Overview
This project, a collaboration among professionals including a paramedic with firsthand experience in homelessness, aims to address societal challenges through the lens of User Experience design. We’ve employed a user-centered approach to understand and devise solutions that enhance accessibility to services for the homeless in Peel Region. By integrating design thinking and UX methodologies, we’ve created a platform that not only informs but also engages and is easily navigable by our target audience.
Team Members
Helen Bae: UX Research, UX/UI Design, Accessibility, Content Strategy, Interaction Design
Alex Lam: UX Research, Content Strategy
Marilyn Lo: UX Research, User Testing
Project Duration
January to March 2022
Goals and Objectives
To extend Moyo Health & Community Services’ outreach to Peel’s underserved communities through user-centric design.
To support local health strategies by improving access to harm reduction services, focusing on usability and accessibility.
To enhance awareness and accessibility of health and social services by fostering meaningful partnerships and employing community-centered UX design.
Project Background
The pandemic has amplified existing social issues, disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. This project aims to mitigate these effects by prioritizing harm reduction and accessibility through thoughtful UX design. Our approach addresses the needs of diverse groups, including those with mental health challenges, racialized communities, LGBTQ2S individuals, and more, by ensuring our solutions are inclusive and equitable.
Systems Navigator Concept
Utilizing a user-centered design approach, we aim to improve access to health and social services through an intuitive transit map interface. Our design focuses on ease of use, with clear, recognizable icons and a simplified layout to assist users in navigating services effortlessly. This concept was developed through iterative design and user feedback, ensuring that the final product truly meets the needs of the community it serves.
Art Direction
Typography and Readability: Choosing Interstate for its legibility, we aimed to ensure that our interface is accessible to users of all ages and abilities.
Color Palette and Accessibility: Our online and print media utilize color palettes designed for optimal contrast and readability, taking into account users with color vision deficiencies. The choice of vibrant colors for online media aims to engage users, while print media focuses on accessibility and cost-effectiveness.
User-Centered Design Process: Beginning with in-depth user research and problem identification, our design process involved creating personas, use cases, and user journey maps to ensure our solutions were grounded in real user needs. Prototyping and user testing were integral, allowing us to refine our designs based on direct feedback.
Design process
Initially, we considered using vehicle decal graphics to promote Moyo’s services and increase awareness of the organization. However, we ultimately decided against this concept due to the high cost of printing vinyl material, and instead opted to focus on the more feasible and effective design concept mentioned earlier.
During the first phase of the project, all team members completed extensive research and composed critical essays about homelessness, allowing us to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue. One team member, Alex Lam, utilized Google Maps to manually select and map out nearby community services, which we were able to incorporate into our prototype web page by including Google Map links.
Final prototype
The digital systems navigator, developed with a multidisciplinary team, is a testament to the power of collaborative UX design. Our prototype features a user-friendly interface with distinct color coding and graphic icons, making services accessible to a broad audience, including those with limited language proficiency. Despite a condensed design phase, our iterative approach and focus on user feedback have resulted in a promising platform ready for further development and scaling.
Helen Bae 