Designed with Our Students in Mind.
Welcome Gift Re-Design
Case Study
Opportunity
As UX Design students, our first major design project tasked us to re-design a welcome gift concept meant for new Full-Stack Development Students at Prime Digital Academy.
I had the chance to work through the entire design process from concept development and research, up to client presentation.
Challenge
There are endless possible gift ideas that could be chosen. This project’s objective is focused on designing a gift that is meaningful.
In addition, it should be a gift that Prime’s other stakeholders like staff or sponsors feel is a worthy investment that supported the organization’s mission.
I sought to develop a welcome gift idea that had utility and aligned with Prime’s core values.
Role
Role: UX Designer / UX Researcher
Tools & Programs: Figma, Keynote, PowerPoint, Audio transcription tools
Method
Participant Observations
Heuristic Analysis
Data Synthesizing
Design Conceptualization
Physical Prototyping
Student Evaluations
Client Presentation
Results
Enter the Portable Dual Monitor: a lightweight monitor that can be attached to any laptop and transform one screen into dual screens.
This concept would not only be useful for students while coding but also displays Prime’s willingness to invest in their students and even foster collaboration outside of the classroom setting.
Evaluation interviews revealed greater insight into student values and highlighted the positive benefits students saw in a Portable Dual Monitor gift.
Process
What Do Students Find Valuable?
It’s difficult to know where to begin when scraping the old idea and coming up with an entirely new concept. However, just like choosing a gift for someone you love, it all begins with an intention.
We want people to enjoy their gifts! Whether it’s looks or use, we want the recipient to benefit from the gift.
So, how do we know if they’ll benefit? Well, we must first understand their needs and wants.
Previous gift example:
impersonal & potentially impractical water bottle
Through student observations, interactions, and evaluations, here are a few key take aways about student values and experience:
Prime is a fast-paced learning environment
On the first day on campus, students are already learning new coding languages!
They’re jumping into projects and managing assignment schedules
Shared Spaces
If students are not in the classroom, they are in the Commons chatting about class and life with their peers.
“Everything is on my laptop”
3 out of 3 evaluated students stated that their laptops were essential when thinking about their day.
Second were items that provided them comfort like fidget spinners, a warm shirt, and a water bottle to help them stay alert and focused.
Unfamiliar Territory
All 3 students were from different cohorts at different stages of the journey.
However, each student voiced being new to coding and full-stack engineering before joining Prime.
All stated their desire to “start something new” as a reason why they joined Prime.
Student Evaluations
Prime’s Commons Space
Design Concepts - How Did I Develop the Idea?
Practicality and collaboration. Those are the two common themes that informed my choices throughout the entire design process.
New gift proposal Figma mockup:
a useful dual monitor with consideration about student life
Out of the 3 concepts I produced and presented to my fellow UX design peers, the dual monitor garnered the most interest.
Laptop stand w/ power bank
Portable dual monitor
Health tracking bracelet
UX students voting on concept designs
On a scale of 1 to 5 on “Likeliness to use a dual monitor is provided one” all ratings were high.
While Student B did not presently find dual monitors very useful, he stated his desire to practice using them because he valued the potential benefits.
All 3 students voiced the benefits of dual monitors in providing “more space” to see everything, being “less hassle”, and making work much quicker.
1 being “would never use one” ——— 5 being “would use whenever possible”
Chosen design concepts were then further developed through physical prototyping.
Prototypes were then used during evaluations with Full-stack students
Completed dual monitor mock prototype
Prototyping at Leonardo’s Basement Maker space
Quantitative Findings
On a scale of 1 to 5 on “Usefulness of dual monitors” the majority of students rated them as 4 out 5.
Student B mentioned his unfamiliarity with dual monitors which caused him confusion when using one in class.
Student A & Student B noted they were very comfortable with using dual monitors at home and work prior to joining Prime.
1 being “not useful at all” ——— 5 being “essential to complete tasks”
Dual monitors would be an asset to Full Stack Engineering students not only while learning at Prime but also in their future field of work where working with multiple screens is an industry standard.
”It is going to be way easier to work quickly”
- Student B
Major Takeaways
Next Steps
Based on discoveries about the portable dual monitor’s usability and practicality I have two major recommendations moving forward.
Conduct more evaluative research on the student body’s sense of community and potential to collaborate in shared spaces.
Develop and trial run a dual monitor rental/sign-out program that allows students to borrow portable dual monitors for use inside and outside Prime Digital Academy premises.
Conclusion
Portable dual monitors as a welcome gift would be a greater monetary investment for the Prime Digital Academy, but it would also have the potential for long-term benefits not only for the learning experience by helping students work efficiently and honing their coding skills, but also in over student morale.
Prime would be able to showcase its own core values of Inclusion, Empathy, Community, Collaboration, and Positivity by providing students with such tools that not all have easy access to on their own. The benefits go beyond learning and can build up a sense of trust, confidence, and support that students will carry with them as they step into their future lives as Prime graduates.
