beltcompass
Navigation belt hardware using haptic language for the visually impaired in Korea
problem definition
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Depression is a serious mental disorder, which is prevalent in Korean society, as the illness of often rephrased as the common cold of the modern-day (현대인의 감기). Korea also has the highest record of suicide - a major result of depression - since 2003 according to the OECD statistics.
Despite this strikingly major issue, however, only 5% of South Koreans visit the hospital to treat depression and have the lowest antidepressant usage with 1 out of 5 people getting proper depression treatment and medication. As such, there is a lack of awareness and willingness to share about depression, resulting in low mental literacy and high rates of depression in Korean society.
suicide
South Korea has the highest suicide rate since 2003 according to OCED
5%
Only 5% of Koreans visit hospitals to receive proper depression treatment
1 of 5
Only 1 out of 5 Koreans are getting proper depression dosage
SWITZERLAND CONTEXT
For a general understanding of users and gathering a huge pool of data regarding diverse topics, 30 survey questions were categorized under the following categories:
Basic demographic questions
General questions are depression
Assessment on mental health literacy (15 points)
Platform related questions
It was conducted in both Korean and English, and 101 responses were collected. Below are the key insights:
65% believe that Korea has a low level of awareness, mostly due to the lack of mental health education, information, and campaigns
Majority of the comments emphasized the need for warm-hearted attention, proper treatment, and the importance of not feeling embarrassed because of depression
20.8% believe depression is embarrassing to have and is difficult to talk about - incorrect
Average mental health literacy scored 10.77 out of 15
101 survey responses
needs warm attention
user research
KOREAN CONTEXT
Check if Korea has same problem
Same and/ or different technology availble
Then what will be the user needs in Korea (and possibly for visually impaired in Swizterland and worldwide too)
LITERATURE REVIEW
Situation in Korea (no. of visually impaired)
Haptic language does have potential for the blind and to be used even in sports (expanded field)
USER INTERVIEW
Based on user research, personas were created to target young adults in their 20s as undergraduate students and UX goals were defined to guide the overall project development.
Does the user feel a sense of community, connection, and belonging?
Is the user able to in/directly share their experiences?
Does the user obtain a more positive understanding of depression?
INITIAL PROTOTYPE
Haptic language concept is good
Developing technology so it can be tested in Korea in terms of UX
primary persona
secondary persona
development
EXPERIMENT PLANNING & LITERATURE RESEARCH
Our final idea was to create an virtual exhibition space for users to share their experience of and related to depression as this platform best matches our UX goals. According to more literature research, “art exhibitions can have social and personal benefits for participating artists", and there are therapeutic potential of art in mental health including improved self-esteem, self-confidence, communication skills, personal relationships, and fostering greater social inclusion.
Primary colors were chosen for bubbly and cheerful atmosphere and were toned down for soothing effect. Sans serif is used for its simplicity and how it is comfortable to look at. Development visualizations such as wireframe sketches, use case scenarios, and flowcharts were created.
safeness
#welcoming #heart-warming #soothing #group-hug #bubbly #commuinity #connection
RESEARCH DESIGN
‘We’ is made of ‘me’s, ‘We’ is a place for ‘me’s. The service’s sole purpose is to give a message to depression patients that they are not alone and that there are people who will understand them. To fulfil our purpose, weme, a community based website provides various functions.
prototyping & testing
ARDUINO
8 participants conducted the UT and follow-up semi-structured interviews to collect direct and crucial feedback on the initial prototype. A variety of the participants was recruited to represent the target users, which range from those who have depression to those who are interested in the topic.
The usability tests involved the Wizard of Oz method and Think Aloud methods while participants were asked to conduct the following benchmark tasks of the prototype:
Locate your ‘Hug me’
Create a new exhibition
Share your exhibition
See the ‘Hug more’ page.
Commenting on someone else’s exhibition
Follow-up interviews were conducted right after the usability tests with the same participants. Several important interview questions are as the following:
What did you feel about the character, hugging design, and the general visual elements of the website?
What did you feel as you saw your files and comments being uploaded onto the website?
What did you feel as you saw the other user’s content?
What did you feel editing and curating your own works?
What did you feel about the specific format of the “museum” for sharing?
Would you utilize a service like this in real life?
What did you think about the pros and cons of this prototype?
FINAL PROTOTYPE
The qualitative data from UT and interviews were analyzed and categorized to organize key insights and changes needed for developing the prototype.
safe space
Many participants felt a sense of community and described the website as a "safe space"
needs organization
Some participants were confused with website architecture, especially the terms used for the navigation bar
EXPERIMENT & RECRUITMENT
Reflecting the insights about confusion and distraction of the website, the original wireframe was adjusted.
weme.org
