01 Project Kickoff
Understanding the Users
Since it was a rapid-fire design competition, we were not expected to conduct primary user research. We decided to gather information online and make use of existing research. Here were the main pain points that our target users, children with special needs, seemed to have:
Lack of community
Almost half of children with disabilities are excluded from the educational system, a stark contrast to the mere 13 percent of their non-disabled peers facing the same circumstance. This denial of their educational rights robs them of the opportunity to engage in their communities.
Lack of confidence
Children with learning disabilities suffer from low self-esteem because existing school-based learning programs are developed with a neurotypical child in mind.
Children with limited mobility lose confidence when they struggle with performing tasks that are designed for the majority.
Disparity in access to art curricula
There is much disparity in access to arts-enriched curricula, with the most robust programs only being implemented in well-funded schools.
70% of parents with children with disabilities reported difficulty accessing arts programs and activities for their children. (Journal of Intellectual Disability Research)
With these pain points, we defined three main discovery pillars...
With this, we created three potential user personas to guide our process in ideating our product.
Potential User 1:
Child with ADHD
Difficulty in sustained focus
Overwhelm with complexity
Frustration with lack of progress
Potential User 2:
Child with Limited Hand Mobility
Frustration with precision tasks
Struggle with manipulating tools
Difficulty in Fine Motor Control
Potential User 3:
Parent whose child is HoH
02 Finding the gap in the market
How are competitors tackling the pain points?
03 opportunity
How might we create an accessible medium for younger children to embrace their creativity and empower them to champion + share their work?
We ideated some features that would address our objectives + fill the gaps of the market
community board for parents
allowing student to share work
children responding to the same daily challenge / seeing others' work
don’t define when the artwork is “done”
awards + badges instead of hard metrics
personal gallery
free form or guided practice
board set up
voice or typed explanation
feedback forum
We organized feature ideas into a comprehensive information architecture.
04 USER TESTING AND ITERATIONS
Key design decisions
With our initial wireframes, we asked one another to perform certain tasks. Based on the performance and feedback, we made appropriate iterations.
1. Taking into consideration our two distinct user groups: children and parents
2. Eliminating stress of choice for users to focus on single content at a time.
3. Making the artboard intuitive by minimizing necessary functions.
Technical Considerations
Designing for iPad -> Multi-modal interactions
Micro-interactions and audio stimuli
Acknowledging continual improvement with a dedicated feedback forum
Guide characters to interact with users + assist in getting over the learning curve of tech
Awards/Badges when users achieve a certain streak
05 High fidelity Frames
Crafting the visual design to be friendly, intuitive, and accessible.
With our initial wireframes, we asked one another to perform certain tasks. Based on the performance and feedback, we made appropriate iterations.
Guide characters to interact with users + assist in getting over the learning curve of tech.
Playful characters talk to and interact with users as they are on their artistic journey!
Prioritizing WCAG 2.0 Color Contrast Compliance in Our Designs
We tested all our components with a color contrast tool to make sure that we are not hindering the user experience due to lack of color contrast.
Touch-Friendly Design
We adhered to WCAG's minimum target size requirement of 44 x 44px.
05 Future steps
Looking Forward and Measuring Success
How often are users sharing and creating work?
- How often do they include written captions?
- How often do these add audio clips?
- Are they starting to open up more?
Are users becoming more proficient with Colorful?
- Completing doodles faster?
- Being less reliant on guided practice and doing more free-form?
How are parents interacting with Colorful?
- What does engagement in the forum look like using testimonies to make gauge efficacy?
06 Reflection
Takeaways + Lesson Learned
Participating in my second-ever design-a-thon was an incredible experience! Working alongside a talented and diverse team - Will, Megan, and Amy - was an absolute honor!
Dealing with a sensitive topic, the initial ideas we brought in were raw and unpolished, but through open discussions and constructive feedback, we were able to refine and shape them into powerful concepts.
The all-nighters, hours of discussion, and prototyping all payed off when we pitched our product and received first place! It was truly rewarding and I am incredibly grateful for my teammates!
