Role: Visual Designer, Design System
Team: Tracy Nguyen, Carolina Araujo
Tools: Figma, Miro, Adobe Photoshop
Duration: 2 weeks
Helping you get to where you need to be - safely.
The Problem
Finding help when you need it most.
Have you ever been unsure if your situation is an emergency, but felt like you needed guidance or reassurance? It’s a common dilemma-finding yourself in the gray area between urgency and peace of mind can leave you feeling stranded and anxious.
The Solution
Spot is a mobile and desktop application that can help someone reach the appropriate people in the case of any kind of emergency.
Goals:
Easily access & reach emergency contacts
Reduce the cognitive load of decision-making while in vulnerable situations
Research I.
Human Psychology
There are studies which show that people experiencing emergencies may not know themselves that they are in one. There are many psychology factors which show us several facets of this. These phenomenons have informed our development of Spot and how this may be an excellent tool for those moments of unsurety without consequence of being incorrect.
The Bystander Effect
(Darley & Latané, 1968)
In emergencies, people may fail to recognize the seriousness of the situation, especially in the presence of others. The presence of multiple witnesses often reduces the likelihood of someone taking action, as each person may assume someone else will intervene or has already recognized the emergency.
Emergency Response and Risk Perception
In emergencies, people may fail to recognize the seriousness of the situation, especially in the presence of others. The presence of multiple witnesses often reduces the likelihood of someone taking action, as each person may assume someone else will intervene or has already recognized the emergency.
Ideation
How might we…
With the research in mind, we created HMW questions to help us focus our design solutions.
How might we ensure the app can identify and respond to urgent needs without overwhelming the user in high-stress situations?
How might we design a system that helps users prioritize their actions during a crisis, making it clear what steps to take next?
How might we create a non-intrusive emergency alert feature that people can easily activate or access, even when they are unsure if the situation is truly an emergency?
Research II.
Competitive Analysis
We looked at similar apps and platforms that could be considered emergency response or preventative resources for individuals, families, or caretakers.
Ideation
Empathy Building
By highlighting pain points, we created a customer journey map to reveal areas where design improvements can be made to enhance the customer experience through the different situations an end-user might be in. The map below displays the journey of one potentially in an emergency situation.
Design
Mid-Fi Prototype
We began to experiment with different lay outs, keeping in mind the need for simplicity and clarity in the design, language, and information.
We experimented with different layouts and created a flow for one particular lay out for usability testing.
Design
User Testing
We conducted usability testing with a group of 5 female, POC testers between the ages of 20 - 30 years old.
Usability tests were proctored in person with a digital Figma mock-up. Testers were given a series of tasks and we observed how well they completed these tasks and where they were stumped. At the end, we asked for their feedback, features they liked, and areas of improvement.
Feedback: When shown the different Home layouts, testers expressed they liked some of the playful design and preferred the size variation icons.
Incorporation: Although we felt a more uniform design would be appropriate and clear for users, we took this feedback and applied it to the Spot smartwatch interface.
Feedback: Testers suggested moving the emergency banner from the bottom to the top to make it faster to read. should take priority visually.
Incorporation: We moved the banner to the top to follow the information hierarchy we want users to follow, as this banner should take visual priority.
Design
Desktop & Smartwatch UI
Designed by Tracy Nguyen!
Results
Future Work
Although we see a need for a product like this, and believe it can give vulnerable people peace of mind and protection, our final design products have much work to do before it can be launched to market.
In addition in our next phase, we want to explore these points:
Exploring the line between the purpose of the app (keeping users safe) and boundaries (how much should tech interact with your privacy).
Explore audio feedback in cases of emergencies where attention is needed, similar to how Amber Alerts will loudly ring and vibrate your phone.
What would Spot do in a case the Spot Hotline or app fails and leads to serious injury of the end user?