INSIGHT

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Originated from a lack of UV protection awareness among millennials and Gen Z, this project addressed the common disregard for sun exposure’s impact on skin and health.

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PROBLEM - BACK STORY

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Gen Z and Millennials often neglect skin protection against UV rays when outdoors.

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Disagreeing with my friend's assumption of widespread UV protection, I aimed to show awareness varies. Especially with the concerning trend, Gen Z and Millennials spend more time in the sun without adequate protection, contributing to rising melanoma cases.This raises the question: Why is there a disconnect in taking care of ourselves?

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SOLUTION

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Designing a user-friendly app to educate millennials and Gen Z about the effects of UV rays on the skin.

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MY APPROACH TO PROBLEM

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“I decided to approach solving the problem in four stages, helping me maintain clear focus on each aspect.”

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BUSINESS GOAL

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Infiltrate and revolutionize the current sun protection market.

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RESEARCH

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" I delved into an intensive two-week research project involving interviews with 12 individuals. I also investigated Facebook groups and online articles, conducted a survey that was taken by 34 users, and mapped out a competitor analysis. "

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Interviews

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" I interviewed 12 people (millennials and Gen Z) on the streets of San Francisco and Oakland to understand their daily UV protection habits. This one-on-one interaction provided firsthand experience with my target audience, offering insight into who my interviewees and users truly are. "

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The majority of the interviewers forgot to reapply their sunscreen.

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Survey

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A total of 34 people were surveyed, providing a sufficient amount of data for analysis. This survey was distributed to friends and family as well as social media groups. Here are what was found:

Insights from survey

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With 52% of the people forgetting to reapply, it was clear that the solution had to include a reminder.

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Articles

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" After talking to my audience and collecting survey data, articles provided key statistics to advance my project. "

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1. 49% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials either incorrectly believe or are unsure that as long as you don’t burn, tanning is safe.

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According to American Academy Dermatology - Read more

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2. 59k Gen Z and Millennials use sun protection at least once a week.

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According to American Academy Dermatology - Read more

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3. About 90% of non-melanoma skin cancer are associated with exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

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According to Skin cancer foundation and the CDC - Read more

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4. Melanoma is often diagnosed later in Hispanic and Black patients due to lower awareness among people of color.

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CDC and Skin cancer foundation - Read more

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

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Analyzing market rivals revealed strengths, weaknesses, and gaps, guiding effective solutions for my project. The focus was on platforms designed to detect UV ray levels. Each of these applications was downloaded and used for a week to assess their effectiveness.

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None of the apps analyzed have a good advertisement system to reach their target audience.

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‍"Completing research, I trusted my instincts, considering the gathered data sufficient and open to more if needed."

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Interesting Insights from research

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"One thing important to mention is that as I compared findings from surveys, articles, and interviews, a notable commonality emerged in the data"

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Millennials and Gen Z often delay skin protection concerns until later in life, and those who prioritize it earlier usually depend solely on SPF.

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3 take-aways

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" Identifying a common data theme, I pivoted to crafting a solution. Creating personas and an emotion map followed to enhance user understanding. "

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PERSONAS

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USER JOURNEY

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" To comprehend the daily experiences of our target users, I delved into a day in their life. This exploration aided me in understanding their challenges and emotions. Let’s analyze a day in a life of one of our persona: Fashion Designer, Danielle "

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" After exploring Roberta's day, I opted to delve even deeper into her emotions—considering the questions she might be asking herself, the lessons she is learning, and how her emotional state fluctuates throughout the day. "

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EMOTION MAP WITH POST IT

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" Finally, analyzing her emotions through the lens of the five senses helped me understand how Roberta perceives and responds to information about her environment. "

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" Concluding my user study, I recognized the importance of asking key questions to start the design process and organize my work. "

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PROPOSED SOLUTION

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Based on survey and interviews, 90% of users prefer accessible apps. Our app will prioritize inclusivity, filling a market gap for diverse skin tones.

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SOLUTION FEATURES

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APP SKETCHES

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" The most enjoyable phase for me is sketching the app. I relish expressing my creative ideas and experimenting with the placement of each UI element. This step is crucial, as it establishes the foundation for the final design. "

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WIREFRAME

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" These wireframes depict some of the most important pages of the app. I tried to make them as detailed as possible in an attempt to recreate the final product's appearance. "

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INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

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USER FLOW

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DESIGN EVOLUTION, FEELING STUCK AND EPIPHANY MOMENT

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" While brainstorming the app, I hit a creative block—fonts and images weren't working, and the design felt flat. 
Taking a break led to an epiphany: a logo and no background images would be a better direction. Additionally, during this time, I came up with two design alterations. "

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NEXT STEP

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" After completing the design, the next step will be testing my prototype.  Since this was a personal project, I sought feedback from family, friends, Facebook groups and conducted surveys. First, I formulated the questions for gathering insights. "

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EVALUATION

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" To assess the functionality of the prototype, I conducted both quantitative and qualitative testing, measuring the task success rate and the task completion rate. "

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How quantitative and qualitative testing phase was approached:

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Quantitative Metrics

2 important Insights:

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The graph indicates that users completed the tasks swiftly and were able to complete the tasks within a reasonable period of time.

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3 important insights:

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Qualitative Metrics

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" To assess this prototype, I conducted a remote testing using shadowing technique with 10 participants. This was followed by a qualitative survey that prompted participants to describe their thought processes while performing the tasks. "

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Shadowing Insights

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Users have expressed that, while using the app, having the option of the alarm made them feel more at ease, eliminating concerns about forgetting to apply sunscreen.

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3 out of 10 testers shared they started using SPF daily after our chat, warming my heart to see the project's impact.

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MODIFICATIONS MADE AFTER TESTING

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FINAL DESIGN

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Inclusivity and Accessibility

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Through the application of inclusive design and fostering empathy with diverse groups of people, this product was designed to be  accessible and inclusive to all.

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As a designer, I'm passionate about crafting inclusive, accessible products that benefit diverse circumstances. I envision a future where everyone can use any product easily, fostering a truly inclusive world.

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CONCLUSION

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" Did this solution help solve the problem? "

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This solution has great potential to motivate millennials and Gen z to use more sun protection.

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Based on user feedback, this solution has the potential to motivate millennials and Gen Z to prioritize sun protection. I'm optimistic the app can achieve its goal of fostering inclusivity for users, regardless of their skin tone.

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If I had more time, I would have loved to conduct in-depth ride along usability studies.

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This would have helped me identify some of the feasability factors such as usability of the interface in terms of accessibility, information architecture, and my solution's impact on helping improve the current sun protection market for millennials and Gen z.

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NEXT STEP

The next step in this project would be to gather funds and build a team to develop the app.

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