Nabi
Wearable Technology and Mobile Application to Protect Abused Children from Harm and Fatality
Made for you,
from the bottom of our broken and healed hearts
Event
Time Frame
Tools
Solo Passion UX Project
May - November 2022
20 Weeks
Figma, Adobe CC, Miro,
SolidWorks, Keyshot,
Arduino, Rhino, Notion
Deliverables
Final Product Design
Physical Demo Prototype
User Interface Prototype
Presentation and Pitch
Problem
The issue of child abuse is becoming increasingly alarming as the number of cases continues to rise.
Sadly, many children suffer injuries or even lose their lives at the hands of their abusers they could not make the report or have clear evidence to prove the abuse.
There are no current self-protection systems for abused children nor urgent child care for children who are exposed to abuse.
Solution
The solution is to create technology that provides real-time check-ups, child monitoring, urgent reports, and healing features.
The technology should collect definite evidence and report and alert the government or CPS as soon as the child is abused.
Nabi is a wearable technology that combines real-time health monitoring, child supervision, reporting, and healing features to protect abused children from harm and potential fatality.
Nabi has a reporting system that has a monitor feature that allows the child’s physical and emotional response could activate AI to determine the abuse situation and report the abuse discreetly.
The report is sent directly to a designated authority, government, or social workers ensuring that action is taken immediately and collect definite evidence.
Get the Highlights
Wearable Technology | Physical Prototype of Nabi
Target Audience: Children in protective custody due to abuse
Mobile Application of Nabi
Target Audience: Government, Child Protect Services, and Social Workers who are in charge of the children under their care.
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Explore the Full story
Justice | Indispensable | Advocate
The word "Nabi" means butterfly and this is what Koreans commonly call stray cats they encounter.
I created this project alongside people who survived child abuse and work hard to combat child abuse for a better future for children. We just want to create and contribute this project to those who feel like they don't belong or have a family or home.
Dear Nabis in the world, this project is made for you. From the bottom of our broken and healed hearts.
Overview
Nabi is a solo UX project that challenged me to create UX project on my own before starting my Senior Capstone project to develop technical solutions that leverage technology, face my understanding of UX design, have a deeper understanding of UX research, and enhance my collaboration skills with professionals in various industries.
This project was under review by the board to be used with wider departments by Child Abuse/ Family Preservation Social Services, The Blue Ribbon Commission for Child Protection, and the Division of Family and Children Services.
I participated in competitions and competed against 200+ teams from design firms, companies, and universities across the world.
The competition concluded with earning of total of 21 awards overall.
Component Breakdown
Physical Prototype
Target Audience: Children who are under CPS care due to child abuse case
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A prototype that provides comfort, customization, sustainability, and message delivery.
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Offers charms for customization.
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Solid flexible material that actively changes color in real time through electrical stimulation.
Features
Temperature detector to detect decreases in resting metabolic rate from a child.
AI Function that interacts, interprets, and comprehends current situations, predicts scenarios and generates reports through patterns of the parent and children.
Considering cultural disparities in responding to child abuse, the algorithm and personalized AI will accurately differentiate abusive situations.
Voice detector to record and collect evidence when AI senses abuse.
Muscle detector to understand the child's body from impact(abuse).
Heart rate/oxygen level detector to determine if the child is hyperventilating.
Blood pressure detectors to detect chronic starvation may lower blood pressure levels if the child’s body is completely devoid of food and water.
Color change function to alert and help caregivers to be aware of unconscious abuse.
This also helps and comfort the child that Nabi is aware of the abuse and ready to help anytime.
Battery Charging
User Interface Prototype
Target Audience: Government, Child Protect Services, and Social Workers who are in charge of the child under their care.
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Able to gather all departments in the surroundings to rescue the child in urgent moments.
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Provide easier, faster, safer options to make quick and correct judgments based on AI's support.
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Able to understand and provide in-depth care to children with digestible graphs and charts to users.
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Generate AI art to understand a child's condition in one look.
