The project aims to support wildlife rescue during bushfires by providing a digital tool for people to identify, alert and assist.
The turbulent bushfire activity in recent years has threatened more than 800 Australian native species. Trends towards more dangerous bushfire conditions underline the imperative need to protect Australian wildlife and secure a sustainable future for our unique flora and fauna.
- Providing users with real-time data visualisation of bushfire-prone areas in New South Wales and affected wildlife.
- Raising awareness on wildlife rescue efforts with up-to-date news from trusted organisations, volunteering and research groups.
- Educating users on a range of at-risk Australian species and guiding how to assist injured animals or contact authorities for aid safely.
- Supporting wildlife rescue efforts and organisations through donations and volunteering opportunities.
Ideation
During the ideation phase, we used a range of methods to generate, evaluate and filter ideas that best reflect the project’s aims and objects. These methods include empathy mapping, affinity mapping, personas creation and user flow mapping.
Empathy map
We wanted to be as empathetic and understanding of our users as possible. To ensure this, we used an Empathy Map. This helped us see the world from our user's point of view and let us explore different facets of their experience that we had not yet considered. The Empathy Map enhanced our understanding of our users and the factors that could influence how they feel, how they think, and what they do.
The project began with the data findings to better understand our demographic. Data from Google Trends demonstrate a correlation between the number of searches for ‘Bushfires’ and ‘Wildlife rescue’ within Australia, particularly during the peak of the Black Summer bushfires from December 2019 to January 2020.During the peak of these bushfires, people have shown concern about the plight of these wildlife animals. Trends also suggest that searches for both have decreased over time since its peak, but there is still some interest generated and searches being made on rescuing wildlife animals after.
During the design development of the WILD app, the human centred design process that we utilised were divided into three key sections.
Inspiration: research and gathering data from various sources in relation to the chosen topic
Ideation: brainstorming, affinity diagramming, user flow and persona creation
Implementation: Low-fidelity prototyping, Mid-fidelity prototyping and High-fidelity prototyping
Our group utilised the double diamond model as the conceptual framework for our design process. The design challenge was tackled in four phases:
1. Discover/Research
We identified the design challenge by collecting the data from credible secondary sources and user interviews.This built empathy and better understanding of user needs which helped us identify design opportunities and prompted more focused market research.
2. Define/Synthesis
Thematic analysis and affinity diagrams were used to identify user pain points and filter design opportunities in Miro.
3. Develop/Ideation
In this stage, affinity diagrams were created to explore and sort a pool of group ideas. Together, we discussed and evaluated each idea with feasibility matrices voted on the best concept.
4. Deliver/Implementation
In the last stage, we devised potential solutions and used Figma to build our initial low-fidelity prototype - from simple wireframes, visual design to testing interface usability.
Based on our Empathy Map we created three different Personas to best represent the spectrum of users that we were designing for. To help inform our Personas, we used real data based on the research we conducted. Using established guidelines and recommended attributes we created a primary Persona, who represents a person living in a bushfire prone area. We then created a secondary Persona, which best represents emergency service workers. Our final Persona was someone who wants to help but does not live in a bushfire prone area. These Personas helped us understand the goals, needs, motivations and frustrations of our users.
Notably, Persona 1 closely reflects the qualities and characteristics of the demographic we want to design for. Thus, the design of the high fidelity prototype was refined to appeal to this persona.
Persona 1- Intended user.
Persona 2- Secondary user.
Persona 3- Unintended user.
We unitised affinity diagrams, data and visuals of existing apps currently on the market to evaluate. The collected data allowed us to get a general outlook and inspiration on the visuals and functions of WILD. Upon drawing inspiration from these sources, we utilised affinity diagramming to generate and group necessary sections for our app. The process involved sorting and matching cards with critical areas we deemed crucial for the app. Now equipped with an organised map of resources, we were able to construct the app's general user flow, navigation and overall visual design.
Upon completing the affinity diagram with all the necessary information and general outlook of the app, we moved on to creating the user flow. The user flow is a visual map that displays the paths or journey the user will take when using the product - in this instance an app. User Flow was a crucial section in designing of the app as it allowed our team to clearly layout and create a more detailed and smooth flow of the app. Furthermore, by creating the user flow, we were able to identify the effectiveness of the structure of our app as well as potential obstacles that might hinder the navigability. Our user flow was drafted on Miro where we categorised the flow with different sections such as main categories, sub categories and possible ideas or designs we can explore.
Upon gathering critical data that can inform the next stage of the design process, Figma was used to create the app prototype for WILD. The WILD prototype has been created through multiple iterations. With every iteration, the team discussed and provided detailed feedback in order to create the most optimal and appropriate design. Moreover, by creating an interactive prototype through Figma, it allows for future heuristics testing and user feedback.
The user flow informed our first design iteration. In particular, the purpose of wireframes is to visualise the overall information architecture in the app; it forms a foundation for the next iteration. This template allowed us to quickly modify and test different design ideas and envision the user interaction .
After creating the general layout and functionality of the app with low-fidelity wireframe, we moved on to the mid-fidelity prototype. This involved incorporating the visual branding, as well as, functionality in the form of interactive buttons. The mid-fidelity prototype gave us the opportunity to explore various colour schemes and overall UI of the app. The mid-fidelity prototype went through multiple iterations with thorough discussion and feedback from the group before the next design iteration.
After multiple group discussions, the high-fidelity prototype was refined with visuals, functionalities and screen flows that reflect the project objectives and our user research. In particular, a key criteria of success for the application is that it must allow users to easily and efficiently report or call the wildlife authorities for aid. Correspondingly, the call button is centred on the navigation bar to make it highly visible and accessible. Through multiple trial and errors we also refined the flow of the screens to maximise efficiency and enhance the user’s experience.
