Company

Startup that sells an organizational system for adults with autism who want to live independently

 

Techniques

Secondary Source Research, Design Thinking Method, Prototyping

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Tools

Microsoft Excel, Makerspace, An Insane Amount of Cardboard & Duct Tape

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Fun Fact

The color yellow often causes sensory overload in boys with autism. (Don't believe me? Here's one study.)

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SUMMARY

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During the summer of 2017, a startup hired me as a summer intern to help design part of their product and help with their marketing efforts (only the design project will be discussed here). I knew this project would be an interesting challenge, as designing for people with autism comes with its own set of parameters. The design team consisted of project manager and I.

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*I cannot present specific findings due to a confidentiality agreement, but I can share the process.

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METHODS

Defining the Goal

Before designing the binder, I researched what elements we needed to include to make it as accessible as possible. Because of some liability issues, I could not speak with our primary audience, so my research came from speaking with our CEO about her son's experience, as well as academic articles, blogs, news articles, other products our primary audience found useful, and online and concrete artifacts. Then, using the parameters and necessities uncovered in this research, we began to design the binder itself.

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Techniques

• First, we sketched out, then cardboard prototyped, different designs for every aspect of the binder.

• We then tested these prototypes and recreated the best ones out of more realistic materials.

• We eventually put all of the best aspects together into a few different product iterations, then tested them against our initial requirements.

• Lastly, we thought about how to communicate the finished product to a manufacturer and how to cut down on the material and labor costs involved.

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Outcomes

By the end of the summer, we had created a viable prototype, which was then used as a part of the company's winning pitch for the Washington University Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship competition and as a basis for the binder the company was eventually was able to mass-produce. 

 

Reflections

This project was a unique challenge because of the limited time frame, specific needs of the consumers, and the inability to extensively test the product on those consumers. While I believe there is no substitute in UX research for speaking with your intended users, this project did teach me the value of secondary sources and ingenuity in user research. Most importantly, this project exposed me to the process of designing a physical product, which now informs the way I prioritize what to research and how I present that research to designers.