Welcome Gift Redesign
Overview:
The tradition of going to school and going home are now melted under one roof, leaving adult students feeling the stressors of a new frontier.
What gift can Prime Digital Academy give their Full Stack students to feel welcomed and valued at the start of a new semester? Keep reading to unwrap the gift giving solutions.
Role: User Researcher, Design Concept, Prototyping, User Evaluation, Client Pitch Presenter 2020
Tools & Methods: Heuristic Analysis & AEIOU Framework, Design Concept Drawings, 3D Low-Fidelity Prototype, User Evaluation Plan, Zoom, Keynote
The Process
The main focus of reimagining the perfect gift was to truly learn the values, needs, habits and physical living environment of the Full Stack student. These key learnings supported and drove the entire process.
UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM: A watered-Down Gift
Methodology: HeuRISTIC ANALYSIS
Prime Digital Academy knew that their Full Stack students did not like the water bottle welcome gift, but why? A Heuristic Analysis proved the water bottle to be complicated to use, hard to clean, moreover; due to the lack of branding, the water bottle did not identify with the school in any way. Full Stack Students are busy, keeping and maintaining extra water bottle parts seems time-consuming and complicated
The Water bottle cannot go in the dishwasher, therefore requiring extra time for cleaning
Due to lack of branding, the water bottle seemed like it could have been purchased anywhere and therefore not as personalized to the student experience
Above is the current water bottle Prime Digital Academy gives their Full Stack students.
Now understanding the issues of the current gift, it was time to learn WHO the Full Stack student is, their values, habits, needs, and living environments.
Get a closer view by clicking on the image to enlarge.
UnderstandING The USER
METHODOLOGY: AEIOU FRAMEWORK
An AEIOU framework was conducted using Full Stack student surveys and home video tours provided by Prime Digital Academy. AEIOU Framework revealed Full Stack students are dealing with a lot of stress. Prime Digital Academy students are running a full-time home while going to school full-time, which leaves little time for self-care.
After learning about the user, it was time to create design concepts centered around Full Stack students.
Gift Design CONCEPTS - Click on Each Image to get a better view
Relax & Recharge
A calming environment is invaluable when working long hours. To provide a relaxing workspace to our Full Stack students, we will gift them with 3-in-1 "Recharge & Relax Lamp." This lamp combines the power of scent, light, and multiple tech charging ports.
AFFIRMATIONS & STRESS Management
When stress sets in, having a healthy outlet is crucial to getting back on track. To help remind our Full Stack students how magical they truly are, we will provide them with a familiar childhood toy, the magic eight ball; however, this one will be filled with positive affirmations and suggested paths to recovery.
INSPIRATION AT A GLANCE
Sometimes we all need some inspiration for wireframing; that's why we are giving our Full Stack students "Wireframing for Geniuses." This interactive activity book will allow students to quickly rearrange different wireframe elements and remind students of the joy of childhood when playing with blocks.
3D Low-Fidelity Prototype
The Magical ‘U’ Ball
After consulting with my teammates, the Magical ‘U’ Ball was soon crafted with the same care and dedication Prime Digital Academy gives to its students. This 3D low-fidelity prototype addressed and solved issues the current water bottle gift did not.
Branded with Prime Digital Academy logo & tagline
Positive affirmations and stress tactics provided cohesion between gift meaning and one of Prime Digital Academy’s core values; students first
Concept Evaluation PLan
Before I could test out my prototype with Full Stack students a robust evaluation plan was designed. This ensured researchers intended goals were fully outlined therefore allowing any future UX team to understand the evaluation process. The plan included the overall evaluation process, goals, materials used, session duration, and script.
GOALS
Gain an understanding of how strongly the gift evokes a sense of positive emotion within the user
Uncover how useful the user feels the gift is and/or how often they would use the gift
Assess the degree to which the user would utilize the gift when feeling stressed
Synthesizing the Findings
After conducting user evaluations with 3 Full Stack students the expressed value and desire for the Magic ‘U’ Ball was proven. All 3 students noted they would feel welcomed as a new student with a gift of this nature and would be something they would use while feeling stressed. It was now time to pitch Prime Digital Academy the results of my finding and discuss the next steps. See the full deck and highlights below.
