Emberace is a two-part experience for University of Washington students to build awareness around the impacts wildfires have on the self and surrounding communities.
Emberace was built through UX research, rapid iteration and prototyping, followed by user testing.
Gayathri Kasilingam
Matthew Fang
Emily Shu
Sept 2022-Dec 2022
( approx 10 weeks )
I ideated & co-designed
Brainstormed potential solutions, filtered them and tested top ones through effective prototyping
I did a lil' Research
Conducted generative research on smokefires and evaluative research on the prototypes
I edited videos & animated
I designed the UI screens and animated the smoke globe prototypes and concept video animations.
I learnt package design & took. care of brandingCreated visual identity of 'emberace' to communicate its essence. Inculcated the same into the care kit's package keeping in mind its functional constraints as well.
Wildfires and climate change are mutually exacerbating. Experts estimate a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14% by 2030 Most migrants are unaware of the health impacts caused by smokefires and its impacts.
Wildfire season is becoming more frequent and severe. in 2020, WA state fires destroyed 180 homes
31.3% of UW's incoming freshman are migrants, and most of them know nothing about the wildfire season.
Smokefire causes health issues including cough, asthma, heart attacks, strokes, eye dryness and even fatal issues for sensitive groups
Our design challenges and research insights inform the five design principles.
Initiates change in mindset to encourage user awareness and preparedness for wildfire season
Creates an experience, preferably using physical/visual cues to be more impactful to user
Simultaneously benefits more than one stakeholders ( healthy and sensitive groups ) so that we arrive at holistic solutions
Requires low user effort so that they are more likely to engage with design
Use existing stakeholders/entities to motivate user awareness and engagement
We noticed there were many overlapping ideas. For organizational purposes, we grouped them by themes.
After discussing, we found the design principles "Low effort" and "Changes mindset" to be the main priority as they were very much in sync with our findings. Based on this, we shortlisted the themes.
Relevant stakeholders:
Incoming students, at-risk groups with lack of resources
Rationale:
Interactive onboarding experience, which overcomes the barrier to awareness for migrant students
Desired Outcomes:
Raises awareness about the available safety precautions and how one can care for sensitive groups
Smoke Globe
A smoke globe is similar to a snow globe, but contains climate/AQI info and fills up with smoke when there is a wildfire around your location.
Vs
Virtual Plantie
A smoke globe is similar to a snow globe, but contains climate/AQI info and fills up with smoke when there is a wildfire around your location.
We ran our both memento ideas with users to get inputs on how the memento will fit into their everyday lives and enhance continued awareness.
The smoke globe is a weather device that provides weather and air quality data. Unlike a weather app, the globe uses visual cues to denote conditions outside, and physically interactive - particularly during wildfire season.
Since this is an experiential activity, we wanted to storyboard the process so the whole team agrees on the step by step progress
The care kit was a whole package with different elements, each has a specific purpose
When returning home to clean up, the care kit will be less of an after-thought for evacuees.
When working others, students found the kit-making experience to be more enjoyable and less awkward.
Words of encouragement cultivate compassion. Prompts are required as without any guidance, students were unsure and uncomfortable about writing the letters.
Since this is an experiential activity, we wanted to storyboard the process so the whole team agrees on the step by step progress
Users are asked to donate a small amount to these wildfire smoke affected areas. This task is devised keeping in mind the budget and time restrictions students have.
On donation, the smoke turns into snow, creating a positive and fun interaction!
Let's put 'em together, shall we?
We believe the care kit activity can extend beyond just University of Washington students are fit into many other contexts
Providing a means for care kit recipients and students to communicate post kit-making activity
Extending the globe experience to be in public areas to increase awareness
My experience in design has taught me that it's important to have faith in the process and make informed decisions along the way based on well-researched information.
During the course of the project, I came to understand that design involves not only recognizing effective solutions, but also acknowledging ineffective ones. I also learned the importance of being open to change and not becoming overly attached to specific ideas.
As my first project with MHCID, I was able to help in areas that my team members did not have much experience in and they helped me in areas I was not well versed in. It was an amazing learning opportunity.
Our intended impact was to create an experience for UW freshman students to be aware and prepared for the wildifre season
Freshman are aware and prepared for the wildfire season, hence are able t
Affected Eastern washington people can have good
students can be well prepared
