Design Prompts from Designation

UX/UI Challenges for Design Students

One of the best ways to learn how to be a designer is to learn by doing. You can’t become a designer by simply reading a book. You need to practice the art of design.

Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to work on real-world projects to get your feet wet. So the next best thing is to take on realistic design challenges. Over the course of my time as curriculum director at Designation (now part of the Flatiron School), I created a series of prompts for students to put their skills to the test. Since all of these prompts have been retired, I thought it might be fun to share some of them here, in case anyone was interested in trying them out on their own.

The Pulseband Project

Co-authored with Zeke Franco and Chris Smith

This was a fake mock-up of a medical wristband.

Scope and Focus

DESIGNATION and GE are working together to enable a superior user experience for their upcoming Pulseband product line. GE has developed the innovative Pulseband technology and is seeking strategic and human-centered design direction in order to ensure the technology serves their customers’ needs.

Context

About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year — that’s one in every four deaths.

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
• More than half of the deaths due to heart disease in 2009 were in men.
• In a 2005 survey, most respondents — 92% — recognized chest pain as a symptom of a heart attack. Only 27% were aware of all major symptoms and knew to call 9–1–1 when someone was having a heart attack.
• About 47% of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside a hospital. This suggests that many people with heart disease don’t act on early warning signs.

The Brief

The Pulseband is a new wearable monitor that GE has created that measures a wearer’s blood pressure, heart rate, steps, sleep patterns among other vitals. The wearable monitor is a sleek wristband that turns different colors to indicate the wearer’s progress/status based on their profile. It is differentiated from standard sports fitness monitors by being specifically designed to also accommodate people with certain heart conditions.

The Pulseband provides industry-leading accuracy and reliability. If the patient is experiencing dangerously elevated or decreased levels of blood pressure and/or heart rate, it will turn red. If the patient is in good health, then the device will remain green. The monitor is smart enough to know when a person is working out and experiencing increased heart rate due to exercise versus a true cardiac episode. The Pulseband can address cardiac episodes by immediately signaling the wearer as well as the nearest hospital when unusual heart patterns reach a critical point. The device is capable of learning a person’s normal EKG patterns and detect abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias), a clear sign of a heart attack a.k.a. myocardial infarction, ventricular fibrillations, cardiac arrest, etc.

Project Goals

1. Conduct a robust discovery phase with subject matter experts to gain industry insight, understand product line potential, and identify key areas of focus for user research.
2. Conduct user research to identify usage trends, priorities from the users’ perspective, knowledge gaps, and opportunities for design enhancements related to product desirability (utility, usability, and appropriately evocative).
3. Deliver a product roadmap outlining features and functionality for the Version 1.0 mobile application and suggestions for later releases.
4. Design and develop a mobile phone application which meets use cases as identified during research.
5. Introduce a visualization component that allows the user to explore their heart’s health and data.
6. Extra credit: Design a responsive marketing website that describes the Pulseband and its companion app’s benefits.

GE’s Brand Message

GE healthymagination = Healthier Lives

GE works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Healthymagination is working toward better health for more people. GE is committed to continuously developing and investing in innovations that deliver high-quality, more affordable healthcare to more people around the world.

Expected Deliverables

1. Research plan — document research objectives and methods
2. Interview guide — Tool created and used based on research objectives to drive interview process with participants.
3. Research findings report — Findings from the research phase including all primary and secondary research as well as recommendations for future phases of design and new feature ideas including a product roadmap.
4. UX strategy blueprint — document which contains information synthesize analysis related to the experience challenges, aspirations, focus areas, features & benefits, future opportunities, etc.
5. Application map — Diagram that visualizes the set of product requirements categorized into the application’s touchpoints.
6. Workflow — Diagram that visualizes ultimate user paths or flows within the application.
7. Wireframes — Research-based static, annotated wireframe that detail the user experience. Annotations and variations will be developed for Android-specific user experience.
8. Prototype — Wireframe-based prototype used ensure explore design continuity and to aid in usability testing in order to validate design assumptions and app architecture.
9. Moodboard — A visual document that captures the example of visuals or brand qualities that express the potential brand direction for the Pulseband.
10. Style tiles — Two to three preliminary design concepts in order to explore design ideas, icons, button styles, typography and other design elements.
11. Logo design — the identity for the product line and the application icons for iOS and Android.
12. Visual UI designs — The primary screens and screen based on the workflow and app map. For iPhone and/or Android, or both.
13. UI kit — A comprehensive collection of visual design elements that define the visual system which are used to direct development. For iPhone and/or Android, or both.

The LocalGuide Travel App

Disclaimer: This exercise was based on a prompt from the book Designing for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin.

The Brief

LocalGuide is a startup focused on promoting tourism by providing information and recommendations about where people can go and what to see in different cities around the world.

The LocalGuide app would allow tourists to have access to maps, audio, video, directions, local history, landmarks, and other points of interest, a directory of services such as restaurants, shops, and transportation near each user’s location.

Part of LocalGuide’s monetization strategy includes advertising revenue from local businesses, sponsorships from hotels, car rental agencies, among other travel-related businesses.

In order to create the best experience possible, you must take user research conducted through a series of interviews, and translate those interviews into a mobile app, based on the different users’ needs.

