Helfer
A real sense of security is internal.
Problem:
Sexual assault is a universal problem:
1/3 of women will experience some form of sexual assault in their lifetime in Canada.
in North America:
Every 2 minutes, another American is sexually assaulted.
82% of victims are of sexual assault and are under the age of 18 in the US
4,418 adolescents and adults are sexually assaulted each year in Massachusetts alone – that’s 12 people each day and one every two hours.
44% experienced the behaviour from a co-worker.
Sexual harassment is happening everywhere; it could happen to anyone:
Are there any other advanced tools that we can use to protect ourselves?
How to protect your loved ones and yourself by using what is around you
Helfer Provides personalized recommendations for educational resources and tools which allow women to protect themselves and their loved ones from a physical and emotional threat.
Selling peace of mind through protection education based on their needs.
How can we achieve that?
Guide users step-by-step through the well-designed questions that analyze the high-risk situations of your everyday life.
Through research and testing, Helfer makes sure all the recommendations and tools are reliable.
From utilizing existing objects from the environment to various products that would fit into the different budgets, Helfer believes that everyone deserves a sense of security.
Inspiration:
As a working woman, I am continually hearing and witnessing the sexual harassment is happening around me. Instead of solving this serious social problem, some blame the victim him/herself.
18% think: Victims are weak
16% think: Going out alone or wearing too sexy at night
23.1% think: Sex Discrimination
30% think: Too drunk
40.5% think: Different or stereotyped social value
Secondary Research
The violence could happen anywhere and anytime:
my 2018 research shows the violence against women has nothing to do with their location, wage gap, and social status.
The violence came in different forms:
anyone could become a victim of behavioural and verbal violence. People could encounter sexual harassment virtually online or physically in the same room.
Surprising Facts about sexual assault:
sexual assault is about power and control, not sexual desire.
In 82% of sexual assaults, the assault is committed by someone known to the victim. This can include, for example, a family member, a friend or an acquaintance.
Most women are willing to take actions, such as using self-defence tools.
-Canada Women Foundation
Herlfer’s Primary Research (450 Samples)
Occasions where most sexual harassment/assault happened:
75%On a train, bus, subway or other public transport
79%Public place
82% School or workplace
Then consequences are sincere:
84% of victims are experiencing
Disrupted attention at work
Difficulties in their interpersonal relationships, such as their marriage
Discontinuity of personal development.
The need for awareness:
With reasonable self-defence or “resistance” training specifically for resisting sexual assault. Our Brains will develop effective habit behaviours to call up and choose from automatically.
The need for tools:
Among the 447 interviewees, 70% have demonstrated a willingness to try any personal alarm or defence tool.
Also, they were overwhelmed by the number of self-defence equipment or classes that offered
How did we get here:( the design process)
Stage 1 Ideation
Idea # 1 Trying to make a self-defence product
At first, if users can carry self-defence tools, they can improve their sense of security. For example, they will no longer worry about walking alone at night. At this
time, I conducted an in-depth investigation and learned that the anti-wolf self-defence tools on the market can only produce the sound of high-pitched shells and the function of flashlights. Meet many user needs, such as taking photos for evidence, calling for help, etc.
But this idea also has many limitations. Because there are already many products on the market, it would be difficult to innovate for me.
Idea # 2
There are already many types of self-defence equipment or self-defence classes on the market. Many products can help them obtain safety and prevent sexual harassment. The different tool contains different features. Some users might just need a self-defence class instead of a self-defence device. Even they could have different budgets.
Based on users’ choices and needs, help them choose the most suitable products from the current personal defence device and self-defence class to improve domestic Women's Sense Of Security in Canada.
Through other research groups Canada research, my desired outcomes are in different situations, understanding and summarizing the features’ current personal defence device. And compare the similar products already on the market, and understand the advantages and disadvantages of the products that are already on the market, making self-defence clear categories or list to lead the users to choose the right tools that suit them best.
Branding ( Visual identity)
I used Adobe Illustrator to design this logo. My inspiration came from wanting to give the injured a hug. This website’s original intention is to help women from friends’ perspective and improve their security sense.
It's difficult for me to find testers. Few people around me are exposed to sexual harassment; even they know nothing about it. In the beginning, I will choose to join some Facebook groups about sexual harassment, and then I will speak in the group. Let them help me complete the questionnaire, and finally, add their friends to let them complete the user test. However, I got more than 400 replies.
However, I later found out that I narrowed the user base to a small part. My user group is not necessarily the victim and may even witness sexual harassment or someone who wants to prevent sexual harassment.
In the future, I can avoid recruiting the same group of people by analyzing the targeting user, then posting recruitment in a diverse group and also having differentiated testers to improve the accuracy and objectivity of user testing.
What I have learned through this process:
What I Learn：From an interaction designer's perspective, independent research and development of this product, learning and practice to develop a product is from a simple concept to the final product, which includes continuous study and investigation, repeated design, testing, and modification by using various interactive tools.
Iteration:
After last semester, I see the importance of iteration in the product development process.
During the development of my thesis project, I made several iterations on the research,
The prototype, design for my final product.
From the first ideation stage, through the iterative improvements and changes to brainstorming ideas. The iterations are based on user testing feedback. The whole iteration process has a sequence to follow by iterating from the beginning and over again to solve the problems and discover new issues, eventually eliminating the problems to conduct the final product.
Iteration contains a serval critical process in the actual development stage.
As an interaction designer, I will use iterative models in my future product development and iterating them at the same time to optimize the product.
Challenge：
In the preliminary survey, I was an international student and didn't know too many local people to complete the questionnaire.
It is also challenging to be accurate for the survey results, and there will be errors.
Coding
Time management
Laptop Brocken & File los
Solution：
Connected with the local women’s help center.
Try to get more people to do the survey.
We are managing time by using the productivity app to track and remind me.
Store all my work in the cloud in advance by setting up the Risk management.
What Needs to Improve？
The outcomes - did not address the problem well.
The research methods - Spending too long in secondary research.
The promoting video - The dubbing and animation did not match.