October-December 2020
UX/UI Design, Prototyping, Research
Figma, Adobe Illustrator
Benya Sutyanyong (me), Jasper Tu, Jessica Dou, Maria Guna
The companion app to the Kumo smart mask helps to alleviate anxiety and confusion around the mask wearing experience by allowing users to manage exposure data collected by the mask's sensors, track filter and battery health, and connect multiple devices and family members.
For organization sake, you can view work on the Kumo app on a separate page.
While mask wearing has been a regular routine for many even before the pandemic, they've now become an essential tool to almost everyone in daily life. When used correctly, masks enable people to feel safe when leaving their homes. Nonetheless, for those with respiratory conditions, current mask options can be unsafe or uncomfortable. This combined with anxiety around mask care and risk of exposure often leads people with respiratory conditions to stay indoors, restricting their everyday life.
First-time users can easily connect their first Kumo mask and select specific data to track.
Data reports can be accessed from the customizable homepage. The cards can be added or removed as needed.
Notifications for battery and filter health Kumo users are always protected.
Keep track of exposures and mask health for loved ones by adding multiple profiles. Data can also be exported as reports to share with health care providers.
Kumo sends alerts upon contact with COVID-19 and connects users to their local health care provider. A hotspot map based on contact trace data helps users avoid emerging clusters.
While we designed Kumo with those with respiratory conditions in mind, by doing so, we also designed for the wider population. To ensure that Kumo would also be suitable for general use and other possible user goals, we created a total of three user personas.
In addition to personas, we conducted a PACT Analysis to better understand needs, and formed a MoSCoW chart to sort actionable features by priority.
After deciding on a list of features, we created the information architecture that would determine navigation through the app. Our original feature list was narrowed down into four discreet sections: Settings, Home, Device, and Notifications.
This was my first group project with three other designers and I learned to balance the benefits and drawbacks of having multiple people in the same role. With four of us, we were able to quickly generate and iterate diverse ideas. The hard part was being able to agree on a single conclusion. There were both times I compromised and times others compromised for me, and I think what made us able to execute Kumo in its entirety in the 7-week time span was the ability to be straightforward with concerns, start discussions, and then commit to the final decision. At times this was difficult to do remotely, but setting up consistent communication lines and goals allowed us to stay on track.
© Benya Sutyanyong 2022