User and Society

In CBL Project 2, I enhanced my user-centered design skills by investigating how to foster meaningful interactions between individuals and a robotic hand companion. Our initial idea aimed to facilitate sign language communication, prompting me to conduct a survey within the non-hearing community by distributing it through relevant online platforms. This effort provided us with crucial insights into their needs, expectations, and emotional reactions to assistive technologies.

Upon reviewing the survey results, we recognized that our original approach did not truly reflect the users' requirements. Rather than adhering to our initial concept, we opted to pivot the project towards developing a more versatile emotional support companion, which could resonate with a broader audience while remaining rooted in genuine user needs. This experience underscored the significance of being adaptable and responsive to user feedback, even when it diverges from the original vision.

Additionally, I gained a deeper understanding of how emotional and social contexts shape individuals' perceptions and interactions with products. Our objective evolved to incorporate subtle yet reassuring gestures through the hand's movements, drawing inspiration from users' insights regarding communication, trust, and support.
Looking ahead, I aim to further cultivate this area of expertise by emphasizing iterative user testing and engaging users at various stages of the design process. It is vital to comprehend not only the functionality of a design but also how it integrates into people's emotional and social lives, which is essential for the expressive and human-centered work I aspire to create.
Understanding user needs was important to me because I want to create emotionally valuable and accessible products that respond to real-world challenges.