The beginning was all about getting to know each other. Pavithra was also designing for me, so this first stage involved lot’s of back-and-forth rapid-fire questions. At the start, the interview process was very structured but it eventually became more conversational and natural. Pavithra and I spent time both in class, and out of class getting to know each other personally, learning each other’s values, goals, aesthetic preferences, everything from A to Z. I took notes and created three mind maps to record the things I learned about Pavithra.

At this point it was time to define Pavithra’s challenges, and identify the benefit a change would have in her daily life. An example of a problem statement I came up with: “Pavithra needs a way to be more organized so she can feel more at-ease in her daily life”. From a simple statement like this, I would refer to my interview notes and mind maps to develop prototype sketches of solutions.

At first, I resisted designing an app because I wanted to make something tangible - I started this project designing a crochet organizer for Pavithra’s jewelry, which there-before resided in a plastic bag. However, I quickly realized that this direction was limiting in concurrence with the material I was learning in class such as affordances, interface design, hierarchy. So I did a gear shift and began sketching wireframes for an app meant to inspire Pavithra to get out of bed in the morning.