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Easy interchange features among the professions (police, firefighters, social services, medicine, lawyers, and more)
Onboarding
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Code represents who is and which occupation is accessing the information/app.
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Shows the child abuse cases around the user's location. Even the children are not under the user's care.
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Shows a score of children's status under the user's care.
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Able to add new children under the user's care.
Location Feature
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Inspired by African Proverbs, "It takes a village to raise a child."
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Shows the child abuse cases around the user's location.
Even the children are not under the user's care.
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Shows the status of who is in need of urgent attention/care and who is already taken care of.
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Shows all departments (police, firefighter, 911) who can help and save the child in nearby surroundings.
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Able to combine all needed departments to save and rescue the child in urgent moments.
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Able to hear the recording of the child's situation.
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Provide easier, faster, safer options to make quick and correct judgments based on AI's support and suggestion.
Care
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A quick way to pair a bracelet with the app for new children users of the prototype.
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Can add the child's safe word which will allow the prototype to activate the microphone to record the situation for later evidence.
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Able to lock and unlock the bracelet
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Able to get alerts when the lock has been disrupted by an external force or the prototype breakes.
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Able to see all the statuses of children under the user's service conveniently in one look with color code.
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Shows the score of the child status (10 out of 10).
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Shows the battery life of the device.
Deeper Care
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Provide scores of child following with the color chart.
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Able to see all the statuses of children under the user's care easily with digestible graphs and charts to users.
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All medical information provides enough to give info to the user and protects the privacy of the child.
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User can send the chart data to professionals for detailed consult.
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Easy interchange features among the professions.
User can send the chart data to professions for detailed consult.
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Professionals who receive the chart will have more detailed data information to diagnose.
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Downloadable feature to save child's data without needing to screenshot the data page.
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Sums up the child's chart and generates the data into AI art to understand a child's condition easily.
Discover
Secondary Research
As a child, experiencing abuse can make you feel powerless, small, and vulnerable. The world can seem like a big and scary place, and all you want is for someone to stand up for you.
As someone who grew up fending for myself from the age of nine, I have seen the devastating impact of child abuse firsthand.
I have spoken with both abusers and victims, attended funeral, courts, and hospital visits, followed up on cases, and witnessed the never-ending cycle of abuse and trauma.
Despite working with NGOs, hospitals, and schools to try and combat this issue, child abuse cases continue to escalate, leaving me with an overwhelming sense of frustration and sadness. As a Senior student in the field of UX design, I knew I had to use my skills to make a difference. I wanted to fight for the children who couldn't fight for themselves, and that is how the Nabi project was born.
The Nabi project aims to address the scourge of child abuse by focusing on cases of abuse, murder, torture, and hate crimes inflicted on innocent children. My focus was on identifying patterns of long-term or repeated abuse and finding ways to gather evidence, particularly from medical records, that could help save children's lives in critical situations while allowing children to stay with their caregivers safely. By detecting signs of abuse early on, we can intervene before it's too late.
The impact of child abuse goes beyond physical harm and can cause severe emotional distress, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Many abusers continue to abuse their victims again and again, perpetuating a cycle of violence that needs to be broken.
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Why does this matter?
1 in 7 children dies of child abuse
6 children die every day due to child abuse
78% Batterers typically abuse the child again
Adult survivors of childhood abuse are more likely to experience chronic mental health difficulties
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The Social and Economic toll is substantial, estimated at $428 billion a year for each country impacting healthcare, productivity, and crimes.
Why does this happen?
Inability to make a report when abuse happens or gets abused
Lack of evidence to get suitable help and investigation
No frequent visits and monitoring from the advocacy center
Types of abuse
Physical Abuse
Verbal Abuse
Sexual Abuse
Neglect Abuse
Mental Abuse
Survivors, what is it like?
As a child, if you get abused, you feel bullied, you feel belittled, and small. Everybody is so big and you are just so small and you want somebody to fight for you. And that feeling of being so powerless...
