Workshop & Lectures
Human Centred Design
Jazzy Olive
Jazzy Olive’s insightful workshop brings in a new perspective on how should we respond to an everyday problem. We were asked to design for an individual with an invisible disability. Our group was asked to interview Rue, a graphic designer with type 1 diabetes, and come up with a design that improves her work environment or daily life.
At first, it was challenging as in our group we did not have any human-centred design experience. Coming up with an idea that can help a designer sets the bar higher and pushes us to come up with an invention, innovation or intervention that improves her day-to-day challenges. After the interview with Rue, our group focused on her responses about her view of type 1 diabetes. She described it as another full-time job, and sometimes she would be tired of people being curious about the devices she is required to use.
Our initial idea is to create a skin-tone colour pad that camouflages and reduces the attraction it gets. However, we decided to make something more tailored to Rue as the skin tone pad design is an existing product in the market, and we would want to respond more to her challenges as a graphic designer and an individual with type 1 diabetes.
The final idea is to make a business card for Rue. This idea comes from her response “It is like another full-time job”. The business card has two sides, with the graphic designer side of Rue and the other more personal side of Rue. It works like an “open-close” sign on a shop’s door indicating whether the shop is open or closed.
The card’s design is based on Rue’s personal website design and her style of using puns. We came up with the phrase “Rue Break” as a pun to “Loo Break”. This way, Rue can use this business card as a sign and an explanation in her working or daily interactions, reducing the attention she gets and the time she has to explain her invisible disability to others.
We also added a QR code on the personal side for people who are interested to know more about Rue’s situation. Rue would also be able to edit the information in the QR code, assuring that she is in control of everything on the card.
The workshop was very insightful because Jazzy introduced different ways to come up with a human-centred design, as well as throughout the discussions in my group, the importance of considering all sides of the user to the design. An idea is innovative and useful when we can find the gap, and solve the problem from a new perspective.