Health & Wellbeing in St. Louis
Health & Wellbeing in St. Louis
Health & Wellbeing in St. Louis
In this school project, after conducting extensive user research, prototyping, data analysis, and synthesis, our team came up with 2 different design solutions that would facilitate the process of students finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis.
In this school project, after conducting extensive user research, prototyping, data analysis, and synthesis, our team came up with 2 different design solutions that would facilitate the process of students finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis.
In this school project, after conducting extensive user research, prototyping, data analysis, and synthesis, our team came up with 2 different design solutions that would facilitate the process of students finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis.
Problem
St. Louis is an area bustling with opportunities for medical students to volunteer and utilize their skills to aid the community. However, students face challenges due to confusing databases like Keystone and limited time for research, making it hard to find the ideal program that matches their preferences, skills, and schedules.
Objectives
We were prompted with the question, how can medical students be better supported while finding volunteer work in the St. Louis community?
Identify pain points and challenges for busy medical students
Research & evaluate current systems for finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis
Develop the feature to be seamlessly integrated into existing systems, minimize time demands on medical students, and enjoyable to use
Stakeholders
Local health & wellness volunteer programs and coordinators
Students from Washington University in St. Louis' medical school
Focus
How might we help medical students have a more efficient experience of finding volunteer programs that properly align with their interests?
My Role
For this project, we worked in a team of 4. We all contributed to the initial background research and concept development. One team member prototyped concept 1. Another member prototyped concept 2 and the third conducted the interviews. In each stage and concept idea, I made the storyboards and sketches.
Problem
St. Louis is an area bustling with opportunities for medical students to volunteer and utilize their skills to aid the community. However, students face challenges due to confusing databases like Keystone and limited time for research, making it hard to find the ideal program that matches their preferences, skills, and schedules.
Objectives
We were prompted with the question, how can medical students be better supported while finding volunteer work in the St. Louis community?
Identify pain points and challenges for busy medical students
Research & evaluate current systems for finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis
Develop the feature to be seamlessly integrated into existing systems, minimize time demands on medical students, and enjoyable to use
Stakeholders
Local health & wellness volunteer programs and coordinators
Students from Washington University in St. Louis' medical school
Focus
How might we help medical students have a more efficient experience of finding volunteer programs that properly align with their interests?
My Role
For this project, we worked in a team of 4. We all contributed to the initial background research and concept development. One team member prototyped concept 1. Another member prototyped concept 2 and the third conducted the interviews. In each stage and concept idea, I made the storyboards and sketches.
Problem
St. Louis is an area bustling with opportunities for medical students to volunteer and utilize their skills to aid the community. However, students face challenges due to confusing databases like Keystone and limited time for research, making it hard to find the ideal program that matches their preferences, skills, and schedules.
Objectives
We were prompted with the question, how can medical students be better supported while finding volunteer work in the St. Louis community?
Identify pain points and challenges for busy medical students
Research & evaluate current systems for finding volunteer opportunities in St. Louis
Develop the feature to be seamlessly integrated into existing systems, minimize time demands on medical students, and enjoyable to use
Stakeholders
Local health & wellness volunteer programs and coordinators
Students from Washington University in St. Louis' medical school
Focus
How might we help medical students have a more efficient experience of finding volunteer programs that properly align with their interests?
My Role
For this project, we worked in a team of 4. We all contributed to the initial background research and concept development. One team member prototyped concept 1. Another member prototyped concept 2 and the third conducted the interviews. In each stage and concept idea, I made the storyboards and sketches.
