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Each year, more than 8 million women encounter intimate partner violence, and last year, 107,859 sought refuge in California. Only 11% of shelters provide legal assistance, while 20-60% of survivors face job loss.
As part of my Foundations class at California College of the Arts, my teammates and I collaborated on this project, combining our skills and insights to create a meaningful solution for domestic violence survivors.
To empower survivors in shelters, we designed a self-help kiosk that can be installed where they can check in daily or weekly, depending on their needs. This kiosk supports them with financial, legal, and emotional assistance, offering a more interactive, intuitive, and accessible check-in process.
Jump to solution
Given the short 4-week timeframe of this project, our focus was on efficiently prioritizing tasks. We concentrated on designing the digital interface of the kiosk, with initial exploration into its physical design. Our efforts were primarily directed towards user introduction, available resources, and interaction methods within this timeframe. This was the sequence of our complete design process from research till design.
After conducting secondary research on women's shelter physical layouts and websites and delving into trauma-informed principles, our team proceeded to conduct 4 interviews combined with concept testing with expert/survivors working in the social sector.
We synthesized our findings from the interviews through affinity mapping, identifying key commonalities and insights.
We explored multiple concepts focused on providing support and identifying signs of abuse, using expert feedback and concept testing to validate their feasibility.
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When users approach the kiosk, they see subtle visuals and a clear explanation of legal, financial, and emotional resources. They can either access resources directly or navigate through options by answering a few questions. A prominent "Exit Now" button allows users to leave the process discreetly if needed.
Opting for 'legal' allows survivors to evaluate their needs and access pertinent resources, including legal agencies specializing in areas such as 'protection from abuse' or 'restraining orders' within the 'resources' section.
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After viewing the resource list and making a selection, users can explore details and send messages directly from the kiosk, eliminating the need for a mobile phone.
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