Independence for all
Atípico is my graduation project. More than an application, its goal is to foster the independence of autistic adults in different aspects of their daily lives. This project was awarded in Brasil Design Award 2021 (page 186).
School
UFRJ - Escola de Belas Artes
Platforms
App
Year
2020
Why this topic?
I was diagnosed as mild level autistic, which doesn't need that much support. From then on, I had to research what that meant, since it was new to me. The issue was that there was little content for adults and about adult autistic people: nowadays, much of the content available is for and about children. Moreover, finding the little information that does exist is neither easy nor accessible. From this came the main idea: to promote independence and collaboration through accessible information and exchange of experiences.
How the project was built
To proceed with the design creation, we adopted the 5 planes methodology created by Jesse James Garrett in The Elements of User Experience (2011).
Surface
Content, functionality and aesthetics come together to produce a finished app design;
Skeleton
The structure were tangibilized and refined, identifying specific aspects of the UI;
Structure
The definiton of the information architecture and organize the content;
Scope
Translation of the needs and objectives into app's content and functionalities;
Strategy
Establishing user needs and goals;
Surface
Content, functionality and aesthetics come together to produce a finished app design;
Skeleton
The structure were tangibilized and refined, identifying specific aspects of the UI;
Structure
The definiton of the information architecture and organize the content;
Scope
Translation of the needs and objectives into app's content and functionalities;
Strategy
Establishing user needs and goals;
Getting to know our potential users
I have conducted some interviews with autistic people and also health professionals, such as psychiatrists and psychologists. From the obtained answers, we created a questionnaire to investigate some issues more deeply. With this information, I created personas to quickly make tangible all the knowledge acquired about our audience during these surveys.
Aline de Souza
25 years, singles, no child
She has difficulties in dealing with the various stimuli at work, especially the noise and the bright lights.
Fabiano Oliveira
30 years, married, one son
He has difficulty communicating, because most of the time he is always understood in a rude way when in reality this was not the intention.
30 years, married, one son
He has difficulty communicating, because most of the time he is always understood in a rude way when in reality this was not the intention.
The app x competitors
I researched what had already been done in the Design Field for or by autistic people in order to choose a format for the product. The app format was chosen because it is linked to the digital product area, and because it is popular among smartphone users. After this step, I conducted a similar analysis, in order to identify our opportunities in relation to our competitors.
Naming and Branding
I use the 3 key concepts for name ideation.
1. Knowledge: Making useful information known to all;
2. Quality: Ensure the veracity of each piece of information offered;
3. Independence: Contributing to the independence of each person. I try to convey the concepts of the atypical name, with an "I" different from the regular one.
1. Knowledge: Making useful information known to all;
2. Quality: Ensure the veracity of each piece of information offered;
3. Independence: Contributing to the independence of each person. I try to convey the concepts of the atypical name, with an "I" different from the regular one.
Information Architecture
Below, the organization of the areas of the app. Next to it is a link to the prototype.
✤ Stories: Area with a feed of stories told by other users;
✤ Work: Area dedicated to content about work;
✤ Rights: Area to provide information on the rights of autistic people;
✤ Well-being: Area for contacts of support centers and health professionals;
✤ Leisure: Area dedicated to entertainment and cultural content.
✤ Stories: Area with a feed of stories told by other users;
✤ Work: Area dedicated to content about work;
✤ Rights: Area to provide information on the rights of autistic people;
✤ Well-being: Area for contacts of support centers and health professionals;
✤ Leisure: Area dedicated to entertainment and cultural content.
