Spring 2023
Human Centered Design Projects
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In the spring of my senior year, I took a Human Centered Design course with Professor Harry West. Over the course of the semester, I gained an appreciation for design which aims to create design solutions that rely on a deep understanding of problems and the emotional journey of the customer rather than pushing new technology onto sectors where they may not be the best answer.
Project 1: A Place to Work
For our first project, we were partnered up and tasked to design the ideal workspace for our partner. This exercise required us to spend time understanding the needs and values of the partner, which was good practice in conducting ethnographic interviews.
Here you can see a picture of my first try at designing a space for my partner.
A Place to Work (1st Iteration)
A Place to Work (2nd Iteration)
From here, we proposed the design to our partner, and then discussed revisions and improvements to make the space even better. On the left you can see the second iteration of the design, based off of feedback I received.
Project 2: Design a Better NYC
Our final project for the class was to design a solution that helps people working in NYC. We pivoted many times throughout the process as we conducted ethnographic interviews of construction workers and engineers, but ended up deciding to design a service that would specifically help female engineers in NYC. Female civil engineers often report feeling a sense of solitude and inability to connect with their peers because construction is such a male dominated industry. Hence, we created Build Her Network- a place where women can connect with each other to support each other on topics such as career development and workplace harassment.
Big thanks to Angella Baigorria, Nader Babar, and Muchen Guo, my groupmates who made this project a success!
Prototype Pitch Slide
To see the details of exactly how Build Her Network works, watch the pitch video here: Link
Build Her Network Pitch Video