Overview
After completing Design Thinking and Communications 1, I advanced to DTC 2, where our project took a new direction. We were introduced to the concept of "white space," which challenged us to identify and define our own problem space. Once the problem space was clearly established, we progressed to developing innovative solutions tailored to the identified needs.
Role
Collaborators
Duration
Responsibilities
UX Researcher
Product Designer
Product Engineer
NU Design Professors,
3 Other Engineering Peers
1 Quarter
(10 weeks)
User Research, User Interview, User Testing, Manufacturing, Prototyping, Graphic Designing
White Space?
In the "white space" phase, each team conducted an in-depth exploration of potential problem spaces within today's market. The type of problem was open-ended, as long as it led to a tangible solution. Our team chose to focus on the "pool space," specifically examining how to improve the accessibility of swimming lessons for children with ADHD.
The Problem
How can we help children with ADHD refocus and avoid
frustrating swimming instructions?
User Research
User research played a pivotal role in our project. We began by engaging with a variety of potential stakeholders to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences and the challenges they face. This initial research helped us ground our project in real-world insights and informed our approach moving forward.
Parent Interviews
We started by exploring the perspectives of the children's parents. By gaining insight into their pain points and needs, we aimed to clearly define the focus of our design and ensure our solution effectively addressed their challenges.
Parent 1
Pain Points
• Sometimes feels she is wasting money when the instruction is not as good for her child
• Always has to be on watch and cautious during lessons in case of emergencies.
Bio
A parent that has a child with multiple disabilities such as autism and visual impairments. Has also gone through multiple swimming lessons with her child. The parent is willing to spend money on products/resources by the swim instructors recommendations.
Goals
• To find swim instruction that can provide the most effective for her child
• To find swim instruction that is the most cost efficient and worth it.
Instructor Interviews
After gathering insights from the parents, we shifted our focus to swimming instructors at Northwestern. By understanding the perspective of professionals who have experience working with children with ADHD, we sought valuable advice and potential solutions to address the challenges identified.
Northwestern Swim Director
Bio
The Director of the Aquatics Center at Northwestern. She has various experience in teaching children with autism and ADHD. She also is the head of aquatic recreation and swimming instruction.
Pain Points
• Extremely hard to build a proper relationship with children with disabilities
• Finds it frustrating to deal with children that keep distracting other children during lessons
• Children sometimes refuse to do exercises
Current Solutions
• Uses toys during the lessons to keep children stimulated
• Provide children with ADHD different options of activities
• Keeps lessons to small groups or one-on-one
Ideation
After taking in all the information we needed from parent and swim instructor interviews, we begun to come up with various ideas for a physical product that can be given to the children.
Storyboarding
Initial Sketches
Prototyping
Graphic Design
While designing the graphic cards to be slotted into the board, I leveraged generative AI to assist with ideating the illustration style. Using AI-generated reference images, I explored various visual concepts, which helped guide the creative process.
*images produced by ChatGPT
*my own images produced in adobe illustrator
Final Prototype
After numerous mockups and iterations, our team successfully developed a refined prototype, ready for user testing with our target audience—children with ADHD.
Conclusions
This project presented a unique challenge with its focus on the "white space" concept. It took our team over three weeks of intense exploration to clearly define the problem space, which initially set us back compared to other teams. Despite facing challenges and internal conflicts, we successfully developed a polished prototype. This prototype was well-received during presentations to users, stakeholders, and a group of investors invited by our Northwestern professor.
Major Takeaways
• Stakeholders Provide Value: Understanding stakeholders and their pain points was invaluable, as many features in the final prototype stemmed from collaborative brainstorming. Feedback from diverse perspectives greatly enhanced creativity and innovation.
• Communicate, Don’t Frustrate: Our team went through a challenging period with piled-up work and rising pressure, leaving everyone on edge. During this time, I found myself in an argument with a peer due to a miscommunication. Recognizing the need to address it, I initiated an open conversation. This resolved our differences, cleared up misunderstandings, and ultimately strengthened our working relationship. By choosing open communication over resentment, we fostered a more collaborative atmosphere, helping the team move forward cohesively.