Responsive and Local
Creating a web experience for the community
7 Weeks
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Teams of 4
Responsive Web Experience
My Roles:
Ideation & sketching, problem scoping
Project Overview
Through a community informatics approach, this project involved designing a responsive HTML/CSS website that applies to the more tailored community social challenges, specifically Purdue University. Our task was to understand a deeper user base to empower citizens to address local issues or even become more aware of community actions through digital civics.
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Design Scope We Focused On
Help students find spaces that meet their preferences, as everyone focuses in different ways
Data Collection
Initial Problem Space: There’s a lack of creative spaces for students to work
on campus to be inspired and experience a space different than a typical
classroom
Co-design Takeaways
See the methodology of our conducted co-design here
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Students aren't as concerned with how creative the physical space is
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Functionality is more important than design for studying
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Our initial scope focused too much on interior design, which wasn’t the prominent problem,
leading to our first design pivot:
Focusing on the functionality of a space for meeting
students’ needs to focus
Research
Secondary Research
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With this ideated problem scope, we conducted research, trying to find out:​​
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What causes distractions while studying?
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What methods are currently used to remedy studying distractions?
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One big insight that we found that would later synthesize well with our primary research, was the idea from Studybreaks.com that all students study in a different manner.
“Though they could be working on the same math questions at the same time, all students study in different fashions.”
Conducting research for Purdue University specifically, we analyzed existing solutions for students who struggle to focus academically. The Disability Resource Center (DRC) at Purdue University offers guidance and accommodations for students with disabilities mainly for taking exams in a smaller and quieter environment.
Interviews
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With a different set of questions depending on the type of student we interviewed. Our goals in conducting these interviews were: ​
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To better understand the experiences of both DRC and non-DRC students with regards to studying
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Compare and contrast their stories and pain points
2 DRC Students
3 Non-DRC Students
​"[The DRC] first asked me what my need was and I explained that I have testing anxiety and ADHD. One of their responses was “don’t we all.”
DRC Students
Non-DRC Students
“I usually study with music or a show on in the background. I don’t like complete silence."
“I mostly work by myself, in a quiet area with no tv or music.”
From these interviews, we realized that the existing DRC was not the optimal solution for students and some other solution needs to be implemented. Another major takeaway was the idea that everyone focuses differently. We realized that our problem scope could be even more narrower to advocate for real local stakeholders by asking:
“There are a variety of ways that students focus. How can we utilize digital civics to help students who struggle to focus, while studying?"
Prototyping
Sketching & Ideation
The main focus for our ideation was:
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How can we visualize a space that we are utilizing in a digital medium?
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How can we get our user group to share their voice through our site?
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Is our website going to be informational, collaborative, or a mix of both?
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How do we visualize our solution?
White board ideation on what our site could accomplish
Output ideation providing students a tailored location to go study
Paper Prototyping
After coming together on the whiteboard and creating our finalized ideas, we moved into the paper prototyping phase. We wanted to create paper prototypes for our usability testing before moving to high-fidelity so any changes in design would be easier to make.
Site landing page for users to choose what type of studier they are in the moment
To incorporate local citizen empowerment, after studying in a recommended room, they could input information about their experience
Find Me Elsewhere
