Sallie Wormer

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson

a human-centered research and design portfolio

Mindfulness wearable

overview

protocast

This short video (5:09) shows the wearable and app in a context scenario.  I wrote the script, created the sets, and used a professional DP to film it in two hours.  I then edited this using FinalCut Pro.

problem

Today's always-on always-connected world means stressors are omnipresent.  Can technology be used to mediate tech-related stress?  If so, how?

CONCEPT

KOYA is a solution for mindfulness-based stress reduction.  The wearable monitors stress responses and mediates them through programmable meditation or breathing sessions, while the app provides a broader range of features, analyzes progress, and controls interruptions.  KOYA is supportive and non-intrusive: the wearable uses haptic signals that ebb and flow, and the app's language is encouraging and positively framed.

my role

While this was a collaborative Interaction Design course project, I had primary responsibility for the app's information architecture, the 3D wearable, and the protocast. 

understanding the user and the problem space

Primary persona of Autumn, a working professional with multiple roles and responsibilities.  Images include her "happy place", which became inspiration for visual design elements.  The content was collaboratively developed, although the final layout and design was another team member's contribution.

research methods

We primarily relied on interviews, speaking with working professionals with multiple responsibilities, as well as Gestalt-based and dialectical behavior therapists.  These provided rich information about pain points and barriers to regular self-care.  As mindfulness can be low-intervention, used with or without a therapist, we finally settled on this as a focus and investigated this practice further.  We also conducted a competitive review.

persona

While this problem certainly applies to many people, we opted to focus on a single persona.  We felt this persona might be most subjected to, and therefore open to moderating, a variety of chronic stress episodes.  This persona's goals include self-care without guilt, which became a design driver for a supportive, non-intrusive posture.

Early context scenario includes meetings, family interruptions at inopportune times, and immersive-type remediation.  During the design process and based on further interviews, research and testing, we streamlined and clarified our initial ideas.

context scenario

This early context scenario I created looks at episodes in a normal working day where a negative stressor might exceed a healthy level.  Among the questions explored were: 

  • What might trigger negative stress? 
  • What situations might users be in when it occurs? 
  • How might users be notified?
    • What would that feel like?
    • What would the user need to know?
  • Would a notification cause more stress? 
  • What could ease a user's stress in that moment?
  • What if the user couldn't address it right then?

 

design process

brainstorming and sketches

Sketching helped us sort through all of the form factors we brainstormed.  These show some of the first ideations examining context, usage, and features before evolving into shapes, materials and sizes.  We used sketches to eliminate some early ideas, and clarify our functional requirements.

Sketches helped us investigate some key questions.  How socially and physically awkward would it be to use KOYA during a meeting? What would the user need to do to detect and mediate her/his biofeedback?  Where could KOYA be positioned and what does that implicate for the form factor?  Is it possible to safely use while driving?

We also explored various shapes.  At this point, we had made the design decision to make the device look something like jewelry using themes from our branding, to minimize its technical nature without hiding it completely and making it difficult or awkward to use.

information flow and low-fi prototypes

I focused on the macro-level architecture for the app and the physical prototype, while my partners drafted the Balsamiq wire frames.  It was important to understand how, when and why a user might switch between the device, the app, and other applications on their smartphone and what paths they might take.  At this stage, paper prototypes for the wearable were also very useful to determine final size parameters and test viable room for device controls. 

High-level information architecture showing flow between screens, device and other smartphone applications.

Low fidelity prototypes helped test size and placement hypotheses without costly commitment.  For example, is there enough space to differentiate one shape from another?

final prototype

Key user paths in the final prototype include:

  • setting up the device
  • setting personal meditation goals and preferences
  • taking a scheduled or unscheduled session
  • monitoring progress of physical signs over time, and
  • monitoring progress of achievement of goals over time. 
Final physical prototype shown in three variations.  Clickthrough to watch the protocast on Vimeo.

Final physical prototype shown in three variations.  Clickthrough to watch the protocast on Vimeo.

The final app icon, logo, home screen and a sample screen showing the tracking of patterns over a week's time period.  Clickthrough to view all Axure files.

The final app icon, logo, home screen and a sample screen showing the tracking of patterns over a week's time period.  Clickthrough to view all Axure files.

evaluation

challenges / limitations

As noted earlier, we focused on one persona to meet the time constraints of the project.  During this exploratory, low-budget phase, we did not have dedicated medical or engineering expertise on the team.  Also, as this was a visionary concept, limited user testing of the final prototype was conducted.

next steps

During the course of the project, we became aware of other similar devices currently available.  Further market analysis would be necessary to determine if this solution is unique enough before moving forward. 

lessons learned

Working on a remote team has its challenges, but it was particularly challenging on a project with a physical component.  Communication was key.  If possible for future projects, either a bit more time might be needed to send physical versions back and forth, or the ability to create and share 3D printer 'recipes' should be developed. 

 
 

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