Breaking down the barrier to connecting with alum
Overview
Producthon is a 2-day design challenge at Tufts where participants will design an app which solves an important issue related to a given problem space.
I mentored 2 first-year students with no design experience and led the design process from research to prototyping. On day 1, we picked a problem we wanted to solve, drafted our hypothesis, designed a questionnaire and received 22 responses, conducted 3 interviews, synthesized findings, and created wireframes together. On day 2, I created the high-fidelity designs, conducted 2 user testing sessions, connected with Tufts alumni network director, and we created a pitch deck. We won a cash prize!
About JumboLink: Connecting to alumni on LinkedIn can feel awkward - JumboLink helps students and new grads organically reach out to alumni who are open to mentoring, discover connections and opportunities near them, and strengthen the alumni network.
Competitive Analysis + The Gap
Kids love metaphors and stories, and they can be windows to harder conversations
I looked at existing tools for play therapy, toys for learning about emotions, and popular toys for preschooler. From the product reviews, I learned about how parents and therapists used them, and I found that cartoon faces and stories were really effective for getting kids to label feelings and talk about how they feel in certain situations! However, parents are frustrated by the lack of customizable expressions on these toys, and that popular motor toys have little educational value.
"My child clients immediately gravitated toward using the peg dolls to identify their feelings. The figures are easy for the child to project their feelings, name their feelings and describe the situation that triggers the feeling." -- Online Product Review