Hidden Senses
Creating Opportunities for Everyone
Overview
In a 5.5-week period, I led a team of six (three graphic designers and three UX designers) to design a product solution addressing social inclusivity and peer relationships between children with disabilities and their peers.
Product
Hidden Senses (Sensory Match Gaming Prototype)
Timeline
5.5 Weeks
My Role
Project Manager
Skills
Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research
Crazy-8 Rapid Ideation
Project Management
Tools
Figma
Blender
Adobe Photoshop
FigJam
Problem
Isolation vs Inclusion
Despite inclusive policies and programs like IDEA and IEPs, research revealed that a significant percentage of children with disabilities still experience social isolation.
36%
Children spoke to feeling isolated during recess
25%
Children spoke to feeling isolated during recess
This isolation negatively impacts their well-being and development. Our project aimed to explore design solutions that foster greater social inclusion and create equitable opportunities for all children
Goal
To create a functional prototype demonstrating the potential of our solution, laying the foundation for future development of a product to improve the social and emotional well-being of children with disabilities.
Research
Bridging Inclusion & Peer Relationships
To further understand the what causes isolation for children with disabilities, we conducted qualitative
and quantitative research that revealed to us:
Key Findings
USER SURVEYS
Survey analysis of educators revealed significant social
isolation among children with disabilities during recess, linked to a lack of
inclusive activities.
OPINIONS OF IMPACT FROM IDEA AND IEP
Research suggests that Individualized Education Programs (lEPs) may not fully ensure inclusion across all curricular areas. As one participant from our user survey noted, "Simply placing students together isn't enough for true inclusion."
SOCIAL & EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Child development research highlighted the critical role of early childhood experiences in social-emotional development, particularly from ages 7-11, a critical stage for building self-confidence.
Based on these findings, we targeted our design for children aged 7+, recognizing this critical stage for building self-confidence. Due to time constraints, we focused on physical disabilities, intending to expand to other disabilities in future product iterations.
Challenges
The tight project deadline presented a significant challenge. To mitigate this, we prioritized key tasks in the UX design process, enabling us to develop a user-centered solution within the timeframe. This constraint influenced our decision to focus on delivering a functional prototype as a foundation for future development and user testing.
Process
Ideation Process
Kick-Off Brainstorming
Individual brainstorming sessions (2 concepts per individual).
Crazy-Eights Rapid Ideation
Round 1 of Crazy Eight rapid ideation.
Priority Matrix
2 rounds of priority matrices to simplify iterations even further and understanding iterations that could be high value for users.
Round 1 of priority Matrix with initial ideas
Round 2 of priority Matrix
Voting Workshop
A voting workshop was conducted in Figjam to determine whether
to focus on Recess or Lunchtime as our primary setting based on our research.
Narrowing Concepts based on Previous voting feedback
Led a 2 hour meeting to discuss and narrow ideas from the Voting Workshop.
Final Ideation
We developed a "Disability Awareness Kit" for accessibility and inclusivity. Although we initially intended to cover a wide range of physical disabilities, time constraints led us to focus specifically on visual, mobility, and hearing impairments.
Prototype
Concept sketches were created based on our final concept meeting, with brief experimental mockups to visualize the kit's real-world application.
Key Decisions
SIMPLICITY
The kit further focuses on one physical disability, with plans to expand to other disabilities in future iterations.
SIZE-TESTING
Two designs based on different box sizes, considering portability and ease of transport.
ACCESSIBILITY & BUDGET FRIENDLY MATERIALS
Accessible and budget-friendly materials for the kit contents and container, while also considering overall production costs.
Major Pivot
Mock Stakeholder feedback raised concerns that our product might be perceived as solely "educational", limiting it's use in a non-academic setting. This promoted a pivot, transforming our "awareness kit" instead into a "Sensory Match" game to increase versatility for both academic and non-academic environments.
Solution
Hidden Senses | sensory matching game
SENSORY MATCHING GAME
Children exchange items hidden from view, relying on smell and/or sound to match them with another student's item.
INCLUSIVE PLAY
The game encourages inclusive play by allowing children with and without disabilities to participate together on equal footing.
SIMPLIFIED AND PORTAL GAME DESIGN
Accessible and budget-friendly materials for the kit contents and container, while also considering overall production costs.
PERSONALIZATION
Children can personalize their game experience by swapping items.
Accessibility Features
NON-VISUAL FOCUS
The core gameplay mechanic relies on smell and sound, making it accessible to children with visual impairments.
AUDITORY CUES
Clear and distinct sounds are incorporated for matching and engagement, with consideration for adjustable volume or alternative auditory options.
Conclusion
This prototype represents the first step in a broader vision: a line of inclusive games designed for all children, regardless of disability. While we aspire to create games accessible to everyone, this initial prototype focuses primarily on addressing the needs of children with visual impairments.
It serves as a starting point for a family of games designed to be increasingly inclusive and accessible to all children, directly responding to the need for more diverse and accessible activities. Future iterations will explore and address the needs of children with other disabilities, expanding access to play alongside their peers.
Lessons
Learned
LIMITED USER FEEDBACK
The limited user testing in this project highlighted the critical need for incorporating user feedback throughout the design process.
OVERLY AMBITOUS PROJECT SCOPE
Our initial goal of creating a universally accessible product for all disabilities proved overly ambitious within the project's constraints.
FURTHER COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
A more thorough Competitor analysis should have been conducted earlier in the project to avoid potential last-minute pivots.
TEAM COMMUNICATION
While team collaboration was strong, I learned that consistent and proactive communication was essential for ensuring everyone stayed on the project timeline and was well informed.
