DESIGN FOR AMERICA
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AVALON HOUSING
THE CHALLENGE
Make a positive impact on the shared living experience of the residents at Avalon Housing by designing a product deliverable.
MY TEAM
I was part of a Design For America project team that partnered with Avalon Housing. We conducted user research, did in-house visits, empathy mapped, sketched, and created prototypes.
BACKGROUND
Avalon Housing is a non-profit org in Ann Arbor that provides affordable housing and support services to the local homeless community. Our team partnered with the org to conduct a design challenge where we identified the needs of the residents at Ashley House and designed a deliverable that would meet at least one of those needs.
THE PROCESS
Discover
Define
Ideate
Refine
Build
USER RESEARCH
Members of our team visited Ashley House and conducted fields interviews to find out the frustrations, motivations, and goals related to the residents' living experiences.
Interview Questions:
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What do you use the space for? What are some common activities that you do in the space?
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What are some things that you like/dislike about the space and why?
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What are the major problems you've faced while interacting within this common space?
MAJOR FINDINGS
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The main uses of the common living area are: sitting, watching TV, playing video games.
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All of the furniture in the living room was donated (used condition) and has defects that affect its functionality.
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The furniture is hard to maintain, because spillages occur often.
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The residents have mental and physical disabilities that affect the comfort and usability of the furniture.
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Falling is a common problem among the residents.
PERSONAS
USER PERSONA #1
TONY
Age: 26
Interests: Playing video games, basketball
Status: Single, unemployed
Pain Points:
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Often falls over furniture when he comes home after drinking
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Couches are uncomfortable to play video games on for long periods of time
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Complaints about bodily fluids staining the couch
Goals:
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Wants new, more comfortable furniture
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Wants to invite friends over to play video games
USER PERSONA #2
Age: 70
Interests: Reading, playing chess, watching TV
Status: Widowed, retired
Pain Points:
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Has a hard time sitting on couch because it hurts to bend down
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Difficulty moving around furniture with walker
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Thinks the younger residents don't take good care of the shared space
Goals:
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Wants more privacy
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Wants a comfortable place to watch TV in the living room
MARK
AFFINITY MAPPING
PROBLEM STATEMENT
How can we design a product that makes the living room furniture more accommodating of the Ashley House residents' needs ?
DESIGN GOALS: Couch Cover
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Spill-proof/waterproof
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Nylon or plastic material (washable)
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Outdoor furniture material
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Fits various-sized couches
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Install in parts (per seat)
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"Push up bra" - removable foam inserts
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Raise height of couch seat
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More comfortable + supportive
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Easy installation
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Zipper/elastic band (like mattress cover)
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Velcro straps under that secure placement
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ITERATE
BUILD
* I was not there during the actual building process, but my team created a prototype couch cover, which they tested on one of the couches at Ashley House.
Measures of Success:
Short-term
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Avalon staff can easily install product and it fits correctly
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Residents willingly keep couch cover on for two weeks
Medium-term
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Staff successfully cleans up 100% of spills without damage to couch and clean time reduced by 50%
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100% increase in resident use of couch/common space, increase from 3 to 6 residents
Long-term
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Couch life is extended for year and health of residents maintained
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Couch cover utilized in 20% or more of Avalon properties
Throughout the course of this project, I was exposed to what UX research looks like in practice in a project-setting and learned about how important a user-centered design process is, especially when working on community impact projects. I'm excited to see how this project experience will shape and inform my future endeavors in UX.
CONCLUSION