VISUAL FRAMEWORK OF CHALLENGES
Design Process
Initial Research Findings
Abundant volunteer opportunities for medical students in St. Louis
A diverse patient base in nearby communities offers exposure to a variety of health cases
Volunteer programs in the area differ, with some focused on specific health issues and others covering a broad range of services
User Interviews Debrief
Medical students
Medical students typically find one long confusing list of organizations
They prefer a list of specific available positions for better alignment with their interests
Volunteer Program Coordinators
Coordinators commonly use newsletters for outreach
Newsletters share information about upcoming opportunities and activities for medical students
This information is typically disseminated via email
Initial Synthesis
Organizations need more effective volunteer recruitment through newsletters
Students desire to join volunteer programs but face navigation challenges due to the existing unstructured opportunities list
Design Process
Initial Research Findings
Abundant volunteer opportunities for medical students in St. Louis
A diverse patient base in nearby communities offers exposure to a variety of health cases
Volunteer programs in the area differ, with some focused on specific health issues and others covering a broad range of services
User Interviews Debrief
Medical students
Medical students typically find one long confusing list of organizations
They prefer a list of specific available positions for better alignment with their interests
Volunteer Program Coordinators
Coordinators commonly use newsletters for outreach
Newsletters share information about upcoming opportunities and activities for medical students
This information is typically disseminated via email
Initial Synthesis
Organizations need more effective volunteer recruitment through newsletters
Students desire to join volunteer programs but face navigation challenges due to the existing unstructured opportunities list
Design Process
Initial Research Findings
Abundant volunteer opportunities for medical students in St. Louis
A diverse patient base in nearby communities offers exposure to a variety of health cases
Volunteer programs in the area differ, with some focused on specific health issues and others covering a broad range of services
User Interviews Debrief
Medical students
Medical students typically find one long confusing list of organizations
They prefer a list of specific available positions for better alignment with their interests
Volunteer Program Coordinators
Coordinators commonly use newsletters for outreach
Newsletters share information about upcoming opportunities and activities for medical students
This information is typically disseminated via email
Initial Synthesis
Organizations need more effective volunteer recruitment through newsletters
Students desire to join volunteer programs but face navigation challenges due to the existing unstructured opportunities list
Concept 1: Chrome Extension
Primary Research Findings
This Chrome extension feature streamlines volunteer opportunity research on databases like Google. It offers filtering options, categorizes programs with icons, and allows users to save programs of interest for future reference.
Our primary takeaway from further research was that lack of time is a big issue for students. Creating a whole new database to organize volunteer opportunities for students might sound appealing, but students are more comfortable using databases that they are already familiar with. Thus, the Chrome extension simplifies the search process by categorizing results with icons and highlighting matches with user preferences.
User Feedback
Positive feedback from medical students who found the extension helpful
User advice to add hover-over explanations for icons to simplify the user experience
Concerns about potential overload with both icons and highlights, leading to the addition of toggle buttons
In response, a 'heart' feature was added to allow users to save sites for later viewing
Areas of Opportunity
When researching, there is too much information to effectively organize by one person
Students struggle to assess if an organization suits their needs.
Icons and highlights are beneficial for visual learners in processing information
Design
STORYBOARD
Concept 1: Chrome Extension
Primary Research Findings
This Chrome extension feature streamlines volunteer opportunity research on databases like Google. It offers filtering options, categorizes programs with icons, and allows users to save programs of interest for future reference.
Our primary takeaway from further research was that lack of time is a big issue for students. Creating a whole new database to organize volunteer opportunities for students might sound appealing, but students are more comfortable using databases that they are already familiar with. Thus, the Chrome extension simplifies the search process by categorizing results with icons and highlighting matches with user preferences.
User Feedback
Positive feedback from medical students who found the extension helpful
User advice to add hover-over explanations for icons to simplify the user experience
Concerns about potential overload with both icons and highlights, leading to the addition of toggle buttons
In response, a 'heart' feature was added to allow users to save sites for later viewing
Areas of Opportunity
When researching, there is too much information to effectively organize by one person
Students struggle to assess if an organization suits their needs.
Icons and highlights are beneficial for visual learners in processing information
Design
STORYBOARD
Concept 1: Chrome Extension
Primary Research Findings
This Chrome extension feature streamlines volunteer opportunity research on databases like Google. It offers filtering options, categorizes programs with icons, and allows users to save programs of interest for future reference.
