OVERVIEW
A sun safety app designed for people who are seeking sun protections while enjoying outdoor activities
Sunpal goes beyond basic UV index tracking and forecasting with skin condition monitoring and precise personalized sun exposure timer features, supported by the techonology of Sunpal UV Eye, a portable UV camera that can be attached to smartphones.
Duration: 2 Months (Fall 2018)
Type: Academic Project @ AAU
My Role: Research, Ideation, UI/UX Design, Usability Testing, Prototyping
Tools & Skills: Sketch, Principle, Photoshop, Illustrator
PROBLEM
The Facts About Sun Exposure
Being outdoor and basking in the bright, warm sun makes most people feel good, but it doesn't mean that you can ignore protecting yourself from the sunshine's side effects.
SOLUTION
Introducing Sunpal
The idea is to have a product that works with a UV camera to help people do a much better job at sun protection.
Core Feature 1
Skin Scan
Offer a complete visibility into your skin condition and sunscreen coverage.
Core Feature 2
Personalized Timer
Give out a maximum sun exposure time recommendation based on your skin scan result.
Core Feature 3
Tracking & Analysis
Keep track of your sun exposure records.
PROCESS
Project Life Cycle
During the 8 weeks design process, I worked through a complete design circle from concept to interactive prototypes. I planned and carried out user surveys to understand the user base. I defined personas and maped the user journey to find out pain points and opportunities. During the ideation and prototyping phases, I designed and delivered wireframes, user flows, and prototypes. Using prototypes I can quickly perform usability tests, allowing me to iterate on my ideas/prototypes.
USER RESEARCH
Online Questionnaire Survey
To better understand the user base, I planed and carried out a questionnaire survey, asking people’s thoughts and attitudes towards sun protection. A total of 58 people responded to my online survey.
Finding 1
People’s Major Concerns About Sun Exposure: Aging, Skin Caner, and Sunburn
Among all the health risks associated with exposure to UV radiation, people’s top 3 concerns are: premature aging, skin cancer, and sunburn.
Finding 2
Most People Choose Sunscreen As Their Primary Sun Protection Method
When talking about sun protection, applying sunscreen is the most popular method. 48 out of 58 survey participants chose sunscreen as the sun protection method they normally use.
Finding 3
People Are Aware Of The Importance Of Sun Protection And Are Willing To Spend Money On It
Over half of people who responded to the survey admit that sun protection is either important or very important to them, and they normally spend $0-$100 a year on sun protection products.
MORE RESEARCH
Dive Deeper Into The Current Sun Care Products Market
Taking into account the key findings mentioned above, I began to study the current market for sun care products to see if there are any existing products or techonologies that addresses users' needs.
Finding 1
UV Camera: Reveals Sunscreen Coverage
UV camera is a camera with a special UV filter that caputures UV rays while filtering visiable light. When seen through a UV camera, sunscreens appear almost black because they are absorbing the UV rays, stopping the light from bouncing back to the camera lens.
Finding 2
Sunbathing Calculator: Stay Safe In The Sun
There are many sunbathing calculator tools, these calculators normally ask you to input some of your information and then tells you how quickly your skin will burn if exposed to the sun.
DESIGN OPPORTUNITY
Sunpal = UV Camera + Sunbathing Calculator
IDEATION
Persona
Kelly
Occupation: HR generalist
Age: 23
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Status: In a relationship
About Kelly:
Kelly is a lively and cheerful California girl. She likes many kinds of outdoor activities, especially lying on the beach. However, as her skin is fair, Kelly is more prone to sunburn.
Kelly's goals:
Have fun and relax under the sun.
Get tanned and have sun-kissed skin.
Prevent sunburn in the meantime.
Albert
Occupation: College professor
Age: 63
Location: Denver, CO
Status: Married with 3 kids
About Albert:
Albert likes fishing. However, he is diagnosed with skin cancer a few years ago. After the surgery, his dermatologist told him that he needs to be extra careful about the sunlight.
Albert's goals:
Keep enjoying fishing outdoor.
Prevent skin cancer recurrence.
Rough Sketches
Lo-fi Wireframes
TESTING & ITERATING
User Testing
Iteration 1
Grouping The Same Subject Content
The old version of home page had many problems. Firstly the content of the same subject was scattered in different sections. In the iterated version, I placed the time and the temperature together into one group, and the UV index and the UV level bars into another group.
Iteration 2
Seeking Order From Chaos
For the skin scan to set up sun exposure timer function, I originally placed skin scan feature and the timer trigger button on same page. During the user test, I noticed that most users had difficulties understanding the work flow here. To streamline the flow, I separated these two steps into two pages.
VISUAL DESIGN
Final User Interfaces
SITE MAP
The Organization Of The App's Content And Functions
