Human-Centered Design Essentials
Presented by: Adriana Fruchter
In this part of the course project, you will start preparing and planning a project intended for the duration of the certificate program. This project will include six steps, and the first step you will complete here involves ideating and choosing the problem space that will be the focus of your project.
In choosing your project direction, you should think about the following three criteria:
Enthusiasm: You should be passionate about this direction, about addressing this problem space, or about helping individuals in the target community.
Impact: This project could potentially be a real, meaningful, and significant contribution to the lives of individuals in the target community.
Feasibility: The project is feasible in the sense that over the course of the certificate program you will be able to have immediate, face-to-face interactions with three to five individuals in the target group. These interactions are required for gaining empathy and understanding your users’ needs, getting feedback about design ideas, and evaluating prototypes you will be implementing later in the process.
Submit three project ideas that all differ from each other by addressing different user groups and different problems.
User Group
Jewish Women: The primary target user group for ItsTznuit! would be Jewish women who adhere to the rules of dress within Judaism. This app would cater to their needs and provide practical solutions to ensure modesty while staying fashionable and stylish.
Conservative Religious Communities: Apart from Jewish women, ItsTznuit! can also attend to women from other conservative religious communities who follow similar guidelines for modest dressing. This expands the potential user base to include individuals from different faiths and religions.
Or anyone who would like to dress modestly while staying fashionable and stylish.
Stakeholders:
Community Leaders and Rabbis can be investors, and help raise awareness about its benefits. Simultaneously, collaborating with stores and designers help on promoting inclusivity aligns with the app's mission. By having ItsTznuit! featured in-store or as part of their collection, these partners contribute to making modest fashion more accessible. This dual approach, involving both community leaders and the fashion industry, ensures a comprehensive and inclusive strategy for the app's success.
Explore a World of Modest Fashion Options with ItsTznuit! Choose from a Variety of Stylish Solutions Tailored to Your Taste.
Problem Space
While numerous local brands and stores offer tznius clothing, there is a common desire among the target users for the clothes they see in store windows, famous brands, or online to be slightly longer or more modest in order to meet their specific needs.
Enthusiasm
I have family that inspired me with the Idea. I have to attend a lot of events where I need to be tznuit.
Impact
ItsTznuit! opens new horizons for shopping, offering diverse choices that align with modesty and style. Beyond that, it makes fashion accessible to a broader audience, transcending boundaries and celebrating individual expression within the framework of modest dressing.
Feasibility
Introducing "BrandIt" - a platform that revolutionizes the customer experience by offering personalized gift-wrapping options. With BrandIt, customers, whether individuals or companies, can create an account with their profile and preferences. Each account has a default gift wrap package, including customizable ribbon colors and stickers featuring their logo.
Whether shopping online or in-store, customers can easily access their personalized ribbon. It's as simple as logging into their BrandIt account, selecting the desired gift wrap options, and sending the request to the store. The store can then print the customized ribbon using the BrandIt printer. Alternatively, BrandIt.inc can provide an API response to the store, allowing them to print the customized ribbon according to specific instructions.
User Group
Customers: Individuals and companies who enjoy personalizing their gift wrapping and want to add a unique touch to their presents.
Online Shoppers: Customers shop in stores, like Amazon or Target, that don’t have a gift wrap or
Uses a basic one with no personal touch like Amazon.
Store Owners: They can partner with BrandIt to offer personalized gift-wrapping services to their customers, enhancing the overall shopping experience and potentially attracting more customers.
Gift Manufacturers and Suppliers: Companies involved in manufacturing and supplying gift wrapping materials, such as ribbons and stickers, could benefit from partnering with BrandIt.
Enthusiasm
I have family who inspired me with the idea. I have to attend many events where I need to be tznuit.
Impact
It would give more shopping opportunities and make it more inclusive.
Problem Space
For Companies: BrandIt provides a time-saving and cost- effective solution, allowing them to create unique brand experiences while shopping at major retailers or smaller businesses. It offers flexibility in customizing gift wrap options to align with its brand identity, enhancing the brand presence during gifting.
For Individuals: BrandIt presents a fun and creative way to express oneself through personalized gift wrapping. Imagine receiving a gift from a friend, like a Sephora product, with a ribbon carrying a heartfelt message. Even for occasions like receiving flowers, the ribbon can bear a personalized message such as “Happy Mother’s Day, Judy" This allows individuals to add a personal touch to their gifts, making them more meaningful and memorable.
Feasibility
Yes, I already contacted one of my nieces and shared the Idea. Like her, I would have a big group of young ladies who could help me and other age groups.
User Group
- Employees: This includes employees from small startups to large corporations across different industries. They are the primarily use of the CollabHub platform.
- Human Resources (HR): HR professionals are crucial in employee engagement and company culture. They can leverage CollabHub to enhance employee satisfaction, boost morale, and foster a sense of belonging within the organization.
- Marketing Teams: Marketing teams can benefit fromCollabHub by aligning the swag offerings with the company's branding and messaging. They can collaborate with employees to create unique designs and slogans that resonate with the company's values, enhancing brand recognition and promoting a positive image.
Impact
Bringing Happiness, Friendship, and Excitement: Building Strong Company-Employee Bonds, the app is all about spreading joy and building solid relationships. It's a simple concept that can make people happy and curious about what's to come. Involving employees in the process creates a powerful connection between the company and its workforce.
Problem Space
It's an innovative, creative idea to bring the user the power of interaction collaboratively. This is one solution to open a channel with the employees and make them feel comfortable participating in other interaction UX experiments that the company wants to do.
Enthusiasm
I've had these collaborative ideas for a long time, and even without fancy technology, I've made some really cool things happen. For instance, when my friend turned 50, I created a form where friends could share quotes. I used those quotes to make personalized fortune cookies as a special birthday gift. It turned out amazing!
Another example is when I made a collaborative scrapbook for my daughter. I asked guests to upload short messages, pictures, and three words that described her. We ended up with a beautiful scrapbook that she'll cherish forever. It was a big hit!
I want to take these ideas and make them work for businesses. By using the right tools, we can let employees join in on creating unique company swag. This brings everyone closer, boosts engagement, and makes employees happier.
Feasibility
I can have at least 3 test groups, but I don't know if I will be able to have all three as a corporation; the concept can also be applied to individuals that have an event like birthdays, weddings, or small gatherings.
Now that you have three project ideas, you should choose one of them that you will carry out throughout the certificate program. Use the three criteria of enthusiasm, impact, and feasibility to weigh each of the three project ideas and then choose one. Remember, you will be working on this project for a couple of months, so choose wisely!
My choice is CollabHub: Let your employees speak their minds and express themselves uniquely on their swag.
Why this project?
It appeals to me because it's a collaborative project that encourages creativity and interaction. It's a long-time dream to create a collaborative app.
Why not?
For the first idea, TznuitIt, after some quick user interviews, it became clear that despite offering more options, users already have established preferences and shopping routines, making the app less appealing. The GiftWrap idea is promising, but it demands more advanced technology to create a prototype. The chosen one is the idea I can relate to the most and feel confident in simulating for a better prototype.
© 2024 by Adriana Fruchter