INTRODUCING THE PROJECT

April 1st 2021

With the start of module 7, also came the start of ‘Project Designing for Specific Users’ (Project DSU). The main focus of the project was on designing for users with specific needs and handicaps.

This meant that we were paired with someone with such a specific need and handicap, as our co-designer. Throughout the following weeks we were to work together with our co-designer in order to develop a product with their full cooperation and feedback.

This resulted in the product this site is all about; named the Remind’M, a collection of NFC tags that are connected and integrated by an accompanying application.

The NFC tags are implemented in a housing of plastic, and are used to establish different spots around the house where tasks are to be performed. The design is kept as simple as possible, with consistent colors to help establish the idea in the long-term memory of the user, and a simple “Scan Here” message to remind the user of the action that needs to be performed.

The application is a further development upon the existing calendar app that is in use on a myriad of different Apple devices. The app features different options in notifying the user of their tasks, tailored to their specific needs. These features include but are not limited to; a way to add a specific location with an associated NFC tag to an event, adding multiple steps that are required to finish an event (with different time slots possible for each of the different tasks) and a way for caretakers to monitor the progress on all the allotted tasks for each day.

The steps that were taken to arrive at this final design are described in great detail on the other pages of this website. The research page dives into the conditions of our co-designer, explained both through a literature study, as well as the results of the co-design methods, exemplified through a persona. In the ideation page we show our initial brainstorming ideas put onto paper, three of which are then developed further upon on the concepts page. The Final Design page explains the feedback of our co-designer and the corresponding updates to the design. Then, finally, there is the evaluation page, where we go into detail about how the project and product evolved and our opinions on the process.