Matched through the Startup Institute, our team partnered with a client to develop a utility management/payment application. By conducting user research and usability testing and designing a logo, I helped give direction to his initial design.
To test some of the client's initial assumptions and gather more information, I developed an online survey. It intended to assess three major factors contributing to using the application: cost consciousness, environmental awareness, and technological competency. Users were asked to rate each on a 4-Likert scale from "Strongly Disagree" to "Strongly Agree". The questions are listed below.
We promoted the survey through several social media channels and received 193 responses, 174 of which were valid. A majority of respondents indicated that they handle all utilities with a relatively even split of those being homeowners and non-homeowners. Further analysis found that cost uncertainty and energy consumption were not major drivers for the sample surveyed.
After we completed our initial wireframes, I contacted a number of respondents who indicated that they could be contacted for further testing. The feedback and observations from these sessions showed that our use case did not apply to the population represented by this sample, allowing us to pivot on another aspect of the application. The wireframes were revised to reflected these changes then tested again.
Based on words collected from the initial ideation session as well as investigation of logo and branding for similar companies, I began sketching out a variety of ideas. Out of my favorites, our team selected a few to present to the client. His feedback spurred the first Illustrator drafts, which led to the final design shown above.
Links is the product of research and prototyping completed during the Startup Institute Hack Day over a 24-hour period. The prompt was to create a good solution for finding roommates online by connecting based on aspects that matter to human beings, targeting 18-35-year-old urban-dwellers. Interviews revealed that the primary motivation for seeking out roommates was to reduce rent costs. This often co-occurred with relocation due to new employment or educational pursuits.
Every interviewee indicated that they turned or would have had to turn to technology for the search only after exhausting all personal leads. However, those that used technology found the disparity between personal leads and anonymous online listings to be dismal. My solution sits as an intermediate between these two options.
Several people in their early-to-mid-twenties were interviewed about how they found their current and past roommates and any difficulties they experienced.
Most were able to find their roommates by asking friends and acquaintances. It was “super quick to find roommates from people [they] liked.” At the very least, they met with the potential roommates at least once to evaluate them.
The search for roommates often accompanied the search for housing, but most had decided on the roommates before even starting the housing search. Some noted that it was easier this way because everyone could be on the same page in terms of location, price, type of place, etc.
Those who had to resort to Craigslist found an unwelcoming and frustrating service but had no other options. One user contacted 30-40 listings and only received two valid responses with several being expired.
Every user indicated a desire for cleanliness, but this in effect amounted to varying levels for the threshold of cleanliness.
This customer journey map helps to visualize the actions/situations (yellow) and feelings/emotions (blue) of an individual searching for roommates as a progression in time. Also marked are the exit points where an individual would skip to the evaluation if a viable roommate were found.
Because the jump to technology represents a higher level of urgency or frustration, the onboarding process for Links was divided over several screens. This made each understandable in itself and acts to prevent attrition due to being overwhelmed or confused.
Based on feedback from the initial prototype and algorithmic considerations for match rate, the Links homescreen lists all potential roommates given the user’s restrictions and allows sorting by distance, cost, and mutual friends.
Individual profiles are straightforward and simple. Each features a picture of their room as a reflection of their personality and their cleanliness. Other information is populated from Facebook or user preferences. The message button is the most prominent feature on the screen.
The final prototype is available for viewing online.
With the redesign of the Northwestern University Student Affairs website, many departments had the task of updating their web content. Among these departments was the university Health Service, which had 12 major forms that were to be revised and standardized.
The form revisions provided the perfect opportunity to incorporate more current web standards. I optimized these forms for assistive screen reader technology commonly used by low sighted and partial vision users through accessibility best practices and user testing.
A number of these forms are available online at the Northwestern University Evanston Health Services website.
"Jiu-Fen-Er Mountain: The Lives of Taiwanese Foreign Brides" is a documentary film by Hsiu-Ling Robertson and Ping-Hai Wu. It investigates the daily lives and struggles of these foreign brides.
I worked with the director to create this marketing card to promote the film at its first major premiere at the Sheffield Doc Fest in 2014.
I also managed the website for the film.
As part of the IT centralization effort at the Feinberg School of Medicine, I was asked to design a desktop icon for support requests. Using best practices and design principles, I delivered four icons that were presented to the team.
The icon is available on the Feinberg School of Medicine website.
Working with the team project manager, I redesigned an existing Wordpress site to be less cluttered and more aesthetically pleasing. This new theme was created from scratch, incorporating only the features deemed necessary.
The header, menu bar, side bar, and footer are static across all pages to provide easy navigation and access to information. The color scheme reflects the color of the institution but remains relatively neutral to avoid distracting from the content.
joe.z.deng@gmail.com
+1 913 231 9392
