LEPAL RESEARCH VOLUNTEER

Gamifying mental health support for Gen-Z users through AI.

Duration: 6 months
Type: Senior capstone project
Role: Lead UX Designer
Team: 1 PM, 2 UX Designers, 2 Developers

PROJECT OVERVIEW

How do we educate and inspire beach visitors about the Laguna Ocean Foundation (LOF) and its beach conservation efforts?

How do we educate and inspire beach visitors about the Laguna Ocean Foundation (LOF) and its beach conservation efforts?

Duration: 6 months
Type: Senior capstone project
Role: Lead UX Designer
Team: 1 PM, 2 UX Designers, 2 Developers

THE PROBLEM

The public is dangerously unaware of beach regulations necessary to protect beach ecosystems.

The public is dangerously unaware of beach regulations necessary to protect beach ecosystems.

Laguna Ocean Foundation operates within a marine protected area (MPA)*. However, many visitors remain unaware of this and are severely uninformed about the conservation efforts of the organization, leading to disruptive behavior in the protected area and unintentional damage to the ecosystem.

Over 60%

Over 60%

Over 60%

of Californians are unaware

of the existence of MPAs and

their specific regulations.

of Californians are unaware

of the existence of MPAs and

their specific regulations.

of Californians are unaware

of the existence of MPAs and

their specific regulations.

~ 48%

~ 48%

~ 48%

of snowy plover nesting

attemps fail due to human

disturbances on beaches.

*A marine protected area (MPA) is a legally protected area of the ocean that is managed to conserve marine life and habitats.

THE SOLUTION

A mobile web-application that provides educational resources for visitors to engage with.

A mobile web-application that provides educational resources for visitors to engage with.

To combat this lack of awareness, our team was tasked with creating a comprehensive, accessible, and engaging mobile web application for visitors to use.

DISCOVERY: STAKEHOLDER COLLABORATION & RESEARCH

Closely collaborating with our partner & beach volunteers to better understand visitor needs & define requirements.

Closely collaborating with our partner & beach volunteers to better understand visitor needs & define requirements.

The first few months of the project were dedicated heavily to gathering requirements, defining scope, and planning for development. This process was strongly dependent on our collaboration with LOF & its volunteers.

Biweekly Meetings

The most significant portion of our collaboration with LOF was our biweekly meetings with LOF's program manager. Throughout these meetings, we worked with them to discuss the beach, the foundation, and gather requirements for the application

Volunteer Interviews

In addition to our biweekly meetings, we had the opportunity to visit the beach and interview some of the foundation's biologists and volunteers working on-site. This was crucial in helping us understand what would be most beneficial to conservation efforts from the perspective of those who are most familiar with and knowledgeable about the beach's ecosystem, visitors, and challenges.

What does LOF do and

whatis the current effect

of their work?

What methods are already

in place to educate visitors?

What challenges does LOF

currently face in executing

their work/educating visitors?

DISCOVERY: INTERVIEW INSIGHTS

Laguna Beach visitors are unaware of the beach's regulations, require assistance, and are uninvolved with conservation efforts.

Laguna Beach visitors are unaware of the beach's regulations, require assistance, and are uninvolved with conservation efforts.

From our biweekly meetings with our partner and interviews with the beach volunteers, we were able to identify the following three areas that the mobile app needed to address regarding visitor needs and behaviors at Laguna Beach.

  1. Lack of Awareness

Volunteers expressed that most visitors are unaware of crucial MPA rules and regulations necessary to preserving the beach's ecosystem. Visitors, especially children, often unknowingly break these rules, highlighting a need for clear and accessible information regarding beach conservation.

  1. Assisting Visitors

Volunteers reported challenges in efficiently assisting beach visitors with essential amenities such as finding parking, restrooms, and general directions. This is due to the scarcity of volunteers as well as visitors simply being unaware that volunteers are available to help. Existing resources are described as outdated and difficult to find or navigate.

  1. Getting Visitors Involved

Our partner highlighted a key requirement for the app: a citizen science program enabling visitors to contribute their observations of beach wildlife to the LOF database. Volunteers and LOF staff stressed that this not only enriches their data but also empowers visitors to actively participate in and learn about beach conservation efforts.

PERSONAS

Creating user-personas based off of our findings to ______.

To better organize the findings from the interviews and clarify our user needs and challenges, I crafted three different personas representing a diverse range of possible beach visitors.

FEATURES

Something

Something

Based on the collective insights gained from our meetings, interviews, and personas, we were able to solidify a foundation for the concept of the app The application would be divided into the following four primary features:

DESIGN EVOLUTION

Evolving our design from ideation to ___.

Duration: 6 months
Type: Senior capstone project
Role: Lead UX Designer
Team: 1 PM, 2 UX Designers, 2 Developers

ITERATION & DEVELOPMENT

The development stage faced numerous challenges that resulted in several iterations of the design.

Our developers would realize that certain tasks exceeded their skillset or proved to be more time-consuming than they initially anticipated. As a designer, it was my job to address these and adjust the design accordingly, being careful as to not take away from the intended goals of the app. A few examples of a few of the iterations we had to make are described below. 

FINAL OUTCOME

Presenting the project at the UCI ICS showcase.

Presenting the project at the UCI ICS showcase.

Once the project deadline had arrived, our team presented the project at a capstone showcase. The final product included a functioning homepage, map, and wildlife directory. Unfortunately, the development team was unable to implement the full design due to time constraints and technical issues. Dealing with these difficulties also led us to forego usability testing in the interest of time. Despite this, our partner was still satisfied with the end result and what we were able to accomplish within the given timeframe.

PROJECT HANDOFF & FUTURE DIRECTION

We handed off our project to be

We handed off our project to be

Future goals for the app include the following:​

  • Implement visitor accounts and observation posts.

  • Receive permission to integrate the Seek API for species identification.

  • Create a database for LOF to efficiently store observation data.

  • Conduct usability testing.

To help achieve these goals, we handed off our project to another student-led team for the following school term. This handoff involved transferring all relevant documents and materials, ensuring that the new team has the resources they need to continue and complete our initial vision.

REFLECTION

A lesson about managing scope creep and the impact of UX on environmental conservation & activism.

A lesson about managing scope creep and the impact of UX on environmental conservation & activism.

Duration: 6 months
Type: Senior capstone project
Role: Lead UX Designer
Team: 1 PM, 2 UX Designers, 2 Developers