This project is in Interaction Design course in UT Austin. It is about creating an interface that enhancing the collaboration and connection between ecology and human, which is to remind people the importance of the environment
My task is to create a solution to make people more aware of the situation where we are disconnecting ourselves to nature due to the growth of industrialism and remind people that "we are one"
This projects is about creating an interface enhancing the collaboration and connection between ecology and human, which is to remind people of the importance of the environment.
My task is to create a solution to help aware people of the situation where we are disconnecting ourselvesfrom nature due to the growth of industrialism
Students are required to use either Figma or Framer to create the interface, along with researching and ideating ideas.
Problems:
1. The lack of activities connecting with nature on UT campus 2. Activities in orgs involving nature are not personalized and not flexible 3. The lack of information of what to do and where to go to enjoy nature around campus, especially for new students
Solutions:
Create a quick, effective, and customizable experience with nature for students
Customizable activities with survey
Allows users to customize their experience through surveys. Surveys to see how the user is feeling at the moment, making the interface connect more with users
Assigns an activity that matches user's survey result, and this is increasing the relatedness of the interface with users
Inform users of what to expect
Educates users on the activities with research to back up the information
Shows users what to expect and prepare
Navigates users to the place with direction and pictures of the place
Be able to personalize the experience and time
Sets up their own time to involve
Chooses whether or not they want to silence phone notifications
sets up count-down timer
User have an option to exit or stop in the middle of the activity (in case of mergency and not feeling forced)
End the activity on a high note
Wraps up with a "Tree Quote" for mental health and a "Tree Reminder" to remind them protecting the nature
Ends with a thank to user and a button to continue another activity if the user want to
Research:
Secondary Research
Nature helps improve our mental health
Many psychologists have proven that trees can be mentally and physically benefiting us. Also, psychological research shows that spending time with nature make us feel less anxious and more content. Some articles:1. Why Trees Can Make You Happier
I went around UT Austin campus to search for places that fit the best to the activities, as I want to make sure users have the best experience. Some criteria are: quiet, peaceful, not to crowded and busy during the day.
Goal:
Enable users to have an impactful experience with nature any time, anywhere during the day with activities tailored to their needs
Ideations:
Mapping
User Flow:
Conceptualize and Sketching:
Wireframe:
Stylesheet:
I used Figma and Adobe Illustrator to make illustration and visual elements for the interface.
Be able to personalize the experience and end with a high note
Figma File:
User Testing:
I created a click-through prototype and tested with my classmates in class. Before the test, I mapped out user-testing plan, creating some tasks in the prototype, observing the user, and asked for feedback at the end. They wandered around campus to execute the activity assigned and gave me excellent feedback for me to keep improving the app.
Next Steps:
1. Makes the survey faster or combine them in one screen 2. Makes the experience more interesting by assigning tasks, instead of solely counting down 3. Improves the size of some components to make sure it is easy to click 4. Tests with more people
Reflection:
This is one of my big projects for Interaction Design class at UT Austin that I worked really hard on. The project has challenged me to do research, plan my ideas, iterating them , and bring the to life. I am very grateful for professor Ploehn who has helped guiding me through the project and has given me excellent feedback. Also, I had a chance to talk and have my classmates testing my interface and learned a lot from them. If there is one thing that I could do to improve the project, I would change how the survey being done by making it faster for users to do by combining them in one screen. If I have more time to work on the project, I would gather more feedback and make improvements on the next version of the interface.
