Project 4：app“forest”

The topic I chose was equality.

The reason why I chose this topic is that it is the closest topic to me and makes me feel the most.

There are all kinds of sad inequalities happening around us every day.

RESEARCH

MIND MAP

I sorted out the concept of equality and made a mind map.

Then I did a primary research on equality.

This illustration came from a student at the Rhode Island School of Design.
She wanted to express how she felt during her menstrual period.
She hopes to tell people that what every woman goes through every month
is not shy to discuss.

This is a photographic work.
We can see that he is just a human under the labels.

It is not difficult to see that equality has always been a hot topic.

There are many wonderful discussions and opinions on this topic.

Every day, different people use different ways in different fields to speak for equality.

This is a discussion topic about women who have been sexually assaulted.
They are victims but have been unfairly questioned.
Now they are encouraged to speak up.

After conducting basic research, I found that many works are aimed at people who discriminate against others and let them change their thoughts and behaviors. And I want to target those who have experienced inequality before. After they have experienced inequality, they will experience a lot of psychological changes. A large part of them will have mental problems. I want to do something for this group of people, maybe treatment or comfort. The point I want to express is that we have to fight for the inequalities we may encounter in the future and those we are encountering, but we should just let it go for what we have already experienced. We should not punish ourselves for the faults of others. The victims are innocent, they should not be hurt twice and they need our care. I hope to make a design that can really care for them.

I hope to help these people who have suffered negative emotions or psychological problems after being hurt, and perhaps create a platform for them to share comfortably, and perhaps get help, psychological comfort or healing. Kindness and care are important ways to help them.

ANALYSIS

PACT

HOW MIGHT WE?

Interview

After raising these questions and reflections, I think we should better understand the target group. I first conducted some face-to-face interviews. These three came from different regions and countries and told about their unequal experiences and feelings.

ZHILI: In luxury stores, treated differently by appearance.

John: Heated and targeted by teacher for no reason.

Zhijia Wang: Being insulted on the streets of Spain, they let him go back to his country.

Questionnaire

In order to better understand the target population, I conducted an online questionnaire survey and received 50 effective responses.

88 percent have been unfairly treated

Sixty percent of people think that the unequal treatment they have experienced has had or is having an impact on them (physical or psychological)）

74% of the people think that they have negative emotions and bad mentality after experiencing unequal treatment

They describe their own experiences, as well as their thoughts and psychological changes after being treated unfairly.

We can see that the high-frequency words are “unconvinced, annoyed, confused, self abased, concerned, angry, resentful, collapsed, hit, disappointed, depressed, unbalanced in heart, etc.”

Happily, 94% of people believe that negative emotions and psychological problems can be improved through the listening or caring of others.

And 84% of them are willing to help other people in the same situation to solve their psychological problems together.

They listed things that they thought were helpful for psychological problems

There are many answers, such as “talk, communicate, see a psychologist, find a partner, etc.”

IDEA

I want to make an app that allows users to have a comfortable space for sharing and talking, and allows users who are willing to help others to listen. Everyone has a forest in this app. When users finish sharing or listening, the plants they choose will grow up a bit. Through accumulation, everyone will have their own forest. The forest is a very healing environment, and every plant is the result of everyone’s efforts. And this app includes the functions of making friends, personal space and finding nearby mental consultation and help.

Based on my analysis on the target group, I made two personas

wireframe

PAPER PROTOTYPE

Then I made a paper prototype and invited my friend to test it. After the test, I found some problems in the details.After adjustments, I made the final prototype.

prototype

This is my final prototype. We can see that on the main page, you can choose to listen or share to match the corresponding people. They can choose to type or video to communicate. Users can enter their forests, view plants that have been planted, plants that are being planted or select new plants. Enter the zip code to find the location and contact information of the nearby psychological counseling. Everyone has their own space where they can express their opinions or show anything they want to show.