HandHold
Project: HandHold
Supporting adults in their journey to re-learn how to write.
Capacity: MICA School Capstone Project (8 Weeks Total)
Role(s): UX Research, UX Design, UI Design
HandHold
Dr. Smith’s Tasks for You
9:41
Wed Jan 27
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Goals
Writing
Exercise
Settings
HandHold
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Goals
Writing
Exercise
Settings
20
Minutes of Exercise
20
Minutes of Writing
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Exercise
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Let’s Write!
Home
Goals
Writing
Exercise
Settings
20
Minutes of Writing
Custom Names
Barbara
Buttorf
Let’s Write!
WALK THROUGH THE COMPLETE PRODUCT
10 million
An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from essential tremor. (IETF)
15 million
Annually, 15 million people worldwide suffer a stroke. Of these, 5 million are left permanently disabled. (WHO)
4-10 million
Carpal tunnel impacts 4 to 10 million Americans, according to the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
Project Background:
Challenge:
Many adults struggle with their handwriting at some point in their adulthood. It may be due to lack of practice, injury, an essential tremor, stroke, or carpal tunnel. There is a need for an app that specifically caters to adults who need to improve their handwriting and strength through practice, repetition, and fine motor skill strengthening activities.
1 in 3 people in a 2012 study had difficulty reading their handwriting. More than half noticed their handwriting declining with age. 67% of 18 – 24 year olds thought theirs was above average, compared to 43% for 35-44 year olds.(PenHeaven)
In a 2018 survey of 2,000 adults 45% of people struggle to figure out their own handwriting (StudyFinds)
81% of Americans consider a handwritten note to feel more meaningful than email or text, with millennials, surprisingly, leading the pack. (SWNS)
TOP 5 PLACES HANDWRITING IS MISUNDERSTOOD:
Shopping list (27%)
Note to colleague (27%)
Note to partner (22%)
Birthday card (21%)
Thank you note (19%)
How might we design adaptive and personalized tools or methods that empower adults to confidently re-engage with the art of writing?
Goal:
I want to design a product for adults that will provide some of the tools and resources that they would need to be able to relearn or strengthen their writing abilities. I seek to do this by enabling them to complete occupational therapy exercises and writing practice independently and in the comfort of their own home. I want this application to also motivate users by tracking their goals, motivations, milestones, and overall progress.
Outcome:
HandHold. A sophisticated, easy to use app that focuses on accessibility, positive reinforcement, goal setting, occupational therapy, and writing exercises.
Process
Research:
Prior to the ideation process, I conducted market research along with competitive analysis.
Screenshots
Ratings
N/A
3.9/5
4.5/5
4.1/5
3.3/5
Pricing /month
N/A
12.99- 8.99
2.99/month
24.99/year
14.99/half year
Free
Free
Strengths
Large font and buttons for visually impaired users
Provides exercises to strengthen muscles
Goal Setting and reminders available
Exemplar always available
Background about history of writing
Discusses different types of handwriting
Finger and stylus options
encouraging
audio feedback when you trace correctly
Give you a rating on how well you did on each letter as you go
You can print hard copies
Allows you to share what you wrote on social media
Responsive feedback and rating
Weaknesses
No immediate feedback
Limited number of fonts
No interactive features
Black and white only
No personalization
Misleading payment process
Advanced features have to be unlocked with no ability to skip forward
Have to zoom in on small text each time you open an activity
You must correctly trace a letter before you can move forward and it g;itches at times
Limited practice options (only singular letters, numbers, or 5 letter words)
Very laggy
Downloads
N/A
N/A
800 thousand users. 2 thousand downloads in past 30 days.
830 thousand total downloads. 340 downloads per day in past 30 days.
190 thousand total downloads. 62 downloads in past 30 days.
Features
Custom Text
Light/Dark Mode
Left Hand Setting
Interactive Feedbck
The current solutions on the market were designed for users to practice writing. There were limited products made specifically for stroke survivors, however there are printed books available on Amazon which indicated that there is a demand for a product like HandHold.
I was able to identify 3 main areas that I can focus on to fill the current gap in the market.
Goal Setting and Tracking
The ability to track and document the goals of both the user as well as the goals set by their occupational therapist.
Accessibility
HandHold will be made for both right and lefthand users. It will also feature large text and buttons to make it more user friendly for visually impaired users and those who may have weaker manual dexterity,
Collaboration
There is an opportunity to provide a service to users who are participating in occupational therapy and want to continue to practice their exercises at home by completing assignments, sharing progress, and sending notes about pain points.
Ethnographic Study
I conducted a series of user interviews with occupational therapists, stroke survivors, individuals who disliked their handwriting, and individuals who had suffered injuries that impacted their writing abilities.
In an effort to gain more qualitative information, I designed and distributed a survey.
Based on this research I was able to construct my value proposition canvas and my user personas
I made the decision to focus on a stroke survivor as my main user persona because of the three main users I am designing for, they have the greatest need for ease and accessibility.
As you can see in the below user journey map, our user is struggling with writing and with occupational therapy exercises at home. It is challenging for them to remember what to do and how exactly to do it. It is also easy to give up and lose motivation when working on their own.
Actions
Recuperate from stroke
Medical documents
Start occupational therapy
Practice at home
Signs name
Doing
Being educated about life post stroke, getting to know body and identifying which abilities were impacted
Tries to fill out medical forms, but she is unable to use her dominant arm and has never used her left.
Completing OT exercises during visits, but mainly focused on larger muscle groups.
Tries to relearn to write by practicing on paper at home. She gets frustrated and has a hard time working consistently.
