Welcome Gift Re-Design
Client: Prime Academy
Roles: Product Designer, UX Researcher
Methods: Heuristic Analysis, User Interviews, Unobtrusive Methods, Product Design, Bulls-eye Research, Slide Deck Presentation
Tools: Google Sheets, Keynote, Cloth and Stuffing, Pencil and Paper
The Brief:
Re-design a welcome gift for Prime Academy’s Full Stack students
What I Did:
I was the sole researcher and developer of this prototype.
Introduction
I was tasked by Prime Academy to redesign a welcome gift for their Full Stack students as Prime faculty and staff had become aware that the current gift, a water bottle, failed to offer significance to their incoming cohorts.
The redesign process required thought and analysis with an eye toward a product or service that would inspire, comfort, and bring together new students, while recognizing the struggles, needs, and successes of nascent full stack developers.
The Process
Heuristic Analysis
User Interviews and Unobtrusive Methods
Product Design
Bulls-eye Method Usability Testing
Findings and Recommendations Report
This process allowed me to observe pain points and needs of the current user base, and make design decisions based on what I thought their needs might be. The testing method allowed for me to hear back directly and revise my design based on their direct feedback.
The Research
Which of the students’ needs are not being met?
How can something be designed to suit the their needs better?
Heuristic Analysis
I began with a heuristic analysis of the water bottle to determine why it failed as a welcome gift. Through the heuristic analysis, I found that the water bottle, a collapsible-silicone water bottle in Prime’s trademark Mermaid Treasure color, had both benefits and drawbacks. It was collapsible, easy to fill, and was leak-proof. However, the bottle was flimsy and was not durable enough for the needs of the Full Stack students.
Design Concepts
To begin my redesign, I engaged in observation of Full Stack students. Through this and a subsequent interview process I learned that the Full Stack students do a lot of sitting: while listening to lectures, while coding programs, and even during lunch.
Given this, I created a new design concept: a lumbar support pillow, that would give the students the support needed to maintain strength and comfort during the long days ahead.
The Design Iterations
Developing the Prototype
I cobbled together some materials to build a prototype of the lumbar support pillow. I used some available cloth and stuffing materials along with hot glue to create a Prime Academy branded pillow to test with the Full Stack students.
Usability Testing
However, an evaluation with the Full Stack students concluded that many Full Stack students would have found the lumbar support pillow to also be an insignificant gift. While the students all had concerns about their mental and physical well-being during their time in the Full Stack Program, a lumbar pillow did not meet their needs. In fact, each student had different needs to keep their bodies and minds healthy. The desire for regular movement, pain reduction, and mental health care were areas of necessity.
Next Steps
My Pivot
Given that there are a broad range of needs for the Full Stack students, I collaborated with colleagues to determine how to best pivot, and came up with the idea of a Wellness Resource Center: a location within the Prime campus where its students could have access to a multitude of health aides, including massagers, stress balls, yoga mats, and lumbar pillows, just to name a few.
Find a Space
The next steps for Prime are to find a space and purchase materials for the Wellness Center. I would recommend massagers, fidget spinners, yoga mats, and lumbar pillows to start.
One important outcome of my welcome gift re-design pivot is that Prime is now well positioned to offer an ongoing resource to all of its students, rather than a one-time welcome gift for Full Stack students.