Imagine that you just landed at the Keflavik airport, in Reykjavik Iceland. Your body feels stiff from being on the plane and you have an hour layover before your next flight.  While wandering the airport you see this unusual structure. You discover that inside you can close the door and relax with light therapy, visual landscapes and stretching exercises.

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This was our team concept for a global vending machine--  The Icelandic hut, selling peace and relaxing to multi-lingual travelers. Our team: Jessica Carr, Kit Collins and Laura East. 

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See our story

 

Research Methods:

• Academic Literature Review

• World Values Survey + Hofstede Dimensions Analysis

• Nordic Culture and Architecture Review

• Competitive Analysis of Airport Product Offerings

• Concept value testing at the Nordic Heritage Museum 

• Global Standards & Heuristics

Data is informative, but it often needs context to give it meaning and focus. This project is an interactive data visualization which explores and contextualizes “food deserts” in the United States. We created a story-driven narrative which ends with a call to action. We envisioned this to be used by organizations working in the public health or social services sector to inform and engaging the broader community about an important issue.

Project team: Jessica Carr, Julie T. Do, Allison Saville

 

Interact with our story:

Our data visualization can be found on the Tableau public site: Food Desert.

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Data sources: 

●  Food Access Research Atlas 2015, ERS USDA

●  U.S. Diabetes Prevalence by County 1999-2012, IHME

●  U.S. Physical Activity and Obesity Prevalence by County 2001-2011, IHME

●  Food Bank Network, Feeding America

Social Psychology is a powerful tool that shapes user experience. In my Psychology of UX seminar, my collaborators, Julie T. Do, Irina Smoke and I explored the creation of a mindfulness app that could improve a user's emotional state and not exploit their personal data or identity.  With Concept Value Testing (CVT) of our basic prototype we iterated on our ideas and delivered a product proposal for:

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Reset, a new application for when a person needs an emotional “reset” that is (a) tailored to meet different personality types so anyone can more easily reset their mood and improve their day in their own way and (b) designed in accordance with ethical design principles that respect users’ privacy, collect the minimal amount of data, (c) offers resources and anonymous social collaboration beyond what many apps cover.

 

View: Concept Prototype

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Until very recently, Seattle Public Schools required students to log on to school computers with a classroom username that included an underscore (e.g. wtr_202).  Kindergarten, first and second graders had to meet this bar (before some can even read!).  As a library volunteer, I watched students use most of their computer time trying to log on.  Unfamiliarity with the keyboard layout and the concept of other characters being available via the shift key created a barrier for students. Many would touch the shift key and then the dash key.  Others would hoooooold down the dash key and make a big line. 

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I used sketching to generate possible solutions that might help students. What I came up with was the HOLD and TAP technique.  The librarian and I would say: "Use two hands" and hold up 1 finger from each hand, then we would say: "use one hand to HOLD the shift key... and one hand to TAP on the dash key".  These highly specific instructions resonated with little hands and the underscore was typed.