Define Role & Contribution

Team

• Radya ( Lead Designer ) - Me

• Rivian ( Video Editor, Branding )

• Nando ( Lead Developer )

• Bayu ( Developer )

• Jevon ( Developer )

• Jojo ( Developer )

• Gery ( Project Manager )

Timeline

3 Months - Q4 2023

Industry

Education, Health, iPad App, iOS

Main Responsibilites

As a Lead Designer, my role is to organize the backlog for the entire design team and set goals for each ongoing sprint. I also act as UI/UX designer and illustrator for the tickets I work on.

Brainstorm & Desk Research

Challenge Refined

We spent about a month doing desk research and going through several iterations for the product we wanted to create. Eventually we came across AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication Tools), which are tools designed for non-verbal children with special needs to help them communicate.

Unfortunately, current augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools have some drawbacks:

• Expensive : These tools can be expensive and may not be affordable to all groups in need.

• Less Indonesian context : The available AAC applications, while fairly well known, lack sufficient Indonesian context.

• Less accessible : Not all AAC tools are suitable for children with special needs due to insufficient accessibility features.

  
  

To deepen our understanding, we conducted field research at Yayasan Sayap Ibu Bintaro and Rainbow Castle Clinic in Jakarta. We identified the following target users.

Target User

Khaled - User

• Demography : 12-year-old teenager at Yayasan Sayap Ibu.

• Background : Khaled has cerebral palsy, low vision, and a speech disorder.

• Location : Yayasan Sayap Ibu, Bintaro, Indonesia 

  
  

• Needs: An effective way to communicate what he wants or needs from others.

• Motivations : Striving for improved independence and effective communication. 

• Frustrations : Difficulties in articulating clear verbal expressions, leading to challenges in expressing desires and needs effectively.

  
  

dr. Adilla Hikma Zakiati SpKFR - Practitioner

• Demography : Spesialis Kedokteran Fisik dan Rehabilitasi Medik

• Background : dr. Adilla is one of the founders and a practitioner at Rainbow Castle, a play-based growth and development clinic in Indonesia. Most of her clients (roughly 95%) are children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 65% of them failed to develop the ability to speak verbally.

• Location : Rainbow Castle (Kemayoran, Jakarta Pusat)

  
  

• Needs : Improving the communication methods employed in her clinic, with a focus on aiding non-speaking children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

• Motivations : The chance to positively influence the communication abilities and holistic growth of non-speaking children with ASD.

• Frustrations : Limited access to advanced communication tools and the lack of user-friendly and customizable communication apps designed specifically for non-speaking children with ASD.

  
  

By defining the target user, we have determined the direction of our product. Unfortunately, designing for children with special needs requires special considerations. Here are some things to keep in mind when designing for autistic children

• Use soft, gentle colors.

• Use simple language.

• Make text legible.

• Use images to support meaning.

• Avoid scrolling and distracting interactions.

• Allow users to customize the interface.

Design Phase - UI/UX Designer & Illustrator

App Structure

This is the beginning, before we start the design process, we need to create a map of the features that will be in this application, along with the details to ensure that the flow we create is the most efficient flow for users to use.

Reusable Components

This application is created with a primary focus on atomic design approaches, as there will be numerous features to develop. This approach increases the effectiveness of the existing page creation.

Hi-Fidelity Design

We design the visuals based on the data we collect and iterate for each page, as we believe the initial design may not be the best. We also make adjustments to the design based on the results of our previous research.

Create a mascot design for Alica

Since Alica is a tool for non-verbal children to express themselves, the mascot is designed as a friendly and cheerful parrot. By representing Alica, the mascot aims to convey that it can help express different emotions. Alica's parrot character is designed with a range of expressions to enhance its relatability.

Creating up to 167 AAC cards with Indonesian-related contexts

During the development of Alica, I also played the role of an illustrator in creating 167 cards with Indonesian-related contexts. These cards cover various topics such as public transportation, food, body parts, etc. This is crucial because introducing children to their environment requires images that are relatable. Simple things like how buses in the US look different from those in BSD are taken into account.

Alica supports dark mode

The decision to implement dark mode is based on its ability to reduce eye strain when using the iPad. Additionally, it can assist children who have difficulty seeing clearly by providing high contrast in dark mode.

Accessibility Friendly

The features in Alica are tailored to the specific needs of children. Alica offers features such as dyslexia-friendly font settings, custom background settings for improved contrast, a remove background feature, and a voice that mimics a familiar person's voice to the child.

Small Things Matters

Small details, such as centering the page on large grids and using dominant colors for buttons, are incorporated to make navigation easier for children with special needs. In addition, the positions of Alica's cards are intentionally fixed to prevent disruption or distraction during page transitions. In addition, there is intentional friction on the parent buttons to prevent accidental presses by the child.

Usability Testing & Expert Review

We iterated through a series of usability tests to refine the approach of the application we've developed. Our testing involves real users from Yayasan Sayap Ibu, Bintaro and Rainbow Castle Clinic. The testing process is ongoing and continues to this day.