conwy.co

An interface design project aimed at assisting refugee and asylum seeker arrivals coming to Australia for the first time. Through a human-centred and iterative design approach, coupled with scholarly research, a resource directory is proposed, which connects those in need to people, communities and resources that can help them.

Prototypes were produced, from low to high fidelity. From sketches and Axure wireframes to a full-fledged Single-Page App (SPA). These were rigorously tested with users of a range of cohorts (from members of refugee aid organisations to actual refugees). On each iteration, the findings were documented, analysed/synthesised, and used to inform the design changes for the subsequent iteration.

Background research

I began by analysing the design brief, identifying key concepts. I then explored the problem space, researching the refugee crisis and looking out for major themes and issues.

User research

I selected cohorts, recruited candidates, arranged and scripted interviews and took notes.

Evaluation

I formed a design team and worked with them to evaluate potential solutions against requirements. Then, as a team, we measured ways in which the solution does and does not address issues discovered in exploration.

Iterative design

I led the team in an agile, iterative process, applying human centered design and heuristic evaluation techniques, such as asking users to “use the system while continuously thinking out loud”.

Insight: Religious diversity

One user observed that representing a diversity of religions/belief systems, during usability testing, was crucial. Based on this feedback, I broadened the range of religions.

Insight: Insight: Resource previews

Several users were limited by a lack of depth. For instance, not being able to drill into a resource and see a “a bit about what it does”. Based on this feedback, I redesigned the resource cards to show more info up-front.