Our primary takeaway from further research was that lack of time is a big issue for students. Creating a whole new database to organize volunteer opportunities for students might sound appealing, but students are more comfortable using databases that they are already familiar with. Thus, the Chrome extension simplifies the search process by categorizing results with icons and highlighting matches with user preferences.
User Feedback
Positive feedback from medical students who found the extension helpful
User advice to add hover-over explanations for icons to simplify the user experience
Concerns about potential overload with both icons and highlights, leading to the addition of toggle buttons
In response, a 'heart' feature was added to allow users to save sites for later viewing
Areas of Opportunity
When researching, there is too much information to effectively organize by one person
Students struggle to assess if an organization suits their needs.
Icons and highlights are beneficial for visual learners in processing information
Design
STORYBOARD
HI-FIDELITY
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
HI-FIDELITY
HI-FI PROTOTYPE
Design Decisions
CONSIDERING ACCESSIBILITY
THINKING ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
These coffee sleeves contain QR codes that direct students to different databases with information on opportunities in various fields of interest. Every week, three different organizations will be “featured” on the sleeve, but the QR code with the database will remain the same.
Primary Research Findings
The coffee sleeves contain QR codes that lead users to a virtual platform (the database “United Ways”). We learned from talking with medical students that the process of researching can be stressful and overwhelming. With this idea, students are able to gain exposure to a wide range of volunteer programs without any added effort on their part — they just keep getting their coffee.
User Feedback
User feedback emphasized the simplicity of integrating the idea into an existing system instead
This is seen as more efficient for students, requiring no changes to their lifestyle or schedule
Areas of Opportunity
Researching volunteer opportunities is overwhelming and challenging to organize
Medical students struggle to find time for this time-consuming process
The use of analog resources, like coffee sleeves, provides a fresh and interesting approach compared to the mundane online options
Design
STORYBOARD
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
These coffee sleeves contain QR codes that direct students to different databases with information on opportunities in various fields of interest. Every week, three different organizations will be “featured” on the sleeve, but the QR code with the database will remain the same.
Primary Research Findings
The coffee sleeves contain QR codes that lead users to a virtual platform (the database “United Ways”). We learned from talking with medical students that the process of researching can be stressful and overwhelming. With this idea, students are able to gain exposure to a wide range of volunteer programs without any added effort on their part — they just keep getting their coffee.
User Feedback
User feedback emphasized the simplicity of integrating the idea into an existing system instead
This is seen as more efficient for students, requiring no changes to their lifestyle or schedule
Areas of Opportunity
Researching volunteer opportunities is overwhelming and challenging to organize
Medical students struggle to find time for this time-consuming process
The use of analog resources, like coffee sleeves, provides a fresh and interesting approach compared to the mundane online options
Design
STORYBOARD
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves
These coffee sleeves contain QR codes that direct students to different databases with information on opportunities in various fields of interest. Every week, three different organizations will be “featured” on the sleeve, but the QR code with the database will remain the same.
Primary Research Findings
The coffee sleeves contain QR codes that lead users to a virtual platform (the database “United Ways”). We learned from talking with medical students that the process of researching can be stressful and overwhelming. With this idea, students are able to gain exposure to a wide range of volunteer programs without any added effort on their part — they just keep getting their coffee.
User Feedback
User feedback emphasized the simplicity of integrating the idea into an existing system instead
This is seen as more efficient for students, requiring no changes to their lifestyle or schedule
Areas of Opportunity
Researching volunteer opportunities is overwhelming and challenging to organize
Medical students struggle to find time for this time-consuming process
The use of analog resources, like coffee sleeves, provides a fresh and interesting approach compared to the mundane online options
Design
STORYBOARD
HI-FIDELITY
Design Decisions
Interaction Design Studio
Washington University in St. Louis | Fall 2022
Professors Annemarie Spitz & Liz Kramer
Interaction Design Studio
Washington University in St. Louis | Fall 2022
Professors Annemarie Spitz & Liz Kramer
Interaction Design Studio
Washington University in St. Louis | Fall 2022
Professors Annemarie Spitz & Liz Kramer
Concept 2: Informative Coffee Sleeves