Individual Work and Mid-Project Presentation.

After weeks of app designs i was more interested in the website design for the health check finder, so i researched what limited health check finders are already available.

The two most popular health check websites i found are American,

Candis- far too confusing and messy at first. Its not very stimulating or motivating. overall i found it boring.

Florida Health Check Finder- which seems to be aimed primarily at the elderly and has no social aspect.

Both websites seemed boxed in with alot of negative space, the type is small and theres too much text, they seem to be accommodating the type size for the amount of text needed and not taking the user into account at all. 

They are boring and blunt, and wouldnt suit this projects health check finder as its main purpose is to create awareness by being interactive and motivating, giving the community an incentive to a healthier lifestyle.

I wanted my health check finder website to be primarily user friendly. an upbeat colour scheme and easy navigation was essential. 

I wanted to keep it as simple as possible but have unique and engaging features.

When i think of the low education level or low technology levels of many of the hypothetical users, i think the main designs should be taken back to computer basics. To me and many others, computer basics translates to the start of our computer education, a big sturdy no frills grey computer, Microsoft word and its interactive helper icon.

Although many word users didnt need him, and he proved to be a nuisance after you knew the basics, Most of your basic technology education can be traced back to using this little icon.

His purpose was to help, assist, he was a search tool and a reminder if you hadnt saved or were about to navigate away from something important. He explained what the current problem was if you didnt already know. 

To take the health check finder back to basics i want to create an icon with similar features as the famous Microsoft office paper clip so someone that is 5 years old or 55 years old, can easily use and understand the website.

When i was designing icons/characters i aimed to make them relevant, helpful and have a friendly atmosphere. The characters should be able to show different emotions, suit different placement and situation,  be able to indicate and demonstrate usable features on screen.

The character will hopefully be like a website mascot that makes the overall user experience easier, calmer and more interactive regardless of education or incentive levels.

Many health care companies and alike use mascots to create a universally friendly atmosphere, ie. Bupa

This design was relevant to the medical aspect of the site but not the social. His design is very blunt and to the point, but he doesnt look as friendly as i had originally intended.

This design is more relevant to the medical side of the site than the social. Although cute and user friendly, perhaps older users wouldnt want to be using something thats too girly or childlike? This design would be excluding a major part of the demographic.

The Disney like glove is genderless and obvious so like an arrow cursor this design is suitable for all hypothetical users. im concerned it has limited characteristics and emotions, therefore the social interactive element would be lost.

Helpful, cute, adds a bit of humour and since most people go to their all knowing granny when they need something, it shares similar traits to the icons primary use. It would be interesting in different situations and has many emotional characteristics. However it may exclude the elderly.

Basic, to the point, cute, suitable for all age groups, genderless and could be interesting to animate expressions for different situations and actions. 

It may be more difficult to demonstrate websites features without hands.

He has all the benefits that smiley has except he has arms and hands to demonstrate and walk the user through situations. 

However he isnt as upbeat and eye catching as smiley.

During studio hours i got some brief feedback on the characters from the clients and classmates. It was narrowed down to the helping hand, granny knows best and smiley. In the end ive decided smiley is the most favourable amoung others and myself. 

A full range of emotions can be easily communicated through such a simple character. 

Although more detail can be more interesting, i think it makes the icon less user friendly for all demographics.

I brainstormed the many situations that Smiley could be used in and designed different expressions and actions to suit.

Another unique feature i want to develop and include in my health check finder website, is a symptoms navigator. It would allow users with low literacy levels easier access to the information. It could also be fun and engaging for very young or elderly users.

It would simply be a genderless figure (perhaps bob from the helper icon designs) you click on the body part that hurts or is troubling you. highlight indicators could be used.

The symptoms navigator basically acts as a filter and will give you suggestions and recommendations on the lower half of the search screen. 

Log ins and user profiles is an idea i want to develop but maybe not include in the end, as it could be too personal and not everyone will want it. Most importantly i dont want to exclude any users just because they arent registered members, although if they were registered it would help remember their details for future, and give them more relevant suggestions. 

The profile would hold details like your user name or first name, your age, perhaps your family members or living situation, occupation, general area and your personal calendar that holds all your event dates and appointments for the site.

This is a quick digital mockup of the user profile. I decided mugshot like profile photos may be intimidating to older users, So perhaps a range of avatars would be more appropriate.

The icons should be recognizable but compatible with the page style.

When i began to paper prototype these ideas i wanted certain aspects to remain constants, like the banner that includes the 'health check finder' title, the emergency sign and different navigator buttons like the Home, About us, Events and FAQ.

When the user is navigating through the health finder, the social finder will remain the same through out, and visa versa. 

Although the colour scheme is yet to be decided on, i want to pages overall design to be upbeat, not too childish but not boring and off putting. The design will be a constant through out and suit 'Smiley' the helping tool. 

The style of the website could be messy and casual, but still well laid out and understandable, somewhat like a notice board. It can be colourful, have attachments but still only hold the need to know information. 

Health and Social should be clearly separated.

I want a vibrant, colourful but not too in your face theme.

The mood board for the theme and style of the website.

Like in the group work stages, when paper prototyping i created user journeys to show different situations and tasks, this would hopefully show the websites functionality more and allow me to see any problems a user may have when trying to navigate through the site.

User Journey.

Person - Problem - Desirable result 

This users journey is of a young mother of three that has alot of stress and mild depression. She will use the health check finder with the want to talk to someone, she will be presented with the option, book an appointment and add it to her calendar. 

The website would also have available social outlets for the stress, such as mum n tums, this would be somewhere she could talk to adults in the same situation, whilst getting time away from the kids and exercise that would improve both her health and body image, and when her body image rises so will aspects of her depression. 

The social section of the website would also offer summer schemes and youth clubs for her children so that she has some alone time to de-stress without the constant worry and work of her children.

https://vimeo.com/101531475

Once i had the initial paper prototyping done i experimented with the digital prototype view of the home page, giving me a better understanding of what the final layout could be before i create final paper prototypes

Digital Prototype of the sites home page layout and features.

At this point in the project there was a client and tutor feedback opportunity. For this i created a short slide show presentation that would allow visuals for my ideas, allowing them to get a full understanding of where i am and where i am aiming to go in this project. 

The slide show consisted of six categories/slides,

-Initial Ideas. this is where i discussed where i started and what id chosen to focus on.

-Mood Board. visuals on the styles and colour schemes, and what their roll over effects might be.

-A Digital Prototype. following on from the mood boards topics, this is where the clients have a more visual idea of what i am currently working on. 

-Smiley. This is where questions began about the helper tool and I was able to discuss the method behind the tool and his design, along with other unique features of the website.

-LINKS. i played several paper prototypes of the websites functionality.

-What i'll do next. here i discussed the progress in this project and what i aim to do next and how i intend to do it. 

My tutor feedback was more focused on the layout and icon schematics, I will research Gesalt further and improve on the layout and asset alignments.

The clients would like to see more information and visuals for events run by the healthy living center, i would like to take this and go further and have a hypothetical promotional video on the home page, or helpline visuals on a reel asset, this reel will be influences and filtered by what you search and click on the most, this way the reels will be more beneficial to the user. 

Interesting side note -

The mid project presentations took place during RAG week (raise and give) a week in which many university students run and take part in various events across campus and the city, raising money for local charities. The day of the presentations myself and classmate Conrad were running the onesie day-classroom raid, where we walked around all classrooms in onesies for donations.

Several classmates wore pajamas in support of the event and one (Tasha) even wore her onesie.

The clients were very confused during the pajamas presentations but thankfully found the humorous side of our charity fundraiser.