Emotioner: A Mobile App to Help Students Share and Understand Emotion Better
Background: This was a self-initiated project for the University of Michigan Mobile App Challenge. I collaborated with a fellow master student, Ying-Yu Chen to brainstorm and refine the idea, and occasionally getting feedback from a faculty specialized in interaction design. In addition to refining ideas, I participated in prototyping using Axure. I also wrote the script, narrated, and recorded the demonstration video as the challenge submission entry.
This is possibly the shortest design project I have engaged with. It was rather challenging to work on such important topic, from ideation to submission, within two weeks. While I believe the idea and the prototype could be improved much further, it also allowed me to crystallize the main concept I wanted to deliver, in a much focused and simple way. More importantly, the design process also helped me to reflect on my own approaches to mental health in grad school.
My role(s): Project Co-leader, Designer
Collaborator(s): Ying-Yu Chen
Motivation: Attending college often mean going to a new environment, where everything needs to be figured out again. In this new environment, students meet new people and manage challenging school work. Dealing with all these unknowns, students might experience mood swing and other mental health issues.
Problem Solving: I developed the concept of Emotioner, a smartphone app for college students to manage their emotion through recording and sharing. Students could anonymously share their emotion and see 'how the campus is feeling' by looking at a campus map overlayed with emotion (e.g., emoticon) generate by residents of different buildings and schools. The goal was to help users reflect on their emotions and be aware of others' emotions so that they can better manage their college life.
Brainstorm Design
Expert Feedback
A college professor
Prototype
Create Demonstration Video
Outcomes: The outcomes of this project include an interactive prototype, a conceptual video explaining the concept of Emotioner, and a competition award from the University of Micigan Mobile Apps Center.
Summary:
Award: University of Michigan Mobile Apps Challenge Runner-Up
Date: 2012 Fall
Concept Video