ElineSpreekt, 2022
Giving a voice to people who can't speak.
This iPad app was created for people with communicative disabilities (either congenital or developed later in life), so they can express themselves through images and sound. Initially the app was functional, but not very user-friendly. Improving people's lives is the most meaningful contribution to society as a UX designer, so of course I happily took on this graduation project.
Research
A special target audience.
During my research I learned that people with communicative disabilities come in all shapes and sizes; one has full mental ability but has a shaky hand and the other has perfect hand-eye coordination, but has the mental capacity of a 3-year old. These variations have impact on the button sizes, whether they can form sentences or communicate in simple words, whether they can type/read or only use images, etc.
Testing
Yet another target audience.
In nearly all cases the end user will need assistance from their environment (family members and caregivers). Since they are able-bodied and they need to complete very different (assistive) tasks in the app, I discovered these users need their own interface. All of these design choices had to be properly tested through multiple rounds of usability testing to ensure that the interface is user-friendly for both the people with communicative disabilities and their family and caregivers.
Feedback
Praise and gratitude!
At the end of the project I received praise and gratitude from families who said this redesign will genuinely change their and their kids' lives, which means more to me than any passing grade I will ever receive from university. Luckily my school also acknowledged my work by letting me pass with flying colors.
Excited about what you see?
I am very interested to hear what you think, whether it’s about my previous projects, potential future projects, the opportunity to work together or even if you want to tell me about your favorite movie. I am already looking forward to reading your message!
