Eco Guru

An Environmental App

Teamed up with Ibrahim Altweim at Depaul University

Over the last few decades, our environment has been becoming increasingly exposed to a number of threats and problems. In this project, we investigated some of these issues and brought a technical solution for people who would like to alter their habits to learn how to adapt more eco-friendly lifestyle. We evaluated few environmental applications, interviewed potential users who have grown concerns about the Earth-harming impact of their lifestyles and shadowed them while they used one of the competitor applications. By asking them to rank environmental issues based on their severity, we discovered that global warming, overpopulation, and pollution were some of the most common issues on the top of the list. We also found that public’s consumerism and lack of motivation is playing a significant role in contributing to these issues.

Based on most common application features requested by our interviewees we constructed an affinity diagram, where we listed all features ranked from least to most preferable by the group we interviewed. We also listed main issues that hinder the well-being of our environment.

In order to best raise awareness among people, educate them on concerns around environmental well-being and motivate them to take action, we came up with an interactive application we named “Ecoguru”.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Illustrator, Proto.io, Mural, Survey Monkey

Goggle

An App For Middle School Girls With Interest In STEM Subjects

Teamed up with Jennifer Tanaka and Nilesh Vadhavkar at Depaul University

Our goal was to build a social space for middle school girls with focus in fields related to STEM to increase their awareness of the impact of STEM and generate their interest in STEM through creative collaboration and networking.

Research

Using Digital Divas as a starting point, our team asked: How can we use social interaction design principles and patterns to make learning STEM subjects fun for girls in the target group of 11 to 13 years old? For the research phase, we received literature, researched apps, and interviewed two middle-school girls to understand the problem space.

Brainstorming

Each team member produced low-fidelity prototypes, starting with sketches and ending with wireframes. We met frequently to discuss our ideas, compare sketches, and refine the concept for a mobile app. In development, we found several inspirational examples from existing systems, which would later inform our design.

Execution

Finalizing our sketches proved to be the most difficult part of this project. Each member contributed good ideas, but we had to agree on which features to include in the final deisgn. We arrived at a solution, divided the work by discrete areas of the application, and continued to collaborate as we produced the final functional prototype.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Mockplus

MyezH2O

A portal to track status of bottle filling stations.

Elkay filtered ezH2O bottle filling stations reduce lead and other harmful contaminants, delivering clean water and sustainable design. It provides a rapid fill of drinking water to quench thirst and minimize plastic bottle waste in the environment.

MyezH2O is an online portal that allows users to track their bottle filling stations, view unit diagnostics and filter status, manage media and graphics content, and manage their account. The app is ideal for businesses who use bottle fillig stations across large establishments such as gyms, schools, and airports to track number of bottles saved as well as receiving reminders when a filter needs to be changed.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Figma

Eco Spotter iWatch App

An Environmental App

Upon my visit to Kenya and the Masai Mara Safari, this concept came to my mind. While we were driving through the safari looking for the big five, I thought it would be nice to have a wildlife tracker that would also be educational about the sighted species' role in the balance of their ecosystem. There was a guy working as a wildlife tracker, who was busy switching between several vehicles full of tourists, so I figured having an app that would notify us if we are on the right path to find a lion or cheetah would come in handy.

It would not be accessible without the internet, but I thought it was a neat concept for other parks besides Masai Mara Safari in Kenya. Spotting a species would engage the user to become more aware and appreciative of the wildlife in some of these ecosystems. An example would be the Colorado Rocky Mountains, where the hikers are taking the trail across the mountain terrain without a guide or are engaging in the Appalachian Trail six-month challenge, wanting to connect and learn more about nature and biodiversity.

This concept is in the prototyping phase and still being refined before I conduct user testing. Please contact me if you would like to take a look at the prototype and participate in user testing! Thank you!

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Sketch, Invision, Survey Monkey

Apprie

Empowering individuals with personalized healthcare.

I collaborated with participants in 2021 humanitarian hackathon to design a tool with a scientific approach in combining sensory information and metrics from the user with available medical knowledge to make accurate diagnostics and decisions about personalised treatments and adjustments. The prototype is still being worked on, please contact me if you would like to participate in usability testing. Thank you!

