

Course: IACT 370-01

Faculty: June Yoon

Department: User Experience (UX) Design

***

Other group members:

Isha Ray

Cherie Chen

Anh Tran

***

Project Description: With the ever-growing advancements of technology, there comes less opportunities for face-toface communication in our daily lives. Being out of practice leads to feelings of inexperience and anxiety. Users lack an immersive tool to practice becoming an effective communicator.

 

Lumi is a system to build up those communication skills in both interpersonal and public settings. The application is paired with a smart mirror companion system with AR capabilities to provide live feedback and aid those who have trouble speaking with others by creating an immersive practice environment.

 

Headspace: To guide the user into a positive growth mindset, Lumi tracks the user’s moods and creates a personalized playlist of music and meditation tracks to promote self-awareness and self-growth. Before jumping into practice sessions, users are given helpful warm-up exercises used by professional communication coaches.

 

Practice: Lumi offers practice sessions with pre-existing scenarios, and the ability for the user to practice on their own. During the practice session, the system utilizes motion tracking and face and gesture recognition to provide the user with live feedback to highlight strong points and problem areas.

 

Progress: Progress reports are gathered from each practice session. The reports detail the user’s body language, tone of voice, word choice, and their mood level. The report highlights areas that the user excelled in as well as areas that need improvement. Additionally, the detailed report also tracks how much progress has been made in relation to prior practice sessions.

​

Project Name: Guardian

***

Term: Spring 2020

Course: UXDG 330-01

Faculty: June Yoon

Department: User Experience (UX) Design

***

Group Members: Kelechi Ogbuaku, Project Manager & Research

Madeline Walz, UI Design & UX Writing

Eric Flatt, Visual & UI Design

Tang Tantivirun, Research & Wireframes

***

Project Description: Students who live off-campus are not given the same access to security as those living in university housing, putting them at risk to crime in their neighborhood. In fact, students who live off-campus are 15 to 20 times more likely to experience crime than students who live on campus. There are many factors that increase their risk, including a lack of awareness, inefficient campus safety methods, and simple apathy or denial. Many college students are told what safety measures to take, but are not given any way to practice those methods other than going out and doing it.

 

Situation awareness is a common, effective method of increasing your personal safety. It has four steps: observe, orient, decide, and act. You observe your environment for information, orient yourself to find anomalies and threats, decide what to do, then act on that decision.

 

Guardian is a safety training app designed to build and develop users’ level of situation awareness. Users play activities with their community to improve their skills. Guardian uses artificial intelligence for cognitive engagement while aiding in building the user’s independent cognitive skills in perception, memory, decision-making and attention.

 

Object Identification

• Improve your pattern-matching and recognition ability.

Memory

• Improve memory for cognitive alertness

Polling

• Practice smart decision-making by selecting the most effective plan of action for real-life situations.

Community Discussions

• Interact and connect with your community through discussions.

Crime Reporting

• Keep you and your community aware by reporting crime sightings and threats in your community to law enforcement