Post Project Review
For our first rapid ideation project I decided to focus on market & user research and presenting my findings, rather than creating a final prototype. My final artifact is a research article on the emerging FemTech sector, which can be read here.
This decision to focus on research came mid-way through the project, for three reasons:
1.
The more I researched the viability for my platform idea, the more I came to terms with the depth of research that needs to be done for a product to be truly effective and serve it’s users.
2.
I consider writing and relaying my research to be a weakness. So I challenged myself to present my research as an article, which would convey my interest and newfound knowledge of the area of FemTech.
3.
I currently work as a brand designer for small businesses in the wellbeing and therapy sector. The rise of tech for wellbeing, particularly science-backed, data-led tech for women’s health is of interest to me. I see myself working in this area, therefore I felt it more productive for me to spend time getting to know the sector through in-depth research and testing out various apps & platforms. I’d like to explore designing a platform further down the course, when I have more knowledge and research to create something that works & is needed.
I also started researching the use of user data as currency, provoked by LSN Global’s speculative platform that enables people to explore the future of democratised data ownership. Where consumers are in charge of their own health data and can exchange it for products or subscriptions. (Houghton, Livvy. 2018) This paradigm shift to users having ownership over the value of their data seems leaps away from today’s model, whereby we hear daily of data breaches and mistrust. Just last week, one of the largest pharmacies in Brazil was in the spotlight for gathering biometric data from their customers without clarifying their intentions. The Intercept Brasil voiced their concern that this sensitive information could be used for targeted sales and could be sold to other pharmaceutical companies. (Dias, Tatiana. 2021)
I’d like to continue researching and learning about the democratisation of data, and how fluency in data can make me a better UX designer. As Social Good Brasil state “data points are a way of understanding and attending to people, creating more impact, and gaining insights from behaviors.” (Translated from Portuguese. SGB. 2021) I intend to complete the free data literacy courses from The Data Literacy Project and add Social Good Brasil’s blog to my reading list, I plan to read one article per week as part of my further reading.
A Failed Project?
Though I’m glad I spent this time exploring my areas of interest in UX, and finding areas in which I’d like to deepen my knowledge, part of me still feels like I failed Rapid Ideation since I didn’t produce an artifact. It was wonderful seeing my peers’ products, there were some really beautifully designed, creative pieces in the presentation. Seeing their work inspired me to focus more on an area of functionality that I’d like to improve in the next rapid ideation, and to use it as a chance to improve my skills in a prototyping tool.
I’ve also come to realise that I didn’t get to the prototype stage because I took the concept and purpose of my platform too seriously. This was a surprising insight as in my personal life I paint, knit, make ‘pointless’ things as part of my creative down- time. Yet in the professional or academic realm I’m putting pressure on myself to create something fully-researched and backed up with data, when I’m just starting out as a UX student. I see that if I’m to make the most of this course, I need to combine the essence of my experimental art-school days (when I did weird things like make a skirt out of a beanbag) with my critical thinking and questioning mind. I need to tread the balance between exploring and producing, experimentation and purpose.
So with this in mind, in the next rapid ideation session, I intend to create something playful. That said I also plan to focus on the following:
– Creating an accessible interface, making sure my colour and font choices are in line with the accessibility guidelines.
– Developing my skills in Adobe XD. I have only very briefly used it before, so I have a lot to learn. This will involve long stretches of watching You-Tube tutorials!
I’m looking forward to receiving our brief next week and seeing what I have to play with…
References
DIAS, Tatiana. 2021. ‘Nao Cadastre Biometria Na Droga Raia’. The Intercept Brasil [online] https://theintercept.com/2021/07/05/nao-cadastre-biometria-na-droga-raia. [accessed 9th July 2021].
Social Good Brasil. 2021. ‘O que é Data Storytelling’. SGB Brasil [online] https://socialgoodbrasil.org.br/2021/05/31/o-que-e-data-storytelling-saiba-como-contar-historias-usando-dados. [accessed 9th July 2021].
Fig 1: Featured Image. ‘1st Rapid Ideation’. Artwork by author. 2021.