Planet

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Project Detail

CS 147 Fall 2024
Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction Design Final Project

Team

Carolyn Lee
Kristine Ma
Lucas Wang
Evelyn Song

Role

UI/UX Designer,
Web Designer,
Developer

Timeline

10 Weeks


Overview

Through an intensive 10-week project as part of CS 147: Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction Design, our team was driven to explore solutions under the studio theme "Technology for Mental Health."

Planet is a mobile app that reimagines social connectivity by providing a real-time, visual representation of friends' emotions and statuses. Whether someone is open to hanging out or could use a supportive gesture, the app makes reaching out effortless and natural. Rooted in the principles of rapid prototyping, cognitive design, and iterative user feedback, Planet fosters a community where building connections feels intuitive and supportive.

Website

As part of our final project, we created a website to showcase our app and deliverables. I served as the web developer and designer for the Planet website, ensuring that our design values were thoughtfully incorporated throughout. This site earned the "Best Website" award at the CS 147 Final Expo. To explore our design process in detail, click here.

Needfinding

To understand the mental health challenges faced by university students, we conducted a needfinding process focused on shared stressors like academics, extracurriculars, and work-life balance. Through four initial in-depth interviews with diverse participants, we explored coping mechanisms, social support, and mental health resources. Using empathy maps, we distilled key themes such as the value of social connections, reluctance to use resources, and stress from overwhelming workloads. These insights guided our project to address pressing student needs effectively.

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POV Statements

After completing the needfinding process, we transitioned to defining actionable problem statements through the creation of Points of View (POVs). By synthesizing the insights gathered from our interviews and empathy maps, we articulated POVs that captured the needs and challenges of our users, ensuring our problem space was well-defined. This process allowed us to reframe our design challenge into clear, meaningful statements, setting the stage for ideation. Below are our top 3 POVs.

Sophia

We met…
Sofia, a junior majoring in political science at Stanford University who occasionally struggles with planning academics and social events.

We were surprised to notice...
She feels guilt and the need to punish herself for prioritizing social life over academics.

We wonder if this means...
She feels like she should choose between her social life and academics.

It would be game changing...
If she could eliminate the guilt she feels after a social hangout.

Daniel

We met…
Daniel, an undeclared student at the University of Chicago wants to find more external motivation to be productive.

We were surprised to notice...
That he prefers working in groups, but often ends up working on his own.

We wonder if this means...
He is anxious to create / join study groups to meet up and complete work together.

It would be game changing...
If he could reduce anxiety in forming or finding these groups.

Grace

We met…
Grace, an ambitious international junior at UPenn studying engineering and business.

We were surprised to notice...
Despite her willingness to reach out and social events offered by the school, Grace doesn’t feel like she has a close group of friends, and that most friends disappear after a while.

We wonder if this means...
College students need more support to maintain their existing / prior friend groups.

It would be game changing...
To enable students to make more friends while maintaining good connections with their existing friends.

HMW Statements

For each POV, we brainstormed 10 "How Might We" (HMW) statements to explore innovative solutions. As a team, we reviewed all the HMWs and voted on the top three overall, prioritizing those that resonated deeply with our interviews and addressed key insights about mental health. These top-voted HMWs guided our ideation phase, ensuring a focused and empathetic approach to addressing user challenges.

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