Instant Aid
Instant Aid is a class project for a class named Intellectual Foundations of Informatics (INFO 200). It’s an all-in-one emergency application providing users protocol knowledge regarding natural disasters, volunteer opportunities and resources to victims in needs.
Overview
Timeframe
12 Weeks
Tools
Figma, InVision, Illustrator
Role
Information Architecture, User research, Prototyping, Wireframing, UI design, Usability testing
Team
Jose Santos, Gabriel Acuna, Olivia Pongsrida, Moazin Sheikh
The Issue at Hand
Across the United States, people are subjected to injuries both lethal and nonlethal during times of danger due to lack of knowledge regarding disaster situation protocols. With widespread hysteria being a common act during these disasters, we want to help individuals become informed and take action to help one another instantly through an all-in-one application resource that will help minimize as many lives and damage as possible.
InstantAid is an application designed to inform users to effectively approach emergencies allowing individuals to aid in several ways including providing resources, volunteer outlets, and aid to victims in need.
Research
What do current resources have to offer?
Projected Benefits
Effective lower casualty rates and mitigated risks of danger.
A wider and helpful variety of accessible food, transportation, and communication which are catalysts to bringing individuals to safety.
Risk of survival are increased as more individuals can become aware and knowledgeable on how to prepare, approach, and survive natural disasters.
User Personas
Design Prototyping
Wireframe/Ideation
For our early iterations of our design, we wanted the user flow of our design to be quickly comprehensible. We were able to emphasize these ideas with:
Button placements and color contrast to make it easy for the user to quickly comprehend the content displayed
Positioning the three main abilities of the app (disaster protocol, resources, provide help) right after the sign up page
Helps quickly direct the user to the main points of the app, which would help during times of emergencies
Added links and external resources for users to get more involved in a variety of ways
Lo-Fi Designs + User Flow
We drafted key lo-fi designs alongside constructing a user flow to understand the navigation of our design and to see how effective we are heading with our design features.
User Testing
We conducted 5 moderated usability tests with participants. We facilitated and observed user flow and In addition, we noticed key takeaways to watch out for in general.
Key Takeaways
Sync data to users’ phone in case loss of signal during unexpected moments
This helps first-aid responders and volunteers to find out last known location of individuals to quickly locate them safely
Provide outlets to other resources regarding aid, food, and volunteering
Ensure protocol information that is approved from professional organizations including the Red Cross.
Hi-Fi Design
Hi-Fi Style
The interface carries a prominent red design that inherently symbolizes as an image and representation of ‘aid.’ Our interface is embedded with a variety of tools that allow the user to search for or provide help. We implemented icons that help the user navigate their way through our application design.
We wanted to implement simplicity and authenticity with our design as we highlight a variety of options for the user to learn about how to approach any emergencies before, during, and after. Collaborating with other important organizations helped make this app meet exceed your goals, intentions, and purpose as well!
Reflection
This project spurred my passion for understanding user needs and designing to accommodate their needs in an innovative manner that ultimately helps user to easily guide themselves and understand the design of the app right away. Furthermore, this better sense of needs from the user’s perspective. It also helped guide me in the direction to iterate as many times as possible in order to flesh out new and fresh ideas that can become great additions and features to the product that one is designing at hand. Furthermore, it’s challenging and exciting when designing for products in various fields. Creating a product to help emergency victims helped stretched my skills and thinking when it came to prototyping this product.