Nathanael Knight
I'm a Junior at Purdue University studying Web Development and Design.
My Work
Project 1 - Fitness App
For this project we were tasked on changing people's mental models on tracking steps through fitness apps. My partner and I created a new fitness application to change their mental models.
User Group
Our user group for this application are middle aged business people that do not want intrusive fitness apps
Contribution
My contribution for this project was that I came up with the design of our App and layout. I also did secondary and primary research such as an 2 interviews and read case studies on fitness trackers.
Final Design
For our final design, we thought we should keep the whole design of the app simple so it’s more easy to use. The app features a day-by-day step counter and goals for each day that users can set themselves, as well as a way for users to go back to past weeks and see how they did in those weeks. When users set a goal for the day, their phone’s numerical keypad will appear and users can set how many steps they want to (though there is a maximum of 10,000 steps each day). Through our usability tests, we realized that we had forgotten a back button when a test user brought it up, so we added that to the final product. The app requires the use of a watch that users strap onto their wrist to count their steps. To get over how some users would cheat by strapping their watch on a metronome or some other moving object, we decided that the watch should have a pulse sensor that makes it to where the watch will only count the user’s steps when it detects the user’s pulse. The design of the watch was also kept simple, with it only having a step counter and a button for it to connect to the user’s phone via bluetooth.
Sketches
Project 2 - Lyft 5-Star Review System
For this project we were tasked with changing the 5-star review system to provide better feedback for the driver.
User Group
Adults, ages 55-60, who don’t feel comfortable getting into a car with someone they don’t know, especially with just being able to see a 5-star rating.
Contribution
My contribution for this project was that I helped ideate our design. I also helped with research by conducting an interview with a Lyft user.
Final Design
Our goal was to eliminate the 5-star rating system and replace it with a system that provided more detailed feedback with the fewest clicks. We chose a four category ranking system of cleanliness, overall safety, speed of driving, and positive ride quality. These categories are based on the most important aspects of the ride. In order to collect the data needed, our team conceptualized different ways we could collect data without having the user type a response. We decided on generated responses where people could click whether they agree or disagree. Furthermore, we decided to display a minimum of one question from a single category to the user to encourage them to leave a review. We additionally allowed the user to rate the overall ride using a smiley face rating system. A smiley face rating system is easier to visually understand while still allowing us to collect reliable data on ride quality. This design incorporates a longer review time frame and adds notifications to encourage them to leave reviews.
Sketches
Project 3 - Embodied Shopping
For this project we were tasked with creating an experience that would bring more people into grocery stores without disrupting the current model.
User Group
Children ages 7-10 with severe food allergies.
Contribution
My contribution for this project was that I helped ideate the design as well as conduct secondary research through case studies.
Final Design
Our goal for this project was to provide an educational experience for children ages 7-10 with severe food allergies. This learning experience would focus on them learning about their food allergy. We would do this by a simple kid-friendly kiosk system that could be installed throughout grocery store aisles.
After inputting their respective allergies, they have two different ways of searching for allergen-free groceries:
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Scanning an item in hand
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Searching through allergen-free recipes
If a child scans an item they’ve already found on a shelf, an interactable 3D model of the item will appear on the screen. The portion of the box with the nutritional facts and ingredients will be highlighted, and the wording of the packaging will be simplified to show if there are any allergens present. If there are no allergens and the product is safe to consume for the child, the kiosk will still highlight where the nutritional information can be found.
While a child is selecting a recipe through the allergen-free list, a heat-map showing what parts of the store are safe will be displayed. This map makes sure to emphasize what kids can eat instead of what they can’t, and it encourages a positive attitude towards managing and working around allergies. After a recipe has been selected, A path to all the required ingredients will become visible on the map.
Sketches
