Maker lab project 2
Homeless Shelter
Some of the first UX projects I was assigned in my third semester of University included the projects completed for Maker Lab I, a course geared towards learning more about User Experience through hands on making. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the class was not permitted to meet in a physical space, and therefore lacked the exciting and useful equipment provided for critical making. Despite this however, the class was still able to come up with some incredible and transformative ideas; some of which we will talk about in this article.
My group (Dean Crossman, Benjamin Hughes, Adrian Shahrivar, and myself) came up with some interesting ideas which hopefully were not only useful in gaining a greater understanding of User Experience, but also in developing empathy and concern for those in a possible more disadvantaged state. For the purpose of this article, we will choose to stick with the second project - a collapsable shelter for the homeless.
The group was tasked with conceptualizing, designing, and presenting a solution of any kind that addressed a large social issue of concern. With this in mind, we decided to consider the problem of homeless, as it is a prominent and dangerous situation in our area (Toronto, ON). Though we felt this was a good start, we quickly found that designing a solution for such a prominent issue is not easy task. We therefore decided that we would rather ideate a design that was not specifically meant to be a permanent solution, but rather a useful and useable solution for the short term - allowing the final design to be cheaper, more portable, and yet still helpful to those in need.
In order to stay within the requirements, our group made sure to follow each step of the critical making process - being inspiration, understanding, ideation, making, and sharing. We were first off inspired by seeing all those that suffer from this difficult predicament. During the current pandemic (2020), especially as we draw near to the winter months, we couldn’t help but feel a sense of helping those in need — and this certainly inspired us to do something to help. We then moved on to do our best to understand the issue at hand, performing internet research about numbers, city rules, lifestyle, and more. What was especially interesting about this section of the design process was that we found ourselves learning and becoming far more aware of this prominent social issue — one key insight being the fact that many homeless do not wish to take advantage of shelters during the pandemic — and began to converse as a group, and seek how we might better help with the problem. Following a greater understanding of the issue of homelessness, we moved on the brainstorming our ideas. We wanted to create a kind of shelter to protect from the cold - but also provide privacy and comfort - all while being portable.
Committed to using cheap and recycled materials (which, should we make this in the long run, would allow us to make far more shelters for those in need, while being environmentally friendly) we decided we would create our prototype from old tarps (tarps have wind and rain proof coatings), used golf umbrellas, and other recycled materials that we could find. Below are some pictures of the materials we would use, as well as the final prototype creating Adobe Photoshop (should we have been able to meet in person we would have been able to create a physical prototype).
Finally, we presented the solution to the class. This is one of the most important parts of the critical making process, as it allows for feedback and constructive criticism. One of the key ideas that people appreciated was that this was not a permanent solution by any means — but an effective and useful temporary fix. An important criticism received was that the shelter did not provide for comfort - perhaps a blanket or some sort of protective flooring should be considered. Should we go further with this project in the future, we certainly will not forget to consider the option.
Overall, I found the project to be a wonderful learning experience. Even if the prototype and idea is not used going forward, I know that the things our group learned will drive us going forward. I have come out of the project with a far greater understanding of the homeless and what they face — therefore a great empathy with them, which can drive my UX projects going forward. I hope that future projects will allow for greater user research that we might even better understand all they face. I am excited for whatever I might learn next, and how it might be able to help those in need.