Course
A subscription-based service for ASD individuals offering private sensory rooms in high traffic areas, indiscriminate of age, designed to deliver personalized experiences based on a user's individual sensory needs.
2021
Year
10 weeks
Duration
My role
Digital prototype Lead
Accessibility Lead
Prototypes
Vision Video
Final Presentation
Deliverables
IACT 375
Professor Ascanio
Opportunity
Public spaces are difficult for autistic individuals to navigate due to social stigma, neurotypical standards, and lack of accommodations. This leads to a feeling of unease, since there is no readily available safe space in most high traffic areas.
If we could provide an easily accessible space for autistic individuals to escape the overwhelming urge to mask, then we could ultimately empower ASD individuals.
Our Assumptions
🔬 Secondary Research
👥 Designing for accessibility
Accessibility is a huge driving force for me and my designs, so when given this opportunity to design for such a diverse demographic, it had me excited. The first step in designing for accessible is by first
The most rewarding process of UX for me is the community outreach involved in the process of conducting primary research. I got to lead my team during this process and serve as the point of contact for our testers. The journey of learning about autism spectrum disorder was one that helped me create new wonderful friendships and examine the world through a lens that I would've never known, allowing me to notice the details and focus on being direct in how I approached situations and my own relationships.
understanding and empathizing with users
within the ASD community. My first step was holding an Instagram poll asking if anyone new anyone on the spectrum that I could speak to and better understand the complex developmental condition. This poll had high engagement and connected me with 43 individuals who knew someone with ASD. I then sent a survey that delved deeper into what the day-to-day experience would looked like. Once completed, users had the option to leave their information to be interviewed.
I used Google's guides for accessibility to gain a better understanding of truly universal design. These guides provided me with instruction on how to gather research materials, interviewees, and how to structure my mental framework when looking into making our designs inclusive.
This also gave me the tools to not only empathize but understand what it meant to create universal design. It wasn't about the group affected, as these are permanent use cases, but there were actually temporary and situational cases in which users would be unable to operate an interface the way they traditionally would.
Wireframing
Due to the colors we chose, we wanted to make sure we had accessible design in the UI, so we decided on a night mode app to heighten contrast..
Check out the
prototype
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Autism spectrum disorder is a complex developmental condition involving a spectrum of persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior.
Individuals with ASD can experience both hypersensitivity (over-responsiveness) and hyposensitivity (under-responsiveness) to a wide range of stimuli. Most people have a combination of both.
The best way to soothe overstimulation is by providing a safe space for autistic individuals to cool down in a low stimuli environment, like a sensory room. A sensory room is a therapeutic space primarily designed for those with ASD that provides individuals with special needs with personalized sensory input through a variety of equipment.
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leads to improved information retention
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self regulate behavior which improves focus
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Improve visual, auditory, and tactile processing
Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sensory rooms are even harder to access if you are over the age of 21, as that is the cutoff for most state-wide programs. After 21, there are simply no reliable resources for autistic adults, on the whole, to help them manage their day-to-day struggles.
Affinitization Process
Primary Research
This floor plan is for a theoretical location in a high traffic area, in this case an Airport. Airports are a frequently mentioned location when it came to sensory overload.The physical space has a unique floor plan strategically built to allow for transitional hallways to slowly introduce autistic children and adults to the space. We then have private sensory room, two that can be reserved ahead of time and two that are non-reservable for emergencies.
Check out the VR
space for yourself!
Physical Space
More Coming soon
Spring 2022
How does the service work?
Transitional hallway to enter
Private sensory room tour
Entrance to the lobby
Transitional exit hallway