In addition to injury, was also the stress - stress of being beat everyday, stress of not having any toys, the stress of being ashamed of who you are, the stress of feeling that it’s your fault, being scared everyday.
Why are they doing this to me, is anybody there to protect me, Isn’t anybody there to love me and hold me.
I was most scared of my dad’s yelling. Just the sound of his yelling, I’d start crying. But I loved him. It’s kind of hard to explain.
People don’t understand. They don’t get it. At that age, they can’t do anything.
The doctor said stress atrophy. This means the kid has been under severe emotional and physiological stress for a long time meaning months.
It's not a one-time deal that leads to a child’s death. It is a systematic, progression of torture.
The sheriffs came to the house only listened to the parents and did not even demand to see me. I was the one who was abused and hurt. Why didn’t they see me or hear what I had to say?
Then few months later, I got a broken rib and I a forced to be in a court and sent off to different places to “live”? This is not living. Being treated as trouble and something to deal with. When will my life begin?
Primary Research
Survey
Total of 59 Surveys
Posted on Child Abuse Counseling Reddit and Facebook page Savannah College of Art and Design Students.
Advocacy Center Workers
Government Workers
Child Abuse NGO Workers
Interview
Total of 71 Interviews
1 Journalist who was with the Fernandez trial
2 Lawyer/prosecutors
3 Government Executives
4 Medical Profession
6 Parents
10 Social Workers
8 College Students
37 Children
Contextual Inquiries and Diary Studies
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Memorial Pediatrics Hospital
Tested what wearable tech they would wear in the hospital setting (their most vulnerable settings) and what wearable tech would comfort them when children are in vulnerable mode.
Child Advocacy Center (CASA)
Tested what bracelets they would like to wear.
Made and designed the bracelets together and asked them to wear them as long as they could.
All 5 participants kept wearing bracelets even after 3 weeks.
Coastal Advocacy Center Therapy Sessions
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Center for Safe and Healthy Children
Led the DIY bracelet art therapy sessions.
Logged the outcome and the impact of the DIY bracelets on children.
Observed how bracelets may have comfort and healing effects.
Led the DIY bracelet art therapy session. They were comforted with the bracelet staying with them during the trial, and examination, and adjusting to new and different places when they were removed from their caregivers.
Many found solace in their bracelets, seeking comfort through touching and counting beads even during forensic interviews.
Main Insights from Survey and Interviews
1
Children find the most comfort when they are under the protection of professionals (CPS) while living with their parents.
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Children feel dressed when they are wearing pieces of jewelry and feel part of society when carrying technology (phones, pads. smartwatches).
3
Having a biometric sensor to log and observe stress and emotion levels is important to understand children's condition as they tend to not speak about their abuse experience voluntarily.
4
Sharing medical information with the CPS and government workers who have been authorized for access to health information measured with biometric sensors is fine.
Main Insights from Inquiries and Diary Studies
Children prefer to design their own color and design of the bracelet they will wear long term.
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Out of all the wearable tech options, children preferred to have bracelets to be their comfort jewelry.
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Children wear bracelets long term considering them as a buddy or charm. It becomes something sentimental.
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Define
Synthesis
Data Analysis with Affinitization
Total of 1678 Data Points
54 Catagories
31 Insights created
5 Main Insights confirmed
Main Insights
1
There is a high turnover rate in the system of child advocacy center employment. So children's care lacks detailed attention.
When abuse happens to children there is nothing that can be done to help the situation of abuse.
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Most parents do not acknowledge that they are acting on abuse and children do not acknowledge they are being abused.
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92% of children go through long-term disabilities that affect their adulthood which creates a toxic cycle to their life and the community around them.
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5
The process of collecting evidence is very difficult and long and it delays the steps to keep the child safe and investigate the abuse case.
How Might We
How might we save children when they are in a place or situation they cannot get help.
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How might we save children from severe abuse happening at the moment.
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How might we help children or abusers acknowledge the abuse.
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How might we break the chain of toxic cycle of child abuse.
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How might we record the evidence more effectively and help professionals investigate more efficiently.
