quick summary here
Client
Hammer Theatre / San Jose State University
Discipline
Experience Design, Product Design, Design Research, UI/UX, Front End Development
MY Role
Designer, Researcher, Project Manager*
*Solo Project
Timeline
Nov 2023 - May 2024 (5 mo.)
Tools
Digital: Figma, Visual Studio Code(HTML/CSS/JS), p5.js, Adobe Illustrator
Physical: CNC Lasercutter
My Impact
1) Designed a memorable experience that influenced users' self awareness and evoked emotional impact among users of varying levels
Collected qualitative user feedback on how the interface influenced their emotional state and thoughts, using their personal experiences and quotes
2) Iterated design continuously to improve user engagement metrics: interaction time, repeat visits, and completion rates
Conducted user testing at different stages of realization and collected feedback to inform iterations, vastly improving the design's latest state against its beginining stages
3) Curated a suitable environment for users to complete the experience together, and discuss insights amongst each other
Trialed different aspects of installation and user experience considerations, including environment and noise level, to build an appropriate ambience for the user to experience
My Design Process (insert quick image here)
I. DEFINE
GOAL
Create an immersive space that fosters self-reflection, emotional engagement, and empathy through moments of introspection.
Problem
People often become disconnected from their own well-being due to the routine cycles of life, causing them to lose touch with their emotions and make necessary self-reflection scarce.
Solution
Design an interface that allows participants to interact with their environment in a way that fosters deep personal reflection and self-discovery.
Guiding Question
How can I design a solution that encourages people to find balance in their everyday lives using guided introspection as a primary touchpoint?
II. Research
I organized information about existing products, thematic visual materials, and material processes within the range of my vision.
I used what I gathered to inform brainstorming sessions and build upon my ideas using a three main criteria:
1) Does the design provide a solution that meets users' needs?
2) Does it fit within my time and budget constraints?
3) Does it align with the core ideas originally outlined?
3) Does it align with the core ideas originally outlined?
III. IDEATION
sketches
Starting with a variety of big ideas, evaluating based on three main criteria, and refining into realistic proportions
brainstorming sketches
Edited using Adobe Express
IV. BUILD.
Installation
Installing my work started with figuring out the best way to position it physically, considering the visual environement and background noise(as my work involved speech recognition).
The chair was adjustable in order to keep the work accessible to all people and the curtain was set up behind the chair so it would improve the immersive aspect of the user's experience.
V. Testing
Application
Users would sit in front of the infinity box, titled in reference to Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror rooms. The tablet inside the box uses a mirrored camera to reflect the user's image back at them. The surrounding mirrors then provides an interesting interaction between reflections.
On the screen, a question is revealed for the user to answer by speaking freely. Users are guided by the brief instructions on screen to use voice commands to navigate the interface as they wish.
VI. Reflection
What is the purpose?
I created this work as a reflection box where participants are invited to shape their experience how they wish and interact with the questions as they see fit.
There were about twenty questions that ranged from surface level ice breakers to deeper, more personal questions that demanded some level of vunerability, to which participants could pick whichever question to answer.
The user reflects on their response, and if they choose, submit it to the database so that others can see their answer the next round that the question appears. This also permitted them to see their answer displayed alongside previous responses.