Overview
Dear Digital Equity is a project designed by the IMD Student's at the University of
Washington Bothell for the purpose of spreading awareness of the digital equity space in Washington
State.
Website
/
Instagram
Role
Researcher
Designer
Skills
Wireframing
Prototyping
Interviewing
Researching
Tools
Figma
Canva
Project Duration
10 Weeks
The Problem
What is Digital Equity?
Digital equity refers to the idea that everyone should have equal access to and the ability to use
digital technologies, including the internet, computers, and other digital devices. This includes
having access to reliable and high-quality internet connectivity, the necessary hardware and
software, and the skills and knowledge needed to use these technologies effectively.
Washington faces a digital equity problem.
Digital Equity is significant in today’s society, there are currently few resources available to
practitioners working in this field to connect and work together. By bringing these
practitioners
together, we can more effectively address the challenges and issues facing digital equity.
Under the supervision of our professors our goal was to improve this issue and inform other
individuals of what is being done to help digital equity in Washington State.
The Solution
Goals & Objectives
-
Creating a space where practitioners can learn more about each other.
-
Relating digital equity to design through media content deliverables.
-
Spread awareness of what is being done to help digital equity in Washington State.
Research
The class was broken up into 5 different groups based off our
interests
After breaking up into groups, each group was assigned different tasks
for this project. I
joined the Website team which was a part of
populating the website, choosing a website platform (SquareSpace) and designing the website. There was
also the
There was also the Branding, Content, Social Media, and Storytelling Teams which had their own respective tasks.
Each student was also tasked in creating content deliverables, where we would create a media
deliverable
about digital equity in Washington State and Interview practitioners showcasing their work on the
website.
Our Process
Ideation
Creating a simple but effective design
I wanted to design something that was simple and easy to navigate. A design that would be modern yet
effective to showcase our content. We then worked as a group to figure out a singular design.
Wireframing
Testing + Improvements
Reworking the design
Within the website and content team we came together and talked about how the final website should look
like. We chose the colors and fonts we were going to use. We then worked with the branding team in order
to select a logo for our project.
Using our old design we came up with a design that was
effective in showcasing our content. After polishing our design we finally implemented our final designs
and uploaded all our deliverables.
Final Product
Style Guide
Prototype
Conclusion + Lessons
What I would do differently next time...
This project was my first team based project that I've ever done, which required me to collaborate with
a team of over twenty people. Overall I found the process to be enjoyable, being able to collaborate
with
practitioners around Washington State in order to create content displaying what is being done in
helping the digital divide.
Here are the things I've learned:
- More Iterating - We didn't spend a lot of time iterating because we were
limited to the 10 weeks of the quarter. I think iterating our content would have helped flush
out some mistakes.
- Design Process - The design process is one the design practices we learned.
Using the British Design Council's double diamond diagram throughout our project.