5
5 Whys
🤯
Why?!
Innocent children are dying due to child abuse
No help system for child abuse during the abuse happening in private settings such as home.
Abusers mostly do not acknowledge that they are abusing the child
🤬
Why...
There is no third eye to monitor abuse and the child is unable to report the abuse and escape to a safer condition
😤
Why??
Despite the continuous report of child abuse, due to a lack of evidence of the child abuse, the investigation could never be taken further or seriously.
😱
WHY
😭
Why!!
There is no system that oversees the private settings of child abuse.
Solution: Make a close monitoring system for abused children even in private settings to help log evidence, allow children to protect themselves, and help third parties to secure the children in urgent abused situations.
What could Nabi do?
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Platform and Device that could report as soon as the abuse occurs
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The system that can collect definite evidence
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Monitor feature that alerts government or CPS about child abuse more effectively
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Bring safety and comfort to children at all times.
Develop
Final Design Solution
Journey of Ideation to Implementation
User Persona
User Journey
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Total of 4.5 weeks of Ideation, Evaluations, and Ideas along with design research to deliver successful outcomes of design opportunities.
Total of 5.5 weeks of User Testings along with 3 terms of continuous stages of Build, Test, Iterate.
16 User Testings for App Prototype
17 User Testings for Physical Prototypes
9 UX Designers
3 Advertising and Graphic Designers
4 Social Workers
13 Children under the age 15
4 UX Designers
Imformation Architecture
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Low Fidelity
Mid Fidelity
Physical Prototype User Testing
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Result of User Testing (Physical Prototype):
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75% return rate. Children continued to wear the prototype.
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The remaining 25% were cases where the prototype was damaged.
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Children came back with prototype colored or stickers attached (customization).
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Children tend to wash the prototype when they wash their hands.
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They unconsciously squeeze, scratch, and touch the prototype.
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Found comfort in anxious or feared situations (in court, counseling sessions, and interviews).
You may ask:
🤔
🧐
Why do the children have to wear the prototype?
Can't the abusers wear them?
🤨
👀
😲
Glad you asked!
The common mistake social workers made was that they listened to and for the parents.
We need to hear and empathize with the children's perspective of how the abuse was.
After interviewing parents and children, the latter sought protection and validation, experiencing mainly fear and a desire for rescue during abuse, in contrast to parents feeling multiple feelings (anger, regret, fear, excitement, the rush of adrenaline, etc..)
In addition to secondary research, user experiences have substantiated that wearables provide comfort, boost self-confidence, facilitate self-expression, possess healing and connecting capabilities, and contribute to advancing personal intentions.
🤩
Isn't it remarkable how the combination of thorough research and user-centered design can unveil unexpected outcomes and deliver better solutions?
Deliver
Final Design Solution
Design Ideology for Nabi
The Comfort, Customization, Sustainability, and Message Delivery through design ideology influenced the design of Nabi by prioritizing accessibility, human factors, and aesthetic appeal, resulting in a sleek, fun, and intuitive design that promotes a sense of belonging and comfort for children.
Message Delivery
Implement the inspiration of the Design Goals to the design.
Justice | Indispensable | Advocate
Discovery
Design
Develop
Paper
Leather
EVA Foam
Deploy
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Sustainability
Safe and sustainable material for the physical prototype
Self-Healing Polymeric Composite Material
After damage, the research showed the material attached itself.
Two Contradictory Properties at the Same Time
Ultimate Tensile Strength
Biodegradable Polyurethane
Low toxicity
When external friction or shock occurs, the molecular bonds of the material quickly become solid, protecting itself from impact, and recovering damage by returning to a soft state (jelly) free of molecular movement after impact.
Can withstand twist or pull with hands, or even hang 10kg of weights.
Made with fish oil extracted from fish heads, bones, intestines and shells.
Inflammation tests show that this could widely be used for newborns to children products.
Comfort
Adjustable size and increase support through technology embedded to physical prototype
Size Adjustable
Fixated Part
Positive (Link)
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The size is adjustable by pressing the diamond button to release the parts.
