Co-Design
At the beginning of the co-design phase of this project, it was very important to have a proper planning. This is important to not waste any time of everyone involved. The group wanted to use the co-designer's time as efficient as possible. The planning was visualized and shared with the co-designer, and to make it easy, the co-design activities got split up into two sessions because of logistic reasons. The full planning can be found here.
1. Session
Online co-design session
Online, scheduled an appointment for an hour, 3 activities
Activity 01
The first activity was done to get a feeling for the prefered style of co-designer. We presented different products of same category and asked for the favorite products and why Jack liked them. Additonally, already-owned products got discussed.
Activity 02
Asked our co-designer to walk us through different daily life tasks in six detailed steps in order to create different scenarios.
The first task was sitting in his armchair and getting coffee. The other task he closely described was shaving.
Activity 03
Quite a similar build up as first activity but we presented different assistive technologies to understand which existing technologies Jack would use or already uses. This also gives a clear image on features to include or exclude in the design.
In-person co-design session
On campus, scheduled an appointment for 2 hour, 3 activities
Activity 01
Continuation on the first activity of the first co-design session. Beforehand we created different style collages of which Jack could chose his favorite. Additionally, we brought many cut-outs of products so that Jack could create his own style collage.
Activity 02
The group brought many different solutions to closing bottles or flasks and tried them with Jack to see what he is still able to do and what not. This gave a good understanding on the capabillities and preferred closing methods.
Activity 03
Testing the low-fidelity prototype and experiencing as a group how Jack walks. This gave us a clear visualization of the problem.
Co-design results
After the co design session there was a better picture of Jacks situation, surrounding and style. His style changed over the years to a modern style with not too many colors. He especially likes black and products that have an orange accent to it. He also wants us to make a product that does not makes it seem that he has an impairment, in contrast to already existing ATs that often make you look disabled. Jack will be reminded of his impairment every time if he would use an AT that looks like it is made for people with a disability. Besides that, Jack wants a product that does not look cheap (,he thinks a lot of ATs do,) and the price of the product is not relevant for him. There could also be added a little humor to the product to make it more fun to use. Besides the style it should be easy to use the product and last as long as possible.
In the end, Jack wants a product that fits his style, does not look cheap or disabled and is easy to use
Understanding
After the co-design sessions with Jack we not only understood Jacks style better but also what ataxia is and especially what it is for him. We also got a better picture of his surroundings, going trough his daily life and some actions that are hard for him. This whole process made it very pleasant to design a product that suits Jack. Talking and showing Jacks life and ataxia played a crucial role in designing the final product.