Expected Deliverables

1. User personas — create 2–3 user personas based on the research interviews. Personas should include: archetype, fictional name, photo, age, marital status, goals and frustrations, devices and environment.
2. Problem statement — write a clear description of the problem that the app needs to solve for its users.
3. Product strategy — write a clear and concise outline of the user goals, experience goals, and product requirements.
4. User flows — create a detailed series of sketches that represent the user experience for the primary use cases of the app.
5. Competitive analysis — conduct a visual competitive analysis to inform the look and feel of the LocalGuide product.
6. Paper prototype — create an interactive paper prototype using Marvel (formally POP) and test it with a user.
7. Wireframes — refine your design from your paper prototype and create a set of mid-fidelity wireframes using the tool of your choice.
8. Logo — create a brand strategy and identity for the LocalGuide brand.
9. Visual comps — make high-fidelity mobile designs for the key screens of the app. You can design this for either Android or iOS.
10. Interaction prototype — finally create a clickable prototype of your mobile app to showcase the primary user flow.

Bill and Melinda Gates College-Ready Education

The Brief

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to ensuring that all students in the United States have the opportunity to receive a high-quality education. As such the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has generously donated $50 million to the cause of helping students in the United States improve their chances for success in college.

Background

• Only 25 percent of U.S. public high school graduates have the skills needed to succeed academically in college, which is an important gateway to economic opportunity in the United States.
• By focusing on the common goal of improving education through innovation — and by building on and sharing effective tools, strategies, and standards — educators, school leaders, and nonprofit partners across the country can transform U.S. public education.
• Identify innovative new solutions that can help unlock students’ potential.

Project Goals

The challenge is to create an online platform for personalized learning experiences for students that helps them discover their interests, prepare for college, and create a joy of learning.

• Students who are 12–17 years old are the primary audience for this initiative.
• This project must encompass the needs of the teacher/educator as well as parents and students.

Expected Deliverables

1. UX

• Research Plan
• Interviews
• User Personas
• Competitive Analysis
• Heuristic Evaluation (optional)
• Journey Map/Storyboard
• Information Architecture
• Task Flows
• Wireframes
• Prototypes
• User testing and report

2. UI

• Moodboards
• Branding
• Style Tiles
• Wireframes
• Style Guide and UI Kit
• High fidelity mock-ups for the experience: desktop, tablet, and mobile
• Animations/Microinteractions
• Prototypes

Start-up Crowdfunding Project

The Brief

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently voted to approve rules governing the sale of securities through online equity crowdfunding. With the new rules, small and medium-sized startups can now raise capital for their enterprises by offering equity to anyone, rich or poor, accredited or unaccredited.

This is great news for companies that have limited access to high net worth investors and institutions like venture capital firms. Under the new rules, small businesses and startups would be able to solicit up to $1 million annually in crowdfunded securities investments.

The Challenge

Your goal is to create an online crowdfunding platform for start-ups, where any entrepreneur can post their business idea or existing business and raise funding.

Project Goals

• You must research the needs of the entrepreneurs, as well as the needs of small-time investors.
• You will need to determine the features of this platform as well as the technology required.
• You must present your platform concept as a high-fidelity prototype.

Expected Deliverables

1. Research plan
2. Interview guide
3. Research findings — research should minimally include domain research, market research, competitive analysis, surveys, and user interviews
4. Problem statement
5. User personas and scenarios
6. Information architecture
7. User flows and customer journey
8. Wireframes
9. Prototype
10. User testing and report
11. Moodboard
12. Style tiles
13. Logo design
14. Visual designs of the product and a responsive marketing website design
15. High-fidelity protoype
16. UI kit
17. Presentation deck

Redesign Online Learning

The Brief

The education space is experiencing a seismic shift in its method and delivery. Technology is radically changing how students learn. From Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCS) and “mobile learning” to free online courses, students all around the world are benefiting from the digital revolution.

Over 100 million people all over the world are learning languages online today. However, this is not to say that the learning platforms have been perfected. There is dismal completion rate for MOOCs.

According to a recent study, less than 10 percent of registered students complete their courses. Your task is to address this problem by doing user research and proposing improvements to either an existing platform or by creating an entirely new one.

If you choose to redesign an existing online learning product, you must decide which one to improve. Examples include:

1. Coursera
2. Rosetta Stone
3. Treehouse
4. Lynda
5. Udacity
6. EdX

Expected Deliverables

1. Research plan
2. Interview guide
3. Research findings — research should minimally include domain research, market research, competitive analysis, surveys, and user interviews
4. Problem statement
5. User personas and scenarios
6. Information architecture
7. User flows and customer journey
8. Wireframes
9. Prototype
10. User testing and report
11. Moodboard
12. Style tiles
13. Logo design
14. Visual designs of the product
15. High-fidelity protoype
16. UI kit
17. Presentation deck

Craigslist.org Redesign

Background

Craigslist is a classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, items wanted, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.

Craig Newmark began the service in 1995 as an email distribution list to friends, featuring local events in the San Francisco Bay Area. It became a web-based service in 1996 and expanded into other classified categories. It started expanding to other U.S. cities in 2000, and now covers 50 countries.

The site serves over 20 billion page views per month, putting it in 37th place overall among websites worldwide and 10th place overall among websites in the United States (in 2015).

With all of that said, Craigslist is interested in updating their online experience and brand. They are looking to attract a younger demographic of users to stay relevant among Millenials and Gen-Z.

Project Goal

Your objective is to create a more useful and meaningful experience for this younger user base through both research and design. For this assignment, you can choose to focus on one of the following areas:

1. The homepage and the “For Sale” section.
2. The homepage and the “Personals” section.
3. The homepage and the “Housing” section.
4. The homepage and the “Jobs” section.

You must create a design solution for both desktop and mobile.

Expected Deliverables

1. Heuristic evaluation
2. User interviews
3. User personas
4. Wireframes with annotations
5. Prototype
6. Usability test and report
7. Logo design
8. Visual comps
9. Style guide