Clip
Tenon (Insert)
Negative (Link)
Mortise
(Opening)
Technology
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Chip with Sensors
Battery
Microphone
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Heart Rate
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EMG Sensor
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Blood Pressure
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Body Temperature
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LED Light to notify chip's location and battery life
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Speech Recognition technology and AI activate a command
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AI tech discerns the speaker's voice and words to decide on voice recording activation for gathering abuse evidence
Embedded sensor board Top View
Based on User Testing,
Users washing Nabi was observed.
So I designed to put a sensor board inside the prototype.
Electro Variable Photo Crystalline Structure
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Through sensors and microphone,
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AI is recognized and delivered, changing the color of the device.
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Alert and help caregivers and children to be aware of unconscious abuse.
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Give comfort to the children that the help is here and Nabi knows the child's situation.
Solid flexible material that actively changes color in real time through electrical stimulation.
Customization
Children found a profound sense of uniqueness and belonging through custom wearables.
Moreover, I aimed to alleviate any discomfort children might encounter while wearing the 'Nabi' device, enabling them to become familiar and comfortable with their customized device.
Original Nabi
Nabi with Charms
The diamond button that releases the parts of the bracelet to adjust size can also be a Stud for attaching charms.
All charms have a Tube to be attached to Nabi
this is what life looks like with
Nabi
Nabi ensures you receive the justice you deserve to have a chance to rebuild your life.
Nabi is a powerful advocate of your rights
Nabi is indispensable for you on your journey to healing and recovery.
Justice | Indispensible | Advocate
Made for you,
from the bottom of our broken and healed hearts
Retrospect
What I learned
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Gaining insights from your target audience is a guiding light in design.
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Their needs might differ from what you envision, so humility is key.
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Don't assume your initial solution holds all the answers.
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Gathering data for sensitive topics is more feasible than you might think, given the hunger for systemic change.
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Contextual inquiries and diary studies can unveil invaluable insights, especially when aligned with testing objectives.
Takeaways
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I aspire to explore a technology that assists children in identifying the specific body parts where abuse occurred. During interviews, I noticed that children struggled to identify and articulate the body parts that had been harmed.
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The customization concept received abundant positive feedback, motivating me to explore even more captivating and interactive ideas for future prototypes I will design.
Special Thanks to
Coastal Children’s Advocacy Center
Division of Family and Children Services
Child Protective Services
Brightside Child & Family Advocacy
Success for Children and Families, Inc.
Child Protection Center | Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
The Blue Ribbon Commission for Child Protection
Savannah College of Art and Design and CS3 (Bee Well)
Child Advocacy Center (CASA)
Babies Can't Wait Assessment
Los Angeles Times
Samsung Medical Center
Asan Medical Center
Memorial Pediatrics Hospital
Deputy District Attorney
Morgan & Morgan Law Firm
"Your project's commitment to addressing child abuse is deeply moving. I've never encountered a designer who not only reached out to me but also brought forth a sense of hope in tackling such a tragic issue as child abuse. Your work instills hope for a brighter, safer future and consolation to those who survived. Your dedication to making a lasting impact is both admirable and heartwarming."
"When I first heard your pitch, all I could think of was how creative and innovative project you are creating. Witnessing the substantial progress you've made since then brings tears to my eyes, filled with hope for a better future, for both rescuing children and illuminating their path towards healing. Your astounding work, Michell!"
Mandy Roberts | CASA Advocacy Director
Brightside Child & Family Advocacy
Mandy Roberts | CASA Advocacy Director
Brightside Child & Family Advocacy
"The way you're using your design talent and technology to empower children in understanding and addressing this sensitive issue is commendable. Your efforts are a significant step towards creating a safer and more supportive environment for our youngest generation.
I truly thank you for pointing out the flaw and considering the overwork of Social Services and creating the solution for us too"
Laurie Kaler| Program Director
Georgia Division of Family and Children Services
Thank you
If you suspect a child is being abused, call your local child abuse hotline