Registered Graphic Design (RGD) Awards 2024
Project Management, Content Lead and Strategist
Safely
Synopsis
Situation
With the increase of reported street incidents, the residents in Toronto, Canada, feel unsafe when walking home alone. This leaves them with limited alternatives which impacts their mobility and quality of life.
Goal
Provide a user-centric solution to address mobility concerns of Toronto Residents when walking alone.
Challenge
We had all these great ideas for our prototype but there was a limit on the number of slides we could submit . Now, it was all about great strategic planning on how to create impactful content in less than 6 slides.
Exposition
Empathizing with the User
I moved to Canada – a much more walkable city compared to the Philippines last December 2023. I thought I would finally be able to commute more freely. However, 6 months in, I still felt unsafe.
Besides me, here are the numbers that shows this is a problem worth solving:
Who is this for?
Given the short period of preparation, the team was still able to define a persona — Joy.
Rising Action
Defining the Problem
And just like with every great story – a conflict arises.
With understanding the unique frustrations of our protagonist, the team arrived with the problem statement “How can we empower individuals to travel from destination A to B with confidence, so that we can provide support for them to arrive at their destination safely?
By identifying this problem, the team goes on a quest to find a solution to seamlessly integrate technology, information and community and provide users a better and safer walking experience.
The Climax
Ideation Process
In this phase, the team and I began to collaborate on content as a conversation. This process allows content to be a two-way dialogue between the product and audience.
Proposed Solution
We've struck gold! After a productive brainstorming journey, we uncovered the following application functions.
Customized User Walking Journey: Plan a route that fits your needs and choose the most recommended route depending on preferences. This feature helps users reach their destination safely by guiding them along predetermined safe paths.
Real-Time Location Updates to Contacts: The app provides real-time updates on the user’s location to selected contacts. This ensures that friends or family are informed about the user’s whereabouts for added safety.
Community-Driven Safety Updates: Users can share real-time updates with the community about the safety of certain areas. This is done through the app by scanning QR codes, which allows users to report if an area feels safe or unsafe.
Access to Emergency Resources: The app offers resources and guidance on what actions to take during street emergencies. Users can quickly learn self-defense techniques or find information on how to handle various situations.
Record Real-Time Incidents: Record an incident and automatically store proof in your camera.
Shaping the narrative
Now, we dive into the protagonist's story! To map out their experience with our platform, we created a use case and let her interaction unfold.
After a long day at work, Joy is excited to go home. However, the TTC is not working after 11 and there is a long waiting line for the bus. She opens her “Safely” app instead.
The Resolution
Executing the Prototype
Out of 1165 entries from 450 students representing 40 different schools across Canada, I’m thrilled to share that our project “Safely” received 2 “Honorable Mentions” under the Information Design and UX Design Categories.
Project Takeaway
This project highlighted the importance of starting content planning with “well, if I was walking home alone and had a safe walking app, what type of information would I want and need?”. Understanding the user’s perspective is crucial to gain beyond surface-level observations. We avoid assumptions and we actually enhance user experience by creating relevant solutions.