LIGO
UX/UI Product Design
TOOLS
Figma, Cinema 4D, Principle, Photoshop, Adobe XD
TEAM
Anna Asgaraly, Chelsea Shum, Lulu Li, Christina Poon (me)
TIMELINE
November - December 2020
Problem
Communication is the basic foundation of building interpersonal relationships and navigating everyday life. In our current day, there aren’t many accessible solutions that can bridge the communication gap between individuals with deaf impairment.
“There are 466 million people in the world with disabling hearing loss. This is over 5% of the world’s population.”
- World Health Organization
Goal
Make communication easy and accessible between deaf and able-bodied groups.
Target Audience
Deaf individuals who can understand both English and ASL
Deaf individuals who only understand ASL
Solution
A wearable smart interpreter for the deaf
Ligo, A detachable SmartWatch device capable of interpreting sign language for everyday scenarios that deaf individuals experience. This device would eliminate communication barriers for the deaf community. Using motion detection technology and artificial intelligence, Ligo acts as your personal interpreter for every situation:
• Translating sign language to speech and text
• Interpret speech and audio in real-time
• Pairing with a mobile application for more viewing options and a calling feature
Promotional video about the product
Research
To gain a better understanding of our targetted audience, we created a questionnaire using Google Forms to ask the deaf community what challenges they face and what kind of smart devices they would benefit from. We contacted deaf institutions across North America and received responses that corrected assumptions we had regarding the deaf community and informed us how we ought to address their needs.
Please note, the responses we received were from individuals who can read and write in English. Our responses do not reflect the input of deaf individuals who only know ASL. Moving forward we are will be translating our questionnaire to be accessible to signers to collect their feedback.
Full User Research
Key Takeaways
Through the questionnaire we found that:
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93% of responders have experienced challenges in communicating with hearing individuals.
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With COVID-19 safety measures in place, it makes it difficult for deaf individuals to lip-read and understand read facial expressions with the face masks on
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Hospitals, airports and workplaces are environments that make communications more challenging
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Able bodies find that communication can get too tedious, so they just gave up and communicate less with deaf individuals.
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wish to see better speech to text devices and more close captions.
Analysis
We also created a PACT analysis and a Benchmark Analysis to develop an in-depth insight on different smart devices targetted for the deaf community, what the market is missing and improvements that can be applied to our app and device.
User Personas
We created two user personas of target audiences to help assess how our app and device can help with their needs.
Additional Questions
After conducting research, I formed some additional questions to help with the product ideation process. Some questions include:
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How does the product work in a group setting where multiple people are talking?
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How will the interface work for all the accessibility levels?
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How will this product work when a conversation is not already engaged?
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How to make the 2-part system more efficient/do we need it?
Smart Device Development
After more in-depth research, we began the visual and ideation process, while keeping my targeted audience in mind. We started with listing and prioritizing the main features on the device.
Determining the Features
By taking a look at our user pain points and core needs, we were able to come up with a list of features that includes:
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An artificial intelligence ASL interpreter is visible on the watch face display
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The watch reads sign language through motion-sensing bands
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Translates ASL to English speech through watch speakers
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Messages can be sent to hearing individuals as speech or text via Bluetooth
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Use the mobile application for a larger viewing surface
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Make phone calls in ASL on the mobile app without a video relay system
Product Iterations
Final sketches
Our product ideation phase consisted of our entire team sketching ideas together. To ensure that the product was accessible for the deaf audience, we made sure to ideated within certain constraints. The product had to be comfortable for everyday wear with a large display screen for the AI interpreter to be viewed at a comfortable size. The product also had to be tactile and easily navigated and worn.
After multiple iterations of sketches, as well as receiving feedback from our professors, we collectively finalized our product to a simpler smart-watch design that ultimately targets all of the problems that we wanted to resolve.
Final Render
Mobile App
After solidifying the physical product, we started by prioritizing the core features of the apps and creating context scenarios.
Wireframes
Branding
While building our product concepts we also started with building our brand including colour palette, typography, 3D modelling, and brand values for our product.
With our product designed to target the deaf-blind community, accessibility was our main focus. We wanted to create a straightforward that would make the users feel at ease. We used primary black and white and one accent colour to help identify our brand. We chose a claming blue that also provides the value of security and reliability. We used a standard san serif typeface and followed the accessibility guidelines and use a font size that would be comfortable for our users.
Moodboard for device
Context Scenarios
Promotional Website
About section
Technology behind the device
LIGO
OVERVIEW
Your personal interpreter for every situation
Connect your device to your Phone
seamlessly switch from viewing ASL on your phone to your device
Prototype Link
Learn how to navigate through the app
A walkthrough provided for every new user after connecting Ligo with your phone
Prototype Link
Direct your conversation anywhere
You can use Bluetooth to send your audio to anyone's phone or Bluetooth device.
Prototype Link
Hassle-free calling
You can forget about third-party relay services, Ligo's calling feature interprets your phone calls instantaneously inside the app.
Prototype Link
Every feature tailored just for you
The extensive accessibility features allow you to tailor the app to fit your needs.
Prototype Link
Conclusion
Whilst navigating this 3 month-long project, we ensured our priority was to serve the deaf community the best we could. However, that process came with a lot of learning and unlearning of our own assumptions.
Initially, we were blindsided by our own narrow understanding of the deaf community. After reaching out to users in our target demographic, we were able to gain a clearer understanding of our objectives and thus, empathize better with their needs.
Overall, this project allowed us to further expand our understanding of accessibility within tech. Moving forward, we strive to continuously learn and apply our knowledge to future projects, as well as other aspects of our lives.
Key Takeways
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Empathize with and respect your target audience
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Keep the scope within your target audience’s needs
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Focus on the objectives and key goals
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Correct your assumptions with research
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Connect with your teammates and have a set schedule for meets