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Figma

Elkay Landing Pages and Websites

Collaboration With Internal Stakeholders at Elkay Manufacturing

Responsibilities:

Management of UX/UI and visual design for Elkay's large scale, data-driven plumbing and cabinetry web properties and employee portal IT homepage.
Management of sketching/ideation workshops.
Rapid prototyping and user testing of unstructured and structured content pieces.
Development of CSS3/HTML5 style guide for Elkay's web properties.
Front-end web development and responsive design best practices for unstructured content.
Collaboration with product managers, marketing, business analysts and web development teams from communication efforts of business and functional requirements to design and execution of the final product.
Development and incorporation of more user facing design process, meeting end users to conduct interviews and usability testing.
Planning and executiong of design workshops including ecosystem mapping, persona creation, journey mapping, and empathy mapping.
Design system creation within UXPin collaboration and prototyping tool.
Quality assurance and keeping track of the success of core KPIs through Google Analytics.
A/B testing, regression testing, five second testing, and card sorting.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Ilustrator, UXPin, Dreamweaver, CSS3/HTML5, IBM Websphere, Sharepoint, Whiteboard

MyElkay

An order inquiry online tool for Elkay's reps.

MyElkay is an online portal for order inquiry for any of Elkay's reps. It is one of the first projects at Elkay with which I have introduced the UXPin collaboration and prototyping tool to the team. It allowed me to easily share and get incremental feedback on multiple layout iterations. It was a fun project as I got to collaborate with development teams more than with regular projects at Elkay.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, UXPin

Unity

An order entry and inquiry app.

MyElkay is an online portal for order entry and inquiry for any of Elkay's cabinetry reps. Reps look up the latest information on their orders and download sales order acknowledgements and manage users as you see fit for your individual account or group of accounts.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, UXPin

Elkay Virtual Designer

A virtual designer for new homeowners.

Elkay Virtual Designer was a small project for my part, but a fun project to be involved in. Elkay already had a desktop version of the designer, but wanted to add a mobile version. It is a tool for homeowners to browse between sink and faucet products and be able to picture them in sevral different kitchen settings. The tool allows user to change backsplash, countertop, cabinets, kitchen style and of course sinks and faucets.

Tools Used:

Photoshop, UXPin

CADRE

CADRE application process, networking, training, and member portal for technical advisers.

The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisers is a group of Rotarians who volunteer to use their professional skills and technical expertise in Rotary’s areas of focus. This design project consisted collaboration with Cadre members through user research methods and testing. The goal was to produce a layout that would be easier to follow, more user friendly and allowing an esier way to network and mentor by making the design process more inclusive.

Tools Used:

Figma, Photoshop, Zoom, Illustrator, Whimsical

V2V App

An Informational App for International Volunteers

As I have volunteered internationally, I have come across situations where I've read and listened to complaints about the ethics of orphanage institutions in third world countries. I myself have questioned an orphanage I have volunteered at due to several stories that other volunteers shared with me about the deeply rooted system behind child trafficking and mistreatment of the children.

I thought of an idea that would make the communication between volunteers across the world easier in order to help them to get informed and aware of potential problems before they make the trip and invest their time and money into these institutions. Coming back and questioning whether my efforts harmed more than helped the children was not a good feeling and I hope this can be eliminated for other future volunteers.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Sketch, Invision, Survey Monkey

Unchained

An add-on to track modern-day slavery.

An intuitive, easily accessible technical solution aiming to bring supply chain transparency to the consumers at a point of sale for both online and in-store shopping experiences to help raise awareness of the possible involvement of modern slavery and engage users to take action. The app gives information on the involvement of modern-day slavery for the specific product users are viewing and provides a list of more ethical alternatives along with ways to quickly make a difference.

Tools Used:

Adobe XD, Zeplin, Photoshop, Illustrator, lookback

Sertifi eSignatures

A signature and payment app interface.

Sertifi Signatures is a tool to execute agreements, easily capturing in-person eSignatures on mobile devices or tablets. eSignatures allows users to save time with templates offering required fields, auto reminders of expiration dates, shared document library, and collaboration between senders and signers.

I worked directly with product owners, development, content, marketing and executive teams on the implementation of new features to NextGen UI, defining a UX strategy and managing user-centered processes that included user research, ecosystem and user journey mapping, rapid prototyping, and usability testing.

Tools Used:

Adobe XD, Zeplin, Photoshop, Illustrator, lookback

Travel Whiz App

Traveler's App

I love traveling and with the limited vacation time I have available, I always try to find ways how to visit as many places for as little money and in as little time as possible. I always try to book flights that have a long layover in another interesting city, so I can try to venture out to see it. I also travel solo quite a bit and I find it to be a great opportunity to meet other fellow travelers and listen to their stories or spend more time to get to know the culture.

For those reasons I thought of an app that would serve as a networking opportunity with other travelers around the area as well as a check of the best places to see depending on one's location. This app would also notify the user of flights that have a long layover when traveling between two places and/or other means of transportation in between. The app can serve as a one stop for planning a customized trip for flights, site seeing, getting to know people as well as accommodation.

Tools Used:

Sketching Board, Photoshop, Sketch, Invision, Survey Monkey

Sitemaps, Diagrams, and Mindmaps

Reseach Templates

For additional work please contact me to obtain credentials.