She is able to sign her name and soon she will be able to write a letter.
Thinking
“I wonder if things will be able to go back to normal...but I’m grateful that I survived”
“I don’t want to be reliant on my daughter to do this.”
“Things are getting better, but I wish it would speed up”
“This is ridiculous, I want to give up.”
“I did it!
Feeling
good
Bad
Design Process:
Ideation:
I started the design process by planning out my information architecture. I wanted to be able to see the fill breadth of what the product I was designing would need. Next, I identified my red routes and started to sketch out each of the necessary pages. I realized that it was not feasible for me to design both the practitioner and the patient view of the app, so I made the decision to focus more on the patient view.
Prototyping:
Round 1:
After I defined my red routes I created crazy 8 sketches and started to design a low fidelity wireframe.
I shared my work with my peers in critiques and group discussions. I received helpful feedback, and I was able to make some changes. I based these changes on not only the feedback that my design received, but also based on some of the things I saw in the work of my peers.
Round 2:
Critique:
Increase the weight of text to make it easier to read.
Consider adding some form of gamification to make it more engaging.
Add a progress bar to the activities so that users can come back and finish incomplete tasks.
Darken the color scheme to make it more sophisticated.
Round 3:
Critique:
Change orientation.
Get rid of extra location header.
Rebuild navigation bar to make it easier to read.
Add scrolling indicators to pages that are scrollable.
Change the graphic images to be more classic and recognizable based on the age of the users.
Eliminate the check-in at the end of the videos as it is not detailed enough.
After getting feedback on this iteration, I spent time discussing my design with another designer and made the decision to adjust my color scheme to make it brighter and to feel more relaxed.
Round 4:
For my final iteration, I conducted another round of user testing with 5 new participants between the ages of 35 and 70. It brought a few things to my attention that I would like to change in the future.
Critique:
Reword the "custom" word button
Add pop-ups for future goals on. theuser journey.
Consider adding sound cues to make it more fun and engaging.
Visual Design
I knew when I decided on this project that the visual design would be dictated by the vision and abilities of my users. My entire design is based on large button sizes, easy to read text, and soft curves throughout.
My color scheme includes a blue, yellow, and pink/orange as my secondary colors. I only use those brighter colors when there is something very important or urgent happening because I want the app to be very relaxing. I went with this play on the primary colors because it calls back school and the excitement of being in class learning something new.
I researched which fonts are the most universally easy to read and chose Lato because it has a high x-height, tall/thin letters, and tight spacing. I used the Able plugin to consistently check my contrast ratio and ensure that the text was easy to read.
I researched which fonts are the most universally easy to read and chose Lato because it has a high x-height, tall/thin letters, and tight spacing.
Outcome:
I researched, designed, tested, and iterated to finally create a high-fidelity prototype that successfully walks the user through the three most important features of the HandHold application. This application provides guided exercises, the ability to set and track progress and goals, as well as providing a place to practice writing. This app is not meant to be in the lives of my users forever, but rather I want users to use it until they meet their goal and then go on to write independently.
As you can see in the updated user journey map, the user is encouraged to complete exercises and practice writing at home and is happier in occupational therapy. The user also reaches another milestone in a shorter period of time because of all of the work they have done.
Actions
Recuperate from stroke
Medical documents
Start occupational therapy
Practice at home
Signs name and Ties Shoes
Doing
Being educated about life post stroke, getting to know body and identifying which abilities were impacted
Tries to fill out medical forms, but she is unable to use her dominant arm and has never used her left.
Complete OT exercises and is introduced to HandHold which lets her practice on a schedule each day.
Uses HandHold to practice writing, completing exercises, and tracking her progress.
She is able to sign her name and tie her shoes because of her increased dexterity and motorskills.
Thinking
“I wonder if things will be able to go back to normal...but I’m grateful that I survived”
“I don’t want to be reliant on my daughter to do this.”
“If I work hard at home and in OT I know tha I can meet my goals!”
“I look at HandHold and see my motivation and know I can do it”
“I did it! I can’t wait to meet my next goal!”
Feeling
good
Bad
What the users had to say:
"As an older person I love the fonts and the simplicity of it" - Brian (65)
"I like seeing my face as I move along- I see a little package or envelope. I want to see what is in there for me" - Renee (47)
"This is the first time I have had an app made specifically for me [as a left-handed user]" -Connie (30)
Final Thoughts:
Challenges:
Trying to create a sophisticated and visually appealing app that needs to be easy for users with vision and motor skill impairments.
My solution: I spent a lot of time meeting with both users and other designers to research and ultimately decide on my color scheme, font, and large button sizes. I limited extra decorations and details to keep the screen from feeling overfilled or cluttered.
It was very hard to find willing participants for user testing based on my customer segment.
My solution: I reached out to my network and joined reddit and facebook groups. I also reached out to leaders in my local community that were able to connect me with stroke survivors who were willing to meet with me. It was an extremely rewarding experience and it made the purpose of my project feel all the more important.
Prototyping the interactive drawing features.
My solution: I was able to focus those animated pieces selectively to adequately test the design and the functionality without going over on my timeline or neglecting other aspects of the design.
Next Steps:
I want to design the practitioner side of this application. I have worked out the information architecture, but have not considered the way that the formatting and font size may need to be different in order to fit all of the necessary information. I am curious if they would prefer to have it on a tablet, phone, or desktop.
I would like to design and test the onboarding process. I believe that it would be an important step for some users, though I designed this iteration with the thought that the occupational therapist would introduce the application during